A different take: Are you buying a rifle or a myth?
Let us dispose with the disclaimer: I have owned two side by side doubles in "African" calibers: a pre WW II Belgian guild Jules Bury in 450#2 that I kept for several decades but that George Caswell at Champlin loved so much that I ended up selling it to him when ammo became too much of a problem, and a modern Krieghoff in .470 NE. As well as a couple over/under in "European" calibers 7x65R and 9.3x74R. So the following does not come from someone who dreams of buying a double but cannot do it and therefore trashes them. Matter of fact I sold my K gun .470 on this forum not so long ago.
As far as hunting goes, I hunted lion, elephant and buffalo with a double, so here again, without being an expert, I have been there and done it.
Here is the first hard truth: most clients who purchase and hunt with a double would be MUCH better served with a bolt action rifle:
- Doubles offer very limited flexibility in the field. 50 yards to maybe 75 yards is already a pretty long shot for most folks off hand and with iron sights.
- The cost of ammunition is prohibitive.
- The recoil of .45+ calibers is beyond many's comfort threshold.
- As a result of cost and recoil most folks do not practice enough to become even remotely proficient with their rifle, never mind reliable.
- Yes, the fabled instant second shot is there for charging animals, for the darn few and far between who are practiced enough to use it, but the reality is that darn few clients belong to that club, and most are better served with 4 rounds in a bolt action for follow up on a fleeting wounded animal.
Buying a double and
becoming proficient with it is a commitment. Few things scare a PH more than a first time client showing up with his brand new double. And rightfully so...
If the word "budget" is even part of the discussion, and if you have never been to Africa, Dublinpiper90, here is the second hard truth: spend the $12,000 going on a safari.
I too was part of the crowd, the very large crowd, of folks who had for years DG rifles in the safe but did not go to Africa because the budget could not allow BOTH rifles AND safari. This is not the best use of limited disposable income.
You mention owning a .458 Lott,
Dublinpiper90, there is nothing a .470 double will do that a reliable .458 Lott will not do. You have all you need. Reloading for it is simple and foolproof, and you can practice endlessly (I mean several hundred rounds per year!) with soft loads and light bullets until you are truly proficient with it.
The sad reality is that the days of Out Of Africa are gone, and you will never "own a farm in Africa". Bury happily the ghost of Denys Finch Hatton, and go on small PG safari with your deer rifle; on large PG safari with your elk rifle, and on DG safari with a .375 H&H unless you really know how to use your .458 Lott, and you will be much happier.
My own story is that I finally became honest with myself after a few years of owning a Blaser R8 and finally admitted that the R8 with its .458 Lott barrel fits me as well or better than any double ever did; that my second shot is about as fast with the R8 as it was with the K gun (I cycle the action while the rifle is in recoil); that a 1-6x24 scope is invaluable past 75 yards; and that the several thousands of .22 LR and .223 (not counting the .257 Wby, .300 Wby and .375 H&H) that I shoot every year with the R8 have made me infinitely more proficient with it than the few boxes of .470 per year I used to shoot ever made me with the K gun. I happily sold it, do not regret it, and put the money on a Leopard hunt.
I know that this is not the answer that most will provide, and some may scorn it, but old hands may also nod their head in agreement
