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I'm sorry but I just don't get the "splinter forend" fetish. If the forend on either of my Chapuis was clubby I'd have an issue with them. But they are not that large. In fact, I have small hands and have a hard time keeping my fingers off of the barrels. The first couple of shots fingers on the barrels are no big deal and actually help with steadiness and recoil control. However, after the first R-L, if you fire off another R-L in short order, the barrels are too hot to hold. Not uncomfortable as in really warm, they are just plain too hot to hold. FWIW Pilgrim
It isn't a "fetish". The function of the fore-end wood on a double rifle is to house and protect the fore-end iron. It isn't a handle. The forward "handle" is the barrels. Splinters are traditional because they don't interfere with gripping the barrels properly, which beavertails can and often do. I'm familiar with the Chapuis. I spent Saturday working up for a 9.3 Chapuis with their standard beavertail (I have very large hands and find them clubby, although not as bad as most other BTs), as well as for a Boswell .450/.400 with a splinter. They both got too hot to hold after six shots, and cooled slowly in the 100 degree heat, even in the shade. That's why you use a leather glove on the forward hand. A beavertail can't protect your fingers from hot steel if you're holding the rifle properly.
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Re: What caliber for a 1st Double??