Mr Rahman, thank you once again for the excellent article.
I simply do not understand how a decent double barrel shotgun can be made for a few hundred dollars but a double barrel rifle is so incredibly expensive. Of course I am not an engineer or gun maker, but can someone far wiser than me please explain this? I don't specifically need one for any real purpose for myself, but it would be a fun thing to own in 30-06 or something similar for stalking through the woods. I recently had 4 deer come across a dirt road in front of me at under 50 yards. I took the second one (a doe) with my bolt rifle, but the final one was a buck and he paused briefly, but just long enough that I have to wonder if i could have gotten him if I didn't need to lose my sight picture completely and cycle the bolt.
Bolt action rifles have simply cornered the vast majority of the hunting rifle market based on their reputation for pinpoint accuracy. While incredible accuracy is always a benefit in hunting, especially in places like the western US where shots over 200 yards can be common, a semi-auto, lever or pump action rifle will generally be faster on follow up shots than a bolt and in many ways perhaps more practical in the southeastern US where I hunt. A great many people still hunt with 30-30 Marlins and Winchesters (and a few 35 Remingtons) in lever action and they are proven deer slayers, despite the inherent limitations of the cartridge and the tube style magazine.
A hunting mentor and great friend of mine who is in his 70s has hunted Georgia, Main, Vermont and Virginia his whole life and taken every one of his countless deer with an old Remington semi-auto Model 8 in 35 Remington with open sights. He likes to remind me just how seldom an eastern US hunter will get an opportunity on a deer at over 100 yards, much less 200. Granted, he is an incredible shooter with great eyesight and skill. I do also understand that semi-auto rifles are illegal in many places AND that there is a widely accepted notion that semi-auto rifles are less accurate due to their needing to cycle. So lets take away doubles as too expensive for most of us and semi-autos as less accurate and not legal in many places (especially Africa.) What about pumps and levers?
I am surprised that there aren't more rifles like the Browning BLR (lever), Henry Long Ranger (lever) or Remington 7600 (pump action) offered with better triggers and in more calibers. Both action types can be equipped with box magazines and as I understand it, the rack and pinion action of a Browning BLR should theoretically be as strong as a bolt gun. And if a pump action shotgun can handle a magnum 3.5" turkey load, I would think that a pump rifle could handle a variety of good close action brush/woods cartridges.
Mr Rahman or Major Khan, do either of you gentlemen have much experience with pump action rifles or shotguns for terrestrial game? I would think that in theory a Remington 7600 firing a hard hitting cartridge like a 35 Whelan (with a 250 grain expanding bullet at 2,500 fps) would be an excellent gun for thick brush. This combination is available, but pretty rare I believe. Fast enough for a leopard? Frankly from stories I have heard there is no such thing as "fast enough" for that, but a pump or lever is certainly faster than a bolt gun and in a situation with dangerous game around (even if its not the primary quarry) and no need to shoot father than 200 yards, wouldn't this be better than a bolt gun in the same caliber?
The biggest problem I tend to hear with these particular models such as the 7600 and BLR is that while some hunters have found tremendous success with them, others have wound up with lemons that they can't get to group well, have heavy triggers, etc. Again, I am not an engineer but is this due to poor quality control on these particular models or some inherent problem with the design?
