{"id":856,"date":"2023-03-04T06:14:11","date_gmt":"2023-03-04T06:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=856"},"modified":"2023-03-04T06:14:11","modified_gmt":"2023-03-04T06:14:11","slug":"collectible-firearms-for-serious-gun-collectors-60","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=856","title":{"rendered":"Collectible Firearms for Serious Gun Collectors"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Since the 1800s, explorers and dangerous game hunters navigating the African bush have trusted their lives to the double rifle. When facing down a charging beast, especially one of Africa’s “Big Five,” speed, reliability, accuracy, and lethal stopping power is essential, and the classic double rifle<\/a> delivers on every front.<\/p>\n

The precision craftsmanship and timeless aesthetic of the double rifle evokes the legends and lore of the African safari and the courage of the big game hunter like no other sporting arm. Giants like Teddy Roosevelt<\/a>, Ernest Hemingway, and Jim Corbett helped immortalize the iconic gun, and today the double rifle remains a treasured possession for collectors<\/a>, sportsmen<\/a>, and any firearms enthusiast seeking to connect with the golden age of outdoor adventure.<\/p>\n

The double rifle plays a prominent role in popular films like ‘Ghost in the Darkness’ and ‘Out of Africa,’ and has made an impression with TV audiences recently in Taylor Sherian’s 1923<\/a> series, a Yellowstone<\/a> prequel.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is a Double Rifle?<\/h3>\n

A double rifle is a class of hunting firearm<\/a> with two barrels, typically side-by-side. Having a second shot at the ready serves as a quick backup in the event the first shot misses the quarry or fails to stop the animal outright. Generally, double rifle designs can be sorted into hammer, boxlock, and sidelock action, with a few exceptions available like the Westley Richards drop lock action. Double rifle models can be found with either separate triggers (double triggers) or a single selective trigger<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most double rifles are designed to fire powerful cartridges<\/a> like .375 H&H Magnum, .470 Nitro Express, .500 Nitro Express, and even larger. The meticulous process of regulating both barrels has always required a skilled hand and no shortage of labor, a costly expense that continues to be reflected in the premium price point<\/a> set by these elegant long guns. Historically, double rifles have been crafted by the finest British manufacturers such as Westley Richards, John Rigby & Co., and perhaps most famously, Holland & Holland.<\/p>\n

Birth of the Double Rifle<\/h3>\n

The concept of a long gun with two or more barrels<\/a> has existed for centuries, often commissioned as novelty hunting arms for the wealthy elite. The earliest double rifles were muzzleloaders<\/a> that employed two external mechanisms to cock the weapon, making firing and reloading a cumbersome affair.<\/p>\n

The availability of complex gun designs<\/a> was bound by the limitations of hand craftsmanship until pioneers like John H. Hall and Simeon North<\/a> demonstrated how standardized, machined parts could greatly accelerate production. British gunsmiths quickly embraced the process, particularly sporting arms manufacturers, just as the cape shores of Africa and its abundance of wildlife started to capture the public\u2019s imagination.<\/p>\n

Dangerous game hunting in India<\/a> had driven the development of specialized sporting arms since the 17th century, and the British colonization of Africa in the mid-1800s helped further accelerate innovations in the double rifle. In the era of black powder arms<\/a>, hunting bigger game required bigger guns<\/a>, and the double rifle quickly found favor with the flood of explorers, hunters, soldiers, and royalty who sought adventure and riches in this vast new country.<\/p>\n

Africa\u2019s “Big Five,”<\/a> the lion, leopard, cape buffalo, rhino, and elephant, were some of the most commonly encountered quarry, as well as the most dangerous, and the ability to fire two shots in quick succession was often a matter of survival.<\/p>\n

A series of innovations in the 1860s and 1870s brought the double rifle closer to the superb dangerous game hunting arm we know today. These advancements included the development of the break open, breech loading action, the invention of the hammerless boxlock and sidelock actions, the adoption of centerfire cartridge technology, and the inclusion of extractors. The most popular double rifle cartridges of the late 19th century were offered in the same caliber as their muzzleloading predecessors, including the .450, .500, and .577 Black Powder Express.<\/p>\n

