B. Searcy & Co. Double Rifle Reviews and Wisdom Needed??

[Safariswestcam]

I have recently located a B. Searcy double that checks all boxes for me from caliber, stocking and LOP. I had the seller agree to hold it for me so that I could do some research on Searcy as they, historically over the past two years, have not been a company that I had considered prior as a possible firearm of choice. In 24 hours I am not sure that it would be possible to have reviews that are as contradictory as what I received? I had a comment that "they are one of the best doubles produced" by a very experienced Botswana elephant PH all the way to "they are more useful to use as a boat anchor" from a renowned gunsmith. I am curious if anyone on this forum can provide some insight in to their personal experience that may save me from either a costly mistake or help me attain the rifle of my dreams?

Thanks in advance for any feedback,

Cheers,
CK

 

[Major Bonkers]

See this forum: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/comparison-heym-89b-vs-searcy-classic.65739/

 

[IvW]

I would not buy a Searcy. Spend more buy a Heym....

 

[Safariswestcam]

See this forum: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/comparison-heym-89b-vs-searcy-classic.65739/

Seems like there was some deep rooted issues on both sides of that disagreement!

 

[Major Bonkers]

See also the original forum: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/for-sale-fixer-searcy-double-in-500-416-ne.44901/

My own thoughts on the subject are that Rookhawk demonstrated convincingly that that rifle had been incompetently repaired and Mr. Searcy did not cover himself in glory by spitefully declaring that he would do no further work on the rifle.

Other factors which may weigh on your thinking are that Mr. Searcy is a one man band and, by his own admission, has been in very poor health.

Many of us would prefer to buy the hand-made over the mass-produced product, if only out of a sense of helping an independent trader and buying a custom-made rifle. It is down to you, of course, but from what I have seen of the Searcy rifles - only in photographs - they are working guns, not particularly attractive, unlikely to hold their value, and come with some serious questions regarding warranty and after-sale service. And, after all, the last place that you want to find yourself is in the same position as Matt85.

If you do want to proceed, check the balance of the rifle and ask to fire some rounds to check its accuracy.

 

[Houston Bill]

I would not buy a Searcy for many of the reasons stated. Not sure what you are looking to spend but if you are not looking for an English double I would focus on Heym, VC (manufactured from 2011-2021), Krieghoff and maybe Merkel

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Heym 88b, preferably later profuction.

 

[ARHinAK]

For the umpteenth time, I had nothing but a good experience with a fine shooting solid rifle, and Mr. Searcy.

 

[Major Bonkers]

Thinking about this a bit more, you might be interested in a Rigby Paso Robles rifle. They were built down to a price, but based on a German action, and were sold on the basis of the ignorant not realising that they were buying a considerably inferior product than they may have thought.

There is a thread on them here: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/rigby-made-in-california-any-experience.55397/

As long as you go with your eyes open you ought to be alright.

I see that Westley Richards has one for sale in - ? - Florida: https://www.westleyrichards.com/use...--co---paso-robles--ca---470-boxlock-ejector/

The $15,000 price seems to me to have scope for negotiation downwards. You should also be able to demand a warranty.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

A lot of people (including my white hunters and close friends of mine) have very poor opinions of Butch Searcy double rifles. But I’ve handled no less than five of his rifles over the years (and shot three of them). And they’ve always seemed pretty solidly built. I met him in Reno seven years ago and he seemed like an extremely polite, friendly and knowledgeable gentleman (and a veteran of the Vietnam War). Considering that he is the first American gunmaker to start building big bore double rifles, I hold a special respect in my heart for him.

I don’t mean to discredit the claims of anybody who is saying that they had a negative experience with Mr. Searcy or his wares. If anything, @matt85 ‘s experience with Mr. Searcy was pretty disconcerting. But I never lie. Based on what I’ve seen over the years, I really like what I saw.

Here’s a .600 Nitro Express boxlock ejector that he built for a friend of mine. It was used to down a big bull elephant in Botswana after the hunting ban got lifted. I’ve fired the rifle myself. Very tight groups and very fast handling. A little bulkier than say, an English double rifle. But not uncomfortably so.

