MauserRifle,

There is a parameter here that has only been hinted so far. Double rifles, as other fine double guns, are the canvas for some of the most skilled artwork known.

When I mentioned the Merkel Mod. 140-2 I told you to forego the engraving. The engraving on the 140-2.1 is no better than the Sunday cartoons. Proper engraving cannot be had for $1,000. It will cost ten to fifty times that much.

Thus, a Holland & Holland can vary in cost from somewhere around $90k to $200k. The difference is the art. Essentially the functions, features, fit and finish are equivalent. The engraver charged the difference.

So what you are asking is essentially impossible. You have asked this forum to rank double rifles as though they are standard commodities. They are not, once you go beyond entry level. Sure, we can rank the entry level rifles, and you can find many debates on that topic which have already been posted to the forum. Merkel, Chapuis, Heym, Blaser, Krieghoff, Searcy. These entry level rifles have charged some of the more heated discussions in the past.

There is also a difference between a "vintage" rifle and a "modern" rifle. I may not be articulate enough to put to words what exactly that difference is, but if you hold it in your hand, you can feel it tingle your spine. Frankly, a new H&H Royal doesn't make your spine tingle like one made before WWI. Here's a pic of a Purdey hammerless DR made for .450/400 3.25" BPE:

Purdey .450/400 BPE

Just look at the fit and finish. Look at the precise detail how the action was filed and beaded. Look at the fine English scroll engraving. Look at the lines of the stock, and how those lines blend to the metal. That rifle is a masterpiece. I know nothing about that rifle but what is represented on this web page, but I can guarantee you that if you shoulder that rifle you will feel the tingle in your spine. No, it's not a big belching elephant gun, but think of what that old 19th century Purdey can do in the deer woods!

I'm sorry, man, but what you want can't be done. Nobody on earth can rank art. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. At least I heard that somewhere. Rest assured that beauty will hit you in the pocketbook. But what would you pay for an irreplaceable masterpiece? What will that masterpiece be worth in another generation?

They will never make another rifle like that 100 year old Purdey or its ilk. Bank on it.

Regards,
Curl