Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa The SXS Double Rifle Mystique

I'm going to be an observer on a cape buffalo hunt in Africa for the first time next year, but I've been told that a cull hunt in my price range is very probable.
Like other posters here, I can't afford to purchase a double rifle, but it would be a dream come true to have one over my shoulder for what could be a once in a lifetime hunt on the mystical dark continent.
I've been lucky to have friends who've let me shoot their double rifles over the years, so the double rifle bug has been growing in my system for awhile and the booking of the hunt has only made it worse.
Since I don't want to have to sell body parts or prized firearms to be able to afford one, I made the decision to build a double rifle conversion after many hours of research and deliberation.
It'll be chambered in 585HE, a cartridge I've become very fond of, have been reloading for and is more than capable of taking down any animal on this planet with a well placed shot.
After reading several books on the subject and acquiring the needed parts, I should have a tested and reliable double rifle ready for the hunt.
I've been building rifles for awhile now and I think building and hunting with a double rifle in Africa would fulfill my dreams, especially if I'm lucky enough to be able to take a buffalo with it.

Now although I love my double and would smash the gates of hell down with her, I've only once not taken my 375H&H Magnum Winchester M70 lefty. From a client perspective it is all you need. I know for a fact that a 300 grain Hornady Heavy Magnum will punch clean thru a bull Jumbo's head. I've done it.

I've owned a couple double rifles, all in 9.3x74r. Some have been pretty good shooters, two were definitely not. My current is a Chauis, with a single trigger. I prefer single trigger versions, because I've shot a single trigger double shotgun for more than 50 years, and cannot retrain myself to go to the other trigger. I've shot a lot of targets and a few whitetail with my doubles.
A gun needs to fit. My first and second doubles did not fit me and beat the tar out of my face and shoulder. I've owned a couple of 375's and 416's so I'm familiar with recoil. My current rifle needs another 1/4 to 3/8 inch off the butt to fit just right in shirt sleeves. It isn't bad in the recoil department. It is also pretty accurate, meaning I can put six rounds inside a bit over 2 inch circle at 100 yards off sticks. That is on par with what I could do with my other rifles off sticks.
It's handy and shoots well. I'm going to get that little bit of wood off the but, and maybe a little more so it will fit with a jacket. I would take it to Africa if I were going, again. I carry it in black bear season here.
I'm past the mystique, but I do like nice well made guns. It's probably vanity, if I cant be pretty to look at, at least my guns will be.
Bfly

Gun fit is everything. Doesn't make a [bleep] of difference what type of action it is. I had a Beretta 686 o/u 9.3x74R that was one of the most viscous recoiling rifles I've owned. Did't fit worth a damn, and every shot felt like I was getting punched in the jaw. I currently have 9.3x74R's in a Ruger No.1, and a Simson drilling. I can shoot both as long as I feel, and shoot them well. They fit me. The only mystique I see, is does the gun fit you, and are you comfortable and confident with it, and shoot it well? Action type is way down the list for me.

Jeff

Interesting. I happened to see a well-used but decent-shape Chapuis double in 9.3X74R on Gunbroker today... looks like a good deal, I'm tempted! As for double vs single triggers, some of my double shotguns have single selective triggers (including my first and most-used double, an Ithaca-SKB 200E) but I've acquired several double trigger shotguns and I far prefer the double trigger setup. Unlike you, I found the transition from single to double trigger isn't difficult.



Interesting to read that. Clearly I'm not the only one to take some serious damage from an ill-fitting gun!



I think that's where I am on this issue, BF. I'm not saying I won't buy or hunt with a double again, but the mystique of the double rifle has passed for me.

Single trigger doubles??? Philistine!

And a bit risky to boot.

Part of the close-in advantage of a DR is the independent firing mechanisms the double trigger lockwork/double barrel arrangement provide. I recognize failure of a 2nd shot with a single trigger is uncommon, but getting trampled by an elephant or a buffalo is a once in a lifetime event - even rarer but less desirable!