I personally wouldn’t hesitate to give Mr. Searcy a chance.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

There is a Sabatti .470N that I would much prefer over the searcy.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Winchester built at least one and possibly more. The Winchester M-21 was the basic action.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Winchester built at least one and possibly more. The Winchester M-21 was the basic action.

But not in a big bore caliber. If my memory serves me correctly, it was a .45-70 Government.

 

[Certus]

A Searcy was good enough for Roland Tembo to hunt the largest carnivore on earth. If it wasn’t for sabotage he would have succeeded too. Here’s a clip of his infamous hunt.

 

[Safariswestcam]

A Searcy was good enough for Roland Tembo to hunt the largest carnivore on earth. If it wasn’t for sabotage he would have succeeded too. Here’s a clip of his infamous hunt.

HAHAHAHAHA! Perfect

 

[Safariswestcam]

There seems to be only one other topic that garners such polarity and difference of opinion and that is with saying the word "Blaser"! I get everyone saying get a Heym... would love to but looking at double the price. I have a hard time justifying a double rifle as I am sure it will only be used a handful of times in certain situations on each safari and I would rather book another hunt, thus the reason I have not gone back to Chris to simply spend $25K and order a new one.

If the gun checks all my boxes, I just wondered if it was worth spending the money to have inspected by "JJ". My personal opinion, I have handled quite a few Merkel's and they simply do nothing for me especially at the price they just seem to have no soul. I have looked at a lot of doubles over the years and for less than 10K have not seen one that at first blush, carries these aesthetics and quality of wood.

Thanks for the feedback, we will see what Mr. Perodeau has to say once he goes through it.

Cheers,
CK

 

[Safariswestcam]

A lot of people (including my white hunters and close friends of mine) have very poor opinions of Butch Searcy double rifles. But I’ve handled no less than five of his rifles over the years (and shot three of them). And they’ve always seemed pretty solidly built. I met him in Reno seven years ago and he seemed like an extremely polite, friendly and knowledgeable gentleman (and a veteran of the Vietnam War). Considering that he is the first American gunmaker to start building big bore double rifles, I hold a special respect in my heart for him.

I don’t mean to discredit the claims of anybody who is saying that they had a negative experience with Mr. Searcy or his wares. If anything, @matt85 ‘s experience with Mr. Searcy was pretty disconcerting. But I never lie. Based on what I’ve seen over the years, I really like what I saw.

Here’s a .600 Nitro Express boxlock ejector that he built for a friend of mine. It was used to down a big bull elephant in Botswana after the hunting ban got lifted. I’ve fired the rifle myself. Very tight groups and very fast handling. A little bulkier than say, an English double rifle. But not uncomfortably so.

I personally wouldn’t hesitate to give Mr. Searcy a chance.
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Thanks @Hunter-Habib, I talked with a pretty famous elephant hunter in Botswana and they constantly over last 20 years had several in camp and were used with great success. I have devised that there is a great deal of polarity of people that love them and people that know they have a bad "rep". I have decided it is worth the money to have a gunsmith go over the rifle and if it's tight and shoots well, I don't really care whose name is on it.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Get a Heym

 

[Red Leg]

A Searcy is essentially a German boxlock assembled by an American craftsman. From a fit and finish perspective, the base rifles are equal to or slightly better than the base rifles from Heym and clearly better than a Merkle. As far as the quality of the rifle itself, it seems to have varied from rifle to rifle. That is true of any custom operation where quality control consists of only the builder. I would without question have JJ look it over and simply figure that into the cost of the rifle. If it still is a value at that point, follow JJ's advice. If the seller will not agree to the rifle being inspected, I certainly would take that into my consideration.

 

[Safariswestcam]

A Searcy is essentially a German boxlock assembled by an American craftsman. From a fit and finish perspective, the base rifles are equal to or slightly better than the base rifles from Heym and clearly better than a Merkle. As far as the quality of the rifle itself, it seems to have varied from rifle to rifle. That is true of any custom operation where quality control consists of only the builder. I would without question have JJ look it over and simply figure that into the cost of the rifle. If it still is a value at that point, follow JJ's advice. If the seller will not agree to the rifle being inspected, I certainly would take that into my consideration.

Thanks @Red Leg, the seller is completely open to it being inspected and will offer plenty of time for JJ to thoroughly examine prior to finalizing the purchase.