The Golden Age of the Double Rifle<\/h3>\n

Another breakthrough came for the double rifle in 1898 with the introduction of John Rigby & Company\u2019s smokeless powder cartridge, the .450 Nitro Express 3 1\/2 inch. The cartridge was powerful, dependable, and had a comparatively manageable recoil, going on to set the stage for Holland\u2019s .500\/450 Nitro Express and numerous variants of the .470 Nitro Express in the years to follow.<\/p>\n

Prolific hunter Theodore Roosevelt owned many guns<\/a>, but the Holland & Holland Royal double rifle chambered in .500\/450<\/a>, nicknamed<\/a> the ‘Big Stick,’ was one of the president\u2019s favorites.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt last, I was able to get a day off and try the double-barreled 450,\u201d Roosevelt wrote in January 1909. \u201cIt is a perfect beauty. The workmanship is like that of a watch. Of course, our (American) rifles look coarse and cheap and clumsy beside it. I can not say how delighted I am with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor heavy game like rhinoceroses and buffaloes, I found that for me personally, the heavy Holland was unquestionably the proper weapon,” Roosevelt wrote after his 11-month safari in Africa, where his double rifle brought down 13 rhinos and eight elephants.<\/a><\/p>\n

Roosevelt’s expedition<\/a> was one of many great hunting campaigns undertaken by European and American parties in the early 20th century. This period was not just a renaissance for dangerous game hunting, but a golden age of adventure as well, where celebrity sportsmen like Denys Finch Hatton, Jim Sutherland, John Alexander Hunter, <\/strong>Deaf Banks, and \u201cKaramojo\u201d Bell forged their legends in Africa. It was an era defined by glory and danger, Strathcona boots and slouch hats, vast herds and wild landscapes, and some of the finest firearms<\/a> ever produced.<\/p>\n

Double Rifle Ammunition<\/h3>\n

The most common double rifle ammunition is large by nature, ranging from .375 Holland & Holland to the mighty 4 bore. Smaller calibers like the 8×57 JRS offer more manageable recoil and greater versatility, but at the expense of the heavy stopping power<\/a> needed to reliably down Africa\u2019s biggest game.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the dawn of the smokeless double rifle cartridge, the .450\/400 Nitro Express came to fill the niche of the all-around hunting caliber. On the .400 Jeffrey version of this cartridge, English hunter Major Percy Powell-Cotton<\/a> noted, \u201cThe Jeffery .400 ejector express rifle I first carried in my Abyssinian expedition is my favorite weapon for dangerous game. With all nickel-covered bullets it is excellent for head or heart shots at elephant. With the lead just showing at the nose they do good work on rhino and buffalo; whilst with half the lead exposed I do not think you can get a better weapon for lion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, introduced in 1912, went on to largely fill the role of a multipurpose game cartridge and quickly earned popularity with hunters around the world. The success of the .375 Holland & Holland has resulted in numerous variations, and today the caliber is viewed as the minimum recommended cartridge for African dangerous game<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, introduced in 1912, went on to largely fill the role of a multipurpose game cartridge and quickly earned popularity with hunters around the world. The success of the .375 Holland & Holland has resulted in numerous variations, and today the caliber is viewed as the minimum recommended cartridge for African dangerous game<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the early 1900s, insurgencies in India and the Sudan compelled the British government to ban a number of rifle calibers. This included the popular .500\/450 Nitro Express. This restriction prompted British arms makers<\/a> to develop an array of new game cartridges, many of which remain popular today.<\/p>\n

The calibers born in this era include the .500\/465 Nitro Express .475 Nitro Express, and .476 Westley Richards, all of which share similar velocity, muzzle energy, recoil, and a high success rate against dangerous game. Joseph Lang’s answer to the British ban, the .470 Nitro Express, will be especially familiar to the modern sportsman<\/a> and has become the most readily available big game round for today’s double rifles.<\/p>\n

The .500 Nitro Express has experienced a resurgence of sorts, offering a heavy dose of dangerous game stopping power that can still be managed by a professional hunter. Anything beyond .50 caliber is more than worthy of even the mightiest of Africa’s “Big Five.”<\/p>\n

