I want to thank everybody for their help.I am looking into Searcy's rifles. I owned a merkel 416 Rigby and it shot well enough but became hard to open and it was not a timing issue.I believe it was seizing up on me,and I got rid of it.To my understanding they dont offer their double in 416 Rigby any longer.
Im looking for a gun that is funcionally tough,but with good handling qualities as well as good fit and finish.I understand Chapuis,Heym and Kreighoff make good doubles.I wonder what their nicer guns cost,and how they stack up compared to Searcy's.
Somebody please correct me if Im wrong, but doesnt the Merkel rifle look like the frame is identical to the one they build their 28 guage on?Of course the above mentioned doubles also have relatively slim frames.However I dont believe Searcy's frames are slim,once you get beyond his 375 flanged they get quite bulky.Not that that is bad, the old rifles I have seen seem to have a frame proportionate to their caliber and still handle very well.
With all of the advances in metal quality and machining tolerances,does frame size really matter as far as strength is concerned.