Thanks for your input. I know that the .450/400 and the .500 are at different ends of the spectrum and I have always wanted a .50 caliber. I was always intrigued by the .505 Gibbs and had a .500 Jeffrey bolt gun being built for me, but just couldn't get past the rebated rim (had some issues with reliability of feed in a .284 Winchester and .425 Westley Richards). Stopped the .500 Jeff project and decided on a .500 Nitro double. Guess I will go with the .500 Nitro. Didn't need too much of a nudge. I looked at one the other day. Yes it was a Sabatti with extractors. Probably will get Butch Searcy to build me one. The Sabatti was nice and balanced relatively well, but I heard there were some issues with improper regulating practices (grinding off some of the rifling in the offending barrel). I saw no telltale signs of that as both barrels seemed properly crowned and all of the rifling was sharply cut. The wood to metal fit was as good as most Merkels and Krieghofs I have encountered. I have no idea about their lock system, but I understand that they do not use coil springs so I would appreciate that. I am not convinced that ejectors make that much noise, but they most definitely create that metallic ping that may give your position away in the thick jess, but I don't know if I could be fast enough with just extractors. These are the goofy things that go through my mind. You can see that I am a mere rookie with double guns, but I have made the commitment and I will live or die with the commitment. I am going to Africa with a double and from the input here, it sounds like it should be a .500. I am pleased with that. Thanks again for your input. I would probably take the .450/400 Nitro Ruger Number 1 as my second rifle. I love my Rigby, but the Number One is so sleek and with modern powder, I am pushing that rifle to factory Rigby levels anyway. With a single loader I don't have to worry about factory regulated barrels. I think I am driving the 400 grain at about 2300+ fps.

Nyati50 (Michael)