Good morning all. It is 5am here in Alaska, snow is around the corner, and I'm off to take the labs for a walk for an hour.
But first, I'd like to post information on the
vintage articles for nitro express rifles--14 on them. Two are the absolute bibles of double rifles shooting and have been for decades until Graeme Wright's book was published--"Shooting the British Double Rifle"--now in its third edition. (If you shoot double, get this book. It is a masterpiece). Anyway, hack
Lott's "the Double Rifle--Is Care and Feeding is alone just what you need. Everything is here on all aspects of double rifles shooting for the nitro express calibers--as is "Smokeless Loads for Double Rifles." This articles has good (but limited for the time) information and reloading data. Another thing I like about this articles is my Hughes 4-bore is pictured on page 204 and 210. "Big Bullets are Best" is a follow up on elmer Keith's stories on the advantages of heavier bullets and a moderate velocity. I remember James Watts telling me that after he developed his .450 Watts that Roy Weatherby told him, "It is velocity that kills. Nothing but velocity."
"A Double For Danger" and two articles a decade apart both titled
"Double Barrel Rifles" a filled with good general and historical information about rifles with the twin tubes.
"Building a Double Rifle" is a good story on the construction of a double--the complexities are far more than a single barrel weapon. Maloclm Lyell of Holland and Holland wrote the excellent
"The Double Rifle" and is a great piece from the director of the world's finest maker. Jack O'Connor (Mr. .270) has his say in his
"Double Rifles". Actually a very good piece even though doubles were not jack's forte'.
"Don't Label Doubles" is a good articles stating that double are not limited in their use. Many can be used for longer shots with care, small to medium game, and woods as well as open country hunting.
"Loads for Double Rifles" and
"Loads for Dangerous Game" are good starting points for double rifle ballastics.
"The Rifle That Won Africa" details why doubles were so common there-- the instant second shot, two separate locks, and the larger size of the cartridge for such big game.
"Who's Afraid of Kick" is a cute story about a gal who is a big game hunter and seems to enjoy the recoil of big doubles.
