I made it up to Ellis Brown's annual Elephant Hunt event in Northern Colorado last weekend. I had such a good time, I still don't feel entirely recovered yet today. Shot a number of doubles and one bolt gun, ate some wonderful foods, had some truly spectacular conversations, and after the range had been closed, had a few drinks.

First gun was an Isaac Hollis double in 500-465. This was my first ever "heavy". Recoil was notable, but not insurmountable.

Next was a hammer Tolley BPE double in 450-400. This gun was a pleasure to shoot. More push or shove than "kick". Neat old gun.

After that was my 1st bolt gun, a big Mauser action in .416 Rigby (the "real" .416). This one was a little punishing. After 3 rounds I was happy to relinquish it.

Finished-out with a 9x57 Sauer double. Lovely petite gun, moderate recoil. Pleasant to shoot.

If I had gotten started earlier in the day, I would have likely tried a few more but since this was my 1st time at this event I ended up talking much more than shooting. The drink really crept up on me this time, to the point that I had to park my car and arrange a ride home (lack of practice these days, I fear). In the past, all the food would have saved me, but not this time. Getting old really sucks.

But...good fun and good company! The weather has been fall-like here for the last few days and this event really got me in the autumnal frame of mind. Walking every morning now and back to floor exercises again. Got to get-over from the effects of this recent "desk job" of mine.

In your observation of the shooters and your own shooting, what double rife shot the best groups and what size were the groups and at what distance?

Did any of the double rifles have sights ( scopes and other optical/laser devices) other than the open sights original to the rifle?

I could use some "fall like" weather here in South Carolina

Kindest Regards;
Stephen Howell

I LOVE Ellis's 22 LR double rifle

I have and shoot n IZH-94 Express 30-06 with K-3 Weaver scope,
tis a klunker but works

Mike

I only had someone observing for the first one (the Hollis) and I hit the 8-inch bull but didn't form a group (one went left). By the time I shot the rest, the targets were pretty beaten up. I was hitting however, because you could see the dust raised behind the target-stand in the earthen backstop. None of the doubles I shot had sights other than the traditional post and rear notch. The bolt gun .416 had a 2 1/2X Leupold on it. There was so-much to take in, I frankly didn't notice how the other guns or shooters were performing. If I had to guess, I'd think the paper-patched rounds in the Tolley seemed to be humming right in there.

Mike, I saw those .22 barrels for the Sauer but didn't get to shoot them.

Out of curiosity, do you know what bullet and powder charge he was running in the 450/400?

Kip: Couldn't say, sorry.

I did come home with a loaded .450 No. 2 round in my pocket as a souvenir somehow. The headstamp says "Jamison". It's a big rascal.

As in most hunting situations, your mind will not be on recoil when you're in the heat of the moment shooting dangerous game. That said, back when I used to go on safaris, I was reloading for my .470NE, something I think most double rifle users tend to do. As you know, you sight in a double rifle by adjusting the speed of your bullets, and handloading is the key to that. I know I found that I used a slightly different bullet recipe for softs and solids. Found it interesting that they shot a bit differently when using everything the same except the bullets. When sighting in such a gun, you'll definitely be more conscious of recoil than when hunting. I used a gun rest that helped with that along with a chronograph, and once you shoot enough, you'll soon be over the recoil issue, especially considering these guns do have more of a push than a sharp kick like some calibers.

I shot a 9X57 Darne R model, in the basement rifle range of the factory, in St. Etienne, and felt the same way about the recoil at that time. Seemed like it would be an easy cartridge for whatever you were going to do in North America, not that there is a shortage of calibers here to do that with.

I don’t use the rifles I have.

Best,
Ted

In February of 2019 I got a call. Would I like to shoot the custom rifle a gunsmith friend of mine had been building on a Mauser 98 action for a client? The gun was chambered in the now rare Winchester 50-110 and would be on its way to South Africa later in the year. My answer was “Absolutely!” but because of the snowstorm outside I asked when he thought we might have the opportunity. “It’s now or never.” was his answer. I was going to think twice about the invitation but too late. I was already putting my coat on.

The client was there to pick up the rifle and had some hand loads for the gun. They were 625 grain solids. Because of a past neck injury I have to be careful about recoil or the fingers on my trigger hand will go numb so I’d brought my “Past” pad with me which we backed up with some leather scraps from the shop. Settling the gun onto a firm rest I lined up on a steel coyote 70 yards out. The recoil was not bad (I’ve experienced worse) and actually just a short solid push. I just re-watched the video a couple of times and I can hear the ring of the steel even over the wind.

The gun was intended for use in hippo culls but I have no doubt it would do just fine against any of the Big 5.

Photos from the 2003 Vintager's. Dave shooting an 8 bore BPE Reilly Rifle, SN 25711 (1883)
https://jamesdjulia.com/item/1382-396/

Looks like he's getting rustled a bit.

re: recoil;

this is a story that i heard about 40 years ago....from a fellow who was in his mid 60's, and was telling of something he experienced when 12 or 14 years old....so the occasion referenced is some 90+ years ago.

said he grew up in a rural community outside waco, texas, where there was "an old man" who owned a substantial amount of acreage, with numerous tanks (ponds), pecan orchards, grain fields, etc. onsite. fellow allowed free use of his place to the local youths - as long as they conformed to his sensible rules....so they played, camped, fished, hunted squirrels, doves, etc. the "old man" had been to africa several times, and when he was feeling conversational, they would engage him in stories of his past life. he owned "an old", cased, double rifle, that was "very big, and very heavy".

the story, as told to me, was that on occasion they would convince the fellow to bring out the cased gun, and let the kids handle it....said he had a few cartridges for the gun "that looked like rotan cigars". they would then beg him to shoot the gun - but, he would always say that the ammunition was irreplaceable. so they asked him how it kicked....and the answer, as told to me;

if you're shooting at a paper plate, or a tin can, it kicks right smart....but when you've crawled on your stomach to get 75 feet from a lion, it feels like a daisy air rifle.

best regards,
tom

FWIW, some of you in the eastern time zone might like to know that the NMLRA has one or two or more double rifle matches per year at Freindship. They have charging lions and Buffalo, etc. It appears to be a real hoot, though I never shot it when I had my Lang percussion double. Both percussion and cartridge rifles are welcome.