I ordered a double rifle set from Krieghoff in 1970, while a student at the University in Freiburg. When it was delivered in 1971, I was surprised to find that the barrels were separated, much like the BRNO. The other two barrel sets, .458 WM and 20 gauge 3" Magnum, were completely conventional.

Since I had booked an African hunt that fall, it was too late to do anything about it, so I took it the way it was. Over the course of that five week hunt I gradually resigned myself to it, and have kept it that way ever since. I used it to take a lion, a leopard, a greater and lesser kudu and two eland. I suppose I have gotten used to the idea by now.

Krieghoff went to an arrangement where the top barrel was heavier than the bottom one, then gave up the idea of separated barrels altogether. My 9.3X74R sidelock double rifle has conventional soldered barrels.

At the same time they had a combination gun arrangement with the rifle barrel independently interchangeable. By loosening a screw on the monoblock the rifle barrel could be withdrawn and another of another caliber substituted. I took one to Africa, with interchangeable barrels in .30-'06 and .222 Remington and it worked as advertised.