The double rifle, also known as a double-barreled rifle, is a rifle with two barrels mounted parallel to each other that can be fired simultaneously or sequentially in quick succession. Synonymous with big game hunting found primarily in Africa and Asia, the double rifle is a sporting weapon with very little military heritage. [1]
The double rifle is usually handcrafted and is considered by many to be the pinnacle of sporting rifle design. It is not designed for long-range accuracy but instead for the security of an immediate second shot. [2] Double rifles are similar to double-barreled shotguns.
As with double-barrelled shotguns, modern double rifles are all made with either sidelock or boxlock actions, although occasionally old hammer rifles can be found. The majority of double rifles have been built on the boxlock actions as it is a simpler design with fewer moving parts that can fail and consequently, it has an outstanding reputation for reliability. [3] The sidelock action, with its lockwork operating behind the main action body, has exceptional inherent strength and as a result could be built on slimmer action sizes in proportion to the calibre, although it is far more labour-intensive to manufacture and so more expensive. [3]
Most double rifles manufactured today, especially those designed for dangerous game, are manufactured with selective ejectors which greatly speeds reloading. [4] However many old hunters preferred non-ejector rifles, feeling that with practice they could reload just as quickly, these rifles can still be found and usually attract a slightly lower price. [3]
Double rifles can come in two barrel configurations, over-and-under designs (usually abbreviated as O/U) where the two barrels are mounted vertically one on top of the other, or side-by-side (usually abbreviated as SxS) where the two barrels are mounted horizontally next to each other.
For dangerous game hunting, side-by-side rifles are usually preferred. This is for a number of reasons but predominantly because the barrels of an over-and-under gun must be pivoted much farther down to clear the lower barrel for reloading. [4]
During manufacture the barrels of double rifles require "regulation" to ensure the bullet paths from both barrels are aimed at a common point of aim. This can be done to ensure either the bullets 1) parallel each other closely at all practical ranges, or 2) converge at a given range, beyond which they begin to diverge. [5] Because of the need to regulate a rifle to a specific loading of its chambered cartridge, once regulated a double rifle cannot satisfactorily shoot bullets of different weights or velocities, as it usually affects the accuracy. [5] The process of regulating a double rifle’s barrels is complex and can be time-consuming, significantly adding to the cost of the rifle. [4]
Whilst many modern double rifles are fitted with telescopic sights, the need for fast target acquisition in the face of dangerous game led to the development of the "Express" iron sights. [4] Express sights feature a very wide and shallow rear V, usually with a white line marking the bottom of the V. The purpose of express sights is to allow for well-aimed shots over moderate ranges when there is time for careful sighting and to allow the rifle to be pointed like a shotgun to stop the charge of a dangerous animal at very short range when there is little time for aiming. [6]
Double rifles have been produced in all calibres from .220 in (5.6 mm) to .700 in (17.8 mm). Traditional British double rifle calibres include the Rook rifle, Black Powder Express and rimmed Nitro Express families of cartridges and many of these can still be obtained today. [7] European makers tend to chamber their double rifles in metric rimmed calibres developed by European firms, although British and American cartridges are offered. [4]
Variants known as Cape guns are similar designs, but one of the barrells on a Cape gun is a smoothbore for firing shotgun shells, while the other is a rifled barrell. This allows for hunting a wider variety of game with the same weapon. A long gun combining at least one rifled barrell and (usually) one smoothbore barrell is a Combination gun, and some rare examples have up to five different calibres in one firearm.