I've only checked out a few Sabatti's that were a total turds. The list is long of Sabatti owners that cant get them to shoot well. Should be able to get a Chapuis used for under 5K if you look around. It should be a much higher quality gun. I had one in 9.3 that shot decent. Only got rid of it as a 375flanged in a Heym popped up that I could not pass up the deal.

Recently had a 400/360 nitro come up for a good price that I have been playing with. So back in the 9.3 game for the moment. Sweet shooting small double.

I agree with the others, If a double does not fit it will be a miserable experience. There have been some very good deals popping up for British guns this year. (Many too short for me) That would be my recommendation if you find one that fits and shoots well.

I personally have no desire to hunt Buffalo/Elephant ever again with anything but a double. Yes you will loose some shot opportunity but I personally prefer to have to get closer for the shot. Much more enjoyable to me. The one buffalo I shot with a scoped rifle at 70 yards was my least favorite. Just seamed too easy.

Mack, I just bought a Merkel 140 in 308 (odd, I know) for a song , just so I can shoot a ton of rounds through it and get my double-rifle Mojo back with the open sights.

Perfect! Sounds like a ball for sure. I have wanted a 7mm-30cal double for some time. Yet to find the right one come up. Will be interested to hear in how she shoots!

I recall someone, some years ago, posting some pictures of a 303 British double rifle. I loved that rifle.

IIRC, Gunner500 has one.

DF

Yes, gunner. Now that I think about it, I think he had it on the pig hunt I went on a few years back.

I believe it's a Manton with exposed hammers. Lovely piece..

Gunner's is a Rodda, IIRC. Though of course it was probably made by someone else & sold by Rodda.

I recall how pleased you were to acquire that rifle.

Not a double, but I had one of my grail guns rudely educate me this past spring. A gent showed up at the Campfire Hog Hunt with a Blaser K95 -- which have always felt to me like magic wands. This one was a 9.3x74. The first clue was its owner got scoped on the first shot with it, and not lightly scoped either, a deep cut over the eye. He offered to let folks shoot it, and I took him up on it, with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. I sat down and crudely jerked the trigger. The little rifle smacked the crap put of me. I didn't bleed but it was no fun at all.

Conversely, many folks complain about Ruger #1's in heavy calibers. We had a safari rifle shoot planned for one of the gatherings, and I bought a NECG rear sight & fiber optic front for the #1 in .458 WM. I eyeballed the sight adjustment as best I could, took it to the range with a load of 70gr of Varget under 500 Hornadys, and fired 3 shots as fast as I could load, aim, & fire - offhand. All the shots landed in a 4-5 inch circle at 50 yards. I stared at the target for a bit, then quickly packed up the rifle, before I jinxed it

Ruark,Crapstick and Hemingway were all raging alcoholics who relied on pen ink and spin merchantry literary license
to make a living.

Then you have people who were actual disciplined hard core hunters including those who relied on rifles to make a living.

Frederick Selous, - offloaded his SxSs replaced with single shots; Gibbs Farquharson, Holland & Holland Woodward pat.,
and .425 Westley Richards mauser.

WDM Bell - had two SxS rifles .318 WR and .450/400 , but throughout his career relied heavily on a range of bolt rifles for
a number of practical reasons. Reliability was of high importance to Bell in remote Africa. SxS rifles did not offer that. His SxS
proved unreliable as did other SxS rifles he witnessed other people using....He still praised the SxS for its beauty and allure,
but thats about it. To employ a SxS as his day in-day out primary go-to safari business tool & life saver, was out of the question.
A problematic SxS was capable of severely crippling a safari, even the speediest option could take months requiring a rifle be
despatched with a runner to a populated centre in hope (but no guarantee) of finding a shop capable of doing such specialised
repairs.

