As we discussed last week, the double rifle has a lot of really good features, though mostly in its hunting-as-combat niche. Since nothing is perfect and everything has tradeoffs, let’s look at some of the issues (and perceived issues) that may make the double rifle less than ideal.
Capacity: This is probably the most obvious, there are only two rounds in the gun. Back in the day, that was a 100% improvement over many earlier guns, but today, most of us are used to a magazine full of ammo. Anywhere from 3 to 20 rounds is now common in a hunting rifle, though many localities limit you under certain circumstances. Safe to say that 5 in the gun is very common. Either way, when I shoot at something, I am used to seeing it drop from the first shot, so follow-up shots are usually academic. When a large, heavy, fast, angry animal is charging you, I don’t think anyone would object to more ammo on board. However, if that animal thinks it can reach you, you probably don’t have time to fire a whole bunch of rounds, so making your first one (or maybe 2) count, is probably all you can hope for.
Reloading: If you do run out of ammo and need to reload, you had better practice accessing your spare ammo under stress. Even if you don’t run out, you will want to top off before advancing on an animal you have shot. No question, regardless of practice, it is harder to draw two individual cartridges and put them in two individual chambers, than it is to draw a spare magazine and insert that into a magwell. Having said that, many hunting rifles do not have magazines that are designed for speedy replacement, as they are not set up like AR’s or pistols. Practice either way is still needed.
Weight: Double rifles are fairly heavy. They need to be when shooting heavy recoiling cartridges, but the weight alone will mean that some people will not be able to carry or handle them effectively. Of course, when looking at something like a .470NE or bigger, the recoil alone will remove them from consideration for many people. I don’t know if we can really list this as a drawback, as the basic function of the gun is to provide a lot of power. If your .308 would do the job, we wouldn’t need to worry about having a heavy at all.
Regulation: If you are not familiar with this concept, double rifle barrels need to be regulated. They are not parallel, as you might assume, but rather they are pointed toward each other slightly so that they converge at a certain distance. This is because of how recoil affects the point of impact. That regulation, which is so important to hitting what you are aiming at, is usually only good for one specific bullet and powder charge. If you are traveling and your ammo doesn’t make it to your destination with you, or something else happens to your supply, it may be impossible to acquire more usable ammo until you get home. This can be a pretty serious drawback when the intended use location is Africa, and you don’t live in Africa. Yet they seem to have been pretty popular over there.
Ammo options: Another part of the regulation issue is that if you decide to change loads on a more permanent basis, you will likely need to have the gun regulated again. This involves an expensive trip to the factory or to one of the very few gunsmiths around today who knows how to properly regulate a gun. Regulating a double rifle is one of the reasons they are so expensive. It can be a laborious and time-consuming process. I won’t dwell on it much more here, but if it interests you, there are some good videos out there.
Accuracy: As mentioned above, double rifles need to be regulated in order to hit the target. This usually means trying to get a group of 2″ or less at 50 yards or so. Really accurate doubles might do 2″ at 100 yards. Less accurate ones may be up to 6-8″ at 100 yards. For large game at much closer ranges, this doesn’t matter much. It does limit your double to large game at close ranges though. The express sights usually found on doubles are also inherently limiting for most people. Some doubles have peep sights as an option, and modern doubles are often scoped these days, but even with a scope, most doubles will not approach the practical accuracy of a good bolt gun. There are ways to close the gap using traditional double rifles and scopes. The Blaser S2 was a unique rifle that was under-appreciated by the market, and was very capable of shooting with the bolt guns, though generally, about 100 yards is the maximum distance for normal double use.
Doubling: When facing a life-threatening charge, it is possible to double your rifle. That is, either pulling both triggers at once (hard to do unless the gun is defective) or more usually, pulling through the front trigger and then through the rear trigger, in one long motion. This is sometimes called strumming the triggers. I don’t know how prevalent that is, but I have heard people admit to it. I have had a defective double-barrel shotgun double on me when its single trigger became defective. It was a jarring experience. Had the recoil been at a .450 level, I’m sure it would have been much worse. Not to mention the effect it might have on your ability to stop a charge.
This concludes our current look at the double rifle. You can decide for yourself if these issues are drawbacks or not, and please let me know if I have ignored any advantages or disadvantages.