The development of the double rifle has always followed the development of the double-barrelled shotgun, the two are generally very similar but the stresses of firing a solid projectile are far greater than shot. The first double-barrelled muskets were created in the 1830s when deer stalking became popular in Scotland. Previously single barrelled weapons had been used but, recognising the need for a rapid second shot to dispatch a wounded animal, double-barrelled muskets were built along the same format as double-barrelled shotguns already in common use. [1]
These first double-barrelled weapons were black powder, smoothbore muzzleloaders built with either flintlock or percussion cap ignition systems. [3] Whilst true rifling dates from the mid-16th century, the invention of the express rifle by James Purdey "the Younger" in 1856 allowed for far greater muzzle velocities to be achieved through a rifled longarm, significantly improving the trajectory and as such greatly improving the range of these rifles. [1] These express rifles had two deep opposing grooves which were wide and deep enough to prevent the lead bullets from stripping the rifling if fired at high velocities, a significant problem previously. [1]
These muzzle-loading rifles came in a large variety of calibres, the most common calibres for medium thin-skinned plains and deer-sized game were .400 in (10.2 mm), .450 in (11.4 mm), .500 in (12.7 mm), .577 in (14.7 mm), and 12 bore (.729 in (18.5 mm)). For larger thick skinned type game 10 bore (.775 in (19.7 mm)), 8 bore (.835 in (21.2 mm)), 6 bore (.919 in (23.3 mm)), and 4 bore (1.05 in (27 mm)) were used, [8] the last being a specialist elephant hunting calibre. Whilst most of these calibres could be purchased with rifling, the 4 bore and the 6 bore were rarely rifled, as the increased friction from the rifling caused excessive recoil. [9]
Various experimental breech loaders had been in existence since the 16th century, however developments such as the Ferguson rifle in the 1770s and early pinfire cartridges in the 1830s had little impact on sporting rifles due to their experimental nature, expense and the extraordinary strength and reliability of the percussion muzzleloader. [1] In 1858, Westley Richards patented the break-open, top leaver breech-loading action, whilst a useful development these early break-open designs had a great deal of elasticity in the action and upon firing they sprung open slightly, a problem that gradually worsened with repeated firing and with more powerful cartridges. [7] Many gunmakers tried various methods to rectify this problem, all to little avail until Westley Richards invented the "Dolls head" lock in 1862 which greatly improved rigidity, this was followed by James Purdey's under-locking mechanism in 1863 and W.W. Greener's "Wedge fast" system in 1873, finally the basic break-open action known to this day had the strength required to meet the stresses of large-bore projectiles. By 1914, triple, quadruple and even quintuple-locking designs could be found in various proprietary actions. [7]
In 1861, the centrefire rifle cartridge was invented, [1] and quickly a large number of blackpowder centrefire cartridges were developed in the same calibres as their muzzle loading forebears, [3] including the .450/400 Black Powder Express, the extremely popular .450 Black Powder Express, the .500 Black Powder Express, and the .577 Black Powder Express, all with various case lengths. The first brass 10-bore, 8-bore and 4-bore cartridges were not developed until 1870, their arrival spelling the end of the muzzle-loading era. [7]
Until this time all double rifles had external hammers whose fall struck the mechanism that fired the cartridge, however, attempts to remove them were well underway. The first "hammerless" action of significance was invented by Thomas Murcott in 1871, known as "The Mousetrap", it was a complex design but it sold in significant numbers. [7] In 1875, Westley Richards employees William Anson and John Deeley patented the "Anson & Deeley" hammerless boxlock action, and in 1878 the Birmingham gunmakers W&C Scott & Son invented the basic sidelock action which was so successful it was immediately adopted by Holland & Holland. [1]
By 1900, the boxlock and sidelock hammerless actions had largely superseded the hammer rifles and, with the addition of ejectors and assisted opening, the basic design of the double rifle has changed little to this day. [7] Incidentally, it was Westley Richards who invented the first reliable safety catch for doubles, ejectors, the single selective trigger and the special extractors that enabled rimless cartridges to be used in double rifles, all features found in modern double rifles. [1]
In 1898, John Rigby & Company loaded the .450 Black Powder Express with smokeless cordite creating the .450 Nitro Express, the first Nitro Express cartridge, [8] this was to have a profound impact on sporting cartridge development and the double rifle was to become synonymous with the Nitro Express cartridges. [3] Now in its final form and chambering modern Nitro Express cartridges, the British double rifle entered its golden age at the turn of 20th century and it was to last for the next three decades, with the birth of the White hunter and professional hunting safari industry in East Africa. [2]
After the Second World War, a combination of increased labour costs and a shrinking British Empire saw an end to the demand for handcrafted sporting rifles and the double rifle was largely supplanted by the bolt action rifle. It was not until the 1980s and the emergence of the big game hunting industry in Southern Africa that production of double rifles resumed at a steady rate, driven largely by demand from American sportsmen. [2]
In Africa, hunting with the Nitro Express double rifle remains extremely popular, although unaffordable for the majority of hunters. [3]
In Europe, the double rifle remains reasonably popular in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, and Eastern Europe for hunting wild boar, bear, stag, and moose. [4]
The Martini–Henry is a breech-loading single-shot rifle with a lever action that was used by the British Army. It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider–Enfield, a muzzle-loader converted to the cartridge system. Martini–Henry variants were used throughout the British Empire for 47 years. It combined the dropping-block action first developed by Henry O. Peabody and improved by the Swiss designer Friedrich von Martini, combined with the polygonal rifling designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry.
Holland & Holland is a British gunmaker and clothing retailer based in London, England, which offers handmade sporting rifles and shotguns. The company holds two royal warrants.
The term express was first applied to hunting rifles and ammunition beginning in the mid-19th century, to indicate a rifle or ammunition capable of higher than typical velocities. The early express cartridges used a heavy charge of black powder to propel a lightweight, often hollow point bullet, at high velocities to maximize point blank range. Later the express cartridges were loaded with nitrocellulose-based gunpowder, leading to the Nitro Express cartridges, the first of which was the .450 Nitro Express.