Captain James H. Sutherland, for example, used a .577 Nitro Express to take more than 1,300 elephants throughout his career. Another famed British hunter, Frederick Courteney Selous, spent his early years hunting elephants with a black powder 4 bore rifle<\/a> and claimed his shoulder never fully recovered. Recoil and weight aside, when it comes to raw knockdown power, these monster calibers are in a league of their own.<\/p>\n

Rock Island Auction Company fires a .700 Nitro Express double rifle, a 4 bore double rifle, and the .950 JDJ Fat Mac.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Over\/Under Double Rifle<\/h3>\n

Though the popular image of a hammerless double rifle includes two side-by-side barrels, a number of over\/under models are also available. Like the advantages offered by the superposed shotgun<\/a> over their double barreled siblings, the over\/under double rifle provides several notable benefits.<\/p>\n

Perhaps most obviously, the stacked barrels of an over\/under<\/a> double rifle eliminates some of the horizontal sight obstruction found in their side-by-side counterparts. And unlike the horizontal force recoil experienced with side-by-side double rifles that can disrupt balance from either side, the vertical orientation of the barrels in an over\/under double rifle produces an up-and-backward recoil that\u2019s less jolting to the average shooter.<\/p>\n

In the side-by-side double rifle\u2019s favor, the twin adjacent barrels provide a sense of balance when shooting and tend to lie more naturally in the palm of the shooter\u2019s lead hand. The side-by-side also offers a faster reload as it doesn\u2019t need to swing open as far to expose both chambers. Finally, the over\/under double rifles on the modern market tend to be chambered in smaller calibers, where side-by-sides are offered in any cartridge a hunter can imagine.<\/p>\n

The Double Rifle Today<\/h3>\n

In the early 20th century, the double rifle faced competition from more affordable bolt-action rifles chambered in cartridges like .375 Magnum and .416 Rigby. Over a century of aggressive hunting had depleted South Africa\u2019s big game herds, further diminishing demand for specialized sporting arms like the double rifle, though conservation efforts throughout the 1970s<\/a> have led to a steady resurgence in both Africa\u2019s hunting industry and renewed interest in the legendary long gun.<\/p>\n

All of the renowned British gunmakers continue to offer modern incarnations of the iconic double rifle. Though the tried-and-true design has stood largely unchanged for more than a century, today\u2019s double rifles combine hand-fitted craftsmanship with 21st century materials and construction methods to achieve a graceful balance between traditional and contemporary sensibilities.<\/p>\n

While the double rifle is an inseparable part of British history and heritage, its resurgence has been largely led by the American hunter<\/a>, and demand for new and classic double rifles has once again been outpacing supply. Though the initial investment can be steep, a well-cared-for double rifle offers its owner a lifetime of memories wherever the hunt may take them.<\/p>\n

Buying and Selling a Double Rifle<\/h3>\n

When looking for a double rifle for sale, it pays to find the best of the best. Rock Island Auction offers a fine range of double rifles from every era, in every style and price point available. To collectors, shooters, arms enthusiasts, and sportsmen who appreciate the history of dangerous game hunting, the double rifle is a fine addition to any collection.<\/p>\n

Robert Ruark, one of the 20th century\u2019s great writers and sportsmen, perhaps best summed up the call to adventure carried by classic hunting arms<\/a> like the double rifle. \u201cThere is a simple love of the outdoors and of creatures, as against a hatred for the contrived living of cities, for the claustrophobic connivances of civilization, that drives a man to the vastness of Africa to fulfill some need of basic simplicity in himself.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to the Rock Island Auction newsletter<\/a> for more gun blogs<\/a> and gun videos<\/a> on classic sporting arms of every era,<\/a> including popular brands like Holland & Holland<\/a>, Winchester<\/a>, Parker Brothers<\/a>, Griffin & Howe<\/a>, and more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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There are few guns in the world that inspire awe in the way that an absolutely massive 4 bore rifle does. Coming this May is an exceptional, massive Peter Spode signed, gold inlaid, and dangerous game scene engraved Watson Brothers 4 bore double rifle with case. pic.twitter.com\/djCxRYFeaD<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rock Island Auction (@RIAuction) February 18, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n