Why no O/U double rifles?

There is something just inherently wrong with stack barrel rifles............and why anyone would want to carry 2 barrels in any cartridge smaller than 40 cal is beyond me. Doubles are beautifully made and are amazing for balance and speed, however unless the quarry is of the biting back type, or stomp and stir type, requiring a caliber and cartridge of 5000 ft/lbs or greater, I can see no advantage to carrying 2 barrels for 2 shots when one can carry 1 barrel for up to 6 shots of a small or medium bore cartridge.
 
I always accepted as fact that an O/U is slower to reload but I really think someone needs to do some testing on this. :)

Especially as the whole point of a double is to have TWO shots as fast as possible. If you want 3 or 4 a bolt action is going to be faster anyway. ;)
 
The whole point of a double is that nearly instantaneous second shot. When you #### up a frontal brain shot on an elephant you have the opportunity to shot him in the ear as he turns to leave. I saw Boddington make such a quick second shot on his Boddington on Elephant DVD. It was a very impressive piece of gun handling. But if you're getting into a gunfight then a bolt rifle wins fairly handily. I'd like to see a well practiced hand shoot a bolt and double to see what the split times are for 6 rounds. I think if it comes time to feed the bolt from a culling belt then the double might just catch up.
 
I have used my BRNO o/u 9.3x74 for big cats as well as plains game. It is scoped and shoots fantastic to 200 yds at least.

I have my 470 s/s that comes with me most times as well. The effort to open the o/u (it has ejectors vs. extractors on the 470 s/s) IS more pronounced and takes a second more than the s/s.

To load the o/u, especially with the scope overhang, takes that little bit more time. I have never had to reload in a life or death situation with either, but I did put 2 into a big cat with the o/u and although I was confident it was dead, I of course reloaded, and although it was quick and easy I did have to concentrate a bit more to do so.

I have used both guns for some years now, and it is muscle memory that becomes important......both are more than acceptable, but I have the 470 in a s/s for a reason. It is quicker and more "positive" to reload in a rush.
 
c-fbmi said:
There is something just inherently wrong with stack barrel rifles............and why anyone would want to carry 2 barrels in any cartridge smaller than 40 cal is beyond me. Doubles are beautifully made and are amazing for balance and speed, however unless the quarry is of the biting back type, or stomp and stir type, requiring a caliber and cartridge of 5000 ft/lbs or greater, I can see no advantage to carrying 2 barrels for 2 shots when one can carry 1 barrel for up to 6 shots of a small or medium bore cartridge.
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I shoot them because I don 't like bolt actions and see no need more more than two shots - most times it 's only been one for me.
Cat
 
Bolt actions are, to me, are very utilitarian and very very efficient devices.

I do not like the muzzle loaders or bow hunting (as much as I respect everyone who does) - to me it is simply a choice of a rifle that reflects how I feel about the hunt I am on. It limits my shots and makes me more aware of my choice to shoot or not.

I will use one of my bolt actions if the hunt requires it, but in certain circumstances I love the doubles (and singles) for what they are.
 
c-fbmi said:
There is something just inherently wrong with stack barrel rifles............and why anyone would want to carry 2 barrels in any cartridge smaller than 40 cal is beyond me. Doubles are beautifully made and are amazing for balance and speed, however unless the quarry is of the biting back type, or stomp and stir type, requiring a caliber and cartridge of 5000 ft/lbs or greater, I can see no advantage to carrying 2 barrels for 2 shots when one can carry 1 barrel for up to 6 shots of a small or medium bore cartridge.
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Those over under rifles were made with the intent to have one hand made rifle fitted to the shooter. That rifle would be carried and could shoot anything from birds with the shotgun barrel to other game with the rifle barrel.

I have such a gun from my grandfather who was a Forrester in the days of european kings. Its a great rifle, beautifully handmade and engraved. it is lighter than my Rem 700. It has a hook on scope mount so you can take the scope off and put it back on without losing zero

Why this didnt catch on in north america is probably because those things cost way more than a single rifle and who would buy a single shot rifle? It is just a cultural thing and probably also related to hunting regs.


If I would hunt, I would use that rifle over any of my other rifles
 
The O/U double rifle is well accepted and even reasonably popular in continental Europe for driven boar hunts. I have seen them used on driven game hunts (Drückjagd) in Germany on a couple occasions. They are usually chambered in medium bore medium power rimmed cartridges like 9.3x74R or 8x57IRS. They are not super precise at long range, and are very different than the common plastic stocked cheap as possible rifles sold to most Canadian big game hunters. They are about ideal for shooting running wild boar or stags at close range, although a semi auto might have a slight practical edge. In North America we don't normally spend half the cost of a new car on a rifle that is handmade piece of functional art, but in Europe that practise is much more common. So if you don't see them here it's cultural, no other reason than that.
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CSC brought in some O/U combo Zoli's last yr. They have/had 7x57R and 7x65R and 30R over 20ga as I remember. They also had some double rifles, I believe they were 7x57R and 7x65R. Seems to me they had some used Merkel's and a K-gun in there last time I was there. I was scratching my head a bit as to why I didn't buy an O/U to start with a few yrs back, when I picked up a SXS Kreighoff, they are about 1/2 the price of what I bought. They had some Chapuis SxS's there, and some C10 Chapuis O/U's rifles as well. But, I like the SXS better than an O/U. I just couldn't wrap my head around owning the O/U's.
 
I wondered at myself, as to why I couldn't wrap my head around an o/u, at the time I bought a Kreighoff sxs.
I don't regret buying a sxs for a second, just that it was a lot more money. But, I got what I wanted.
I considered getting an o/u as a second gun. but, not for long. CSC has a few there, rifles and combos, new and used, Zoli's, Merkel's and Chapuis, may have been a Kreighoff as well.
 
I think read somewhere o/u were easier to regulate than a s/s. thus a bit cheaper to make. I had a .270 o/u that Winchester put on their 101 shotgun frame. But it just never looked right to me , as I was into s/s's at the time. I think as hunter's many of us dream of African safari's and a that picture of the bawana sitting in front of mobogo with that s/s leaning there. Hunting for many of us is steeped in tradition and the s/s has all of that.
 
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