The .416 Rigby is a rifle cartridge designed in 1911 by London based gunmaker John Rigby & Company, for hunting dangerous game. It is the first cartridge to use a bullet of .416 inch diameter. The rifles, as built by John Rigby & Co., were initially made up on the Magnum Mauser 98 action, although in later years, some were made on standard length actions, a perfect example being the rifle used by legendary professional hunter Harry Selby. Other famous users of the cartridge were Commander David Enderby Blunt, John Taylor, and Jack O'Connor.
The Nitro Express (NE) series of cartridges are used in large-bore hunting rifles, also known as elephant guns or express rifles, but later came to include smaller bore high velocity British cartridges.
The .600 Nitro Express is a large bore Nitro Express rifle cartridge developed by W.J. Jeffery & Co for the purpose of hunting large game such as elephant.
The .577 Nitro Express is a large-bore centerfire rifle cartridge designed for the purpose of hunting large game such as elephant. This cartridge is used almost exclusively in single-shot and double express rifles for hunting in the Tropics or hot climates in general and is a cartridge associated with the golden age of African safaris and Indian shikars.
James Purdey & Sons, or simply Purdey, is a British gunmaker based in London, England specialising in high-end bespoke sporting shotguns and rifles. Purdey holds three Royal Warrants of appointment as gun and rifle makers to the British and other European royal families.
Westley Richards is a British manufacturer of guns and rifles and also a well established gunsmith. The company was founded in 1812 by William Westley Richards, who was responsible for the early innovation of many rifles used in wars featuring the British Army during the 1800s. It remained in the hands of the Richards family until it was purchased by Walter Clode in 1957. Currently the company has two listed directors, Alexander Clode and Sheikh Sultan Bin Jassim Al Thani of Qatar. The company has received a number of royal warrants since 1840.
John Rigby & Company is a gunmaking firm founded by John Rigby in 1775 in Dublin. The company was established by the first John Rigby in Dublin, Ireland, apparently in 1775; his grandson, also John, opened a London branch in 1865; and Dublin operations had ceased by February 1897. The company is now owned by Lüke & Ortmeier Gruppe and is based in Vauxhall, central London, under the supervision of managing director, Marc Newton.
Armas Ugartechea is a Basque Spanish manufacturer of guns and rifles located in Eibar, is a privately held Spanish firearms manufacturing company. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of sporting and hunting purposes. It produces several models of double-barreled shotgun. It is devoted to the craft manufacturing of fine hunting shotguns and is the heir of a long craftsman tradition that has cleverly incorporated new technologies in the production of its guns, and, at the same time, keeping its traditional know how. It was the first Spanish company to start making under and over barrel guns. I. Ugartechea is well known for the quality of its work both at home and abroad. Is one of the few gunmakers to produce its own barrels, flawless at best. A present, Armas Ugartechea sells its guns worldwide. Among its customers are heads of state and monarchs from several countries, as well as top hunters and crack shots. The Ugartechea Family is still in charge of the company which is a basic principle, as they are the ones who know better how to optimize the manufacture of these firearms, which combine with craftsman work the best technology.
Four bore or 4 bore is a black powder caliber of the 19th century, used for the hunting of large and potentially dangerous game animals. The specifications place this caliber between the larger 2 bore and the smaller 6 bore rifles. This caliber was the quintessential elephant gun caliber of the black powder safari rifles. The caliber was also used for the Coffman cartridges used for starting large aero engines such as the Rolls-Royce Griffon as used in the later Marks of Supermarine Spitfire.
The 6 bore, also known as the 6 gauge, is an obsolete caliber that was used commonly in 19th-century black-powder firearms.
A multiple-barrel firearm is any type of firearm with more than one gun barrel, usually to increase the rate of fire or hit probability and to reduce barrel erosion or overheating.
The .400 Jeffery Nitro Express or .450/400 Nitro Express 3-inch is a medium bore, bottlenecked, Nitro Express cartridge designed by W.J. Jeffery & Co in 1902, intended for use in single shot and double rifles.
The .318 Westley Richards, also known as the .318 Rimless Nitro Express and the .318 Accelerated Express, is a proprietary medium bore centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Westley Richards.
W.J. Jeffery & Co was a London gun and rifle maker.
The .400/360 Nitro Express cartridges are a number of very similar, but not interchangeable, centerfire rifle cartridges developed by James Purdey & Sons, William Evans, Westley Richards and Fraser of Edinburgh, all at the beginning of the 20th century.
The ball and shot gun, often also known by the marketing name paradox gun, is a shotgun capable of firing both shot and solid projectiles. First built by Holland and Holland, the term paradox is a proprietary name applied to these guns by Holland and Holland.
The .375/303 Westley Richards Accelerated Express, also known as the .375/303 Axite, is an obsolete medium bore rifle cartridge.