Harry Manners - shot his first ele with 10.75mm mauser, followed by his commercial ivory career of 1000 elephants and
buffalo for meat using pre64 M70 .375 H&H. which he then continued using as a PH.

Harry Selby - initially a Rigby .470NE, got damaged and replaced with .416 Rigby mauser and intermittent .458win M70.
total of 53 full seasons of culling and PH duties, nearly 50 were conducted with a bolt rifle....he had a .450/400 SxS as a
back-up but never had cause to use it. I suspect it was the .450/400 Bell once owned and also relegated to the sidelines.

" The only heavy rifle I could find was a Rigby .416 at a dealer by the name of May & Co.......I bought it.
Little knowing then that decision was one of the most important I would make throughout my hunting career.

So began a lifelong love affair between myself, the .416 caliber, and the Rigby rifle.
.
I very soon realized that this rifle and cartridge combination was for me far superior to any double. The inherent accuracy
of a bolt action was apparent from the very first shot, the phenomenal penetration was to make itself evident as time went by.
I also appreciated the four round magazine, and on several occasions was glad that those four rounds were ready and waiting.

Suffice to say that after about two Safaris I would not have gone back to a double under any circumstances. In the Rigby .416
I had found the perfect Professional Hunters rifle, A beautifully balanced, fast handling weapon propelling a four hundred grain
bullet fast enough to enable it to reach out up to three hundred yards if need be, when trying to bring down a wounded animal,
and yet perform with devastating effect on large dangerous game at close range. I was impressed!!!.

I have to say that this rifle never gave the slightest trouble, it did however, give the most satisfactory service anyone could ask
for, it never let me down, ever!!...Over the years as a Professional Hunter I carried the .416 from the Sudan in the North to
Botswana in the South. There have been some rather tricky situations, and it was largely due to the qualities of the Rigby rifle
and the performance of the 416 cartridge that everyone involved came through unscathed." - Harry Selby.


"...the big bore school, When they quote striking energy in foot pounds, it becomes almost irresistible. The weight of the piece ,
the size of the cartridge, the noise it makes, and the cost of it all, quite overcame the inexperienced man or those of naturally
weak reasoning powers.

Of course its must be recognition that some of the very finest craftsmanship goes into these heavy weapons. they are things of
entrancing beauty and have attraction quite apart from their utility as killers. I myself once fell under their sway.

I bought myself a double .450/400 hammerless ejector first grade by Daniel Frazer of Edinburgh. I knew Frazer well and often
fired his heavy pieces on his regulating range." - WDM bell , American Rifleman 1954.

When recreational hunters and some of todays PHs insist they 'need' a SxS or try to prop it up as superior, I get a chuckle.
however like anything else in life if a person simply wants one and can afford one, then why not.

Isn't the internet wonderful? The number of PHs, whose primary job is to protect the client when things go south, almost to a man, prefer a double. Are their some who prefer a bolt or carry one because that is all they have? absolutely. Bell was not a PH, he was an ivory poacher and by his own admission, he lost count of how many elephants he lost when he was going after large quantities of ivory. The double still remains, a highly specialized tool with inherent limitations, that is without question.

I would love to own and hunt with a SxS double but doubt that will ever happen. I consider them specialized "stopping" rifles although they are fine for hunting as well. But for most I think they are a handicap with iron sights. I think a scope looks out of place and can ruin the balance and handling of a fine rifle. In the past most double rifles were bespoke and fitted to the buyer insuring good fit and handling. Now most hunters are far better equipped with a medium bolt rifle. These are so efficient the need for a stopping rifle is almost eliminated.

I handled and shot a DG double, a 500 NE. I shot it well, wasn't intimidated by it, was amazed by the big push and lack of a harsh jolt.

I like a good bolt gun that fits and shoots, one that's suited for 3-400 yds, as well as close shots.

As previously posted, the DR is a specialized gun, reeking with panache and history.

Just not on my wish list.

DF