vintage articles on double rifles and African hunting: 1940s-1970s

   Thanks all for looking at my website and the articles on double rifles.

   Elmer Keith was the greatest of the gun writers of 1900s. O'connor, Askins, Page, and others wrote as much or more than Elmer but Keith was the champion of big bores, double rifles, and heavy bullets at moderate velocity.
   On my website,  CalPappas.com, I have reproduced 11 of Elmer's articles. No doubt, he got a lot of milage from each hunt and/or shooting experience and some of the same information can be found in many of his articles. First is the chapter on double rifles from his great book, "Big Game Rifles and Cartridges". I retyped it for the site and for a magazine article. It gives EK's opinion on double rifles and is timeless. "British Double and Single Rifles" covers basic info on the rifles of the title with some good info on the British doubles. "Rifles With Stopping Power" focuses on the big bores and their use on big game--African game, that is. "The Deadly Dependable Double" is a wonderful overview of the double rifle and what it was (and still is) made for--use against game that can hit back. "Put Your Double Rifle Into Action" is a good story on taking your double out of the safe or closet and getting it to shoot and doing with it what it was made for--shooting and hunting. "Keith On Big Bullets" is Elmer's info on big bullets over the smaller bullets and high velocity of the Weatherby Club and the advantages of the heavy bullet. "Rifles for Africa" and "The African Battery" cover the same topic--what type of rifles to bring for a full-bag hunt--on game of all sizes. "Elmer Keith's Favorite Guns" highlights many of his rifles including several of his doubles. "Rifles For Dangerous Game" covers Elmer's choices for the big ones. Lots of good double rifle information here. Last of all is his "Keith's Choice of Game Loads" for his opinion of calibers and rifles for game of various sizes.