There is something about a break action double that another type of gun just doesn't have. I have no idea how many times I have stood at a skeet station with my shotgun broken open and hanging over my shoulder, waiting for my turn, but it's a fairly astronomical number. The same holds true about the number of times I have crossed a fence with my double gun broken open. Somehow, other types of guns are just clumsy and unwieldy. I suppose that is why I could never warm up to the Darne action shotgun.

For me, the "African carry" with my double rifle was always the same as with my shotgun, broken open and over my shoulder, with rounds in the chamber. Granted, I have never hunted in deep brush, where trash or twigs were likely to find their way into the action, but that carry served me well each time I used it.

Then there is the question of reloading. A double gun broken open for reloading fairly invites the cartridges into the chamber. The barrels are close to vertical, the chambers gaping open, and the rounds merely need to be dropped in. With a falling block action, the barrels are horizontal and the rounds have to be guided into the chambers.

The falling block double makes sense the same way the bolt action double makes sense, but neither is my cup of tea.