Mickey I agree with both you and Rusty! You are both right, simply because you are both saying the same thing in different ways.

The old doubles bought in the late seventies, or eighties, have more than quadrupled in value on the open market. The reason is there was no value in a rifle one couldn't shoot. Componants were almost nonexistant in the seventies. even the well worn old doubles begain to sell like gold when the means to shoot them came available. The top notch rifles in the 70s sold well to collectors, and increased far better then the field grade that was a little worse for the wear. Once the decent field grades were snapped up by those of us who wanted to hunt with them, the raggs still sold well to the nieve. Now, the market is driven by new people who want doubles to hunt with, and the new ones on the market today, are far and away better rifles than the ragged out old rust bukets, that can be bought for a song today. The top of the line old doubles are only bought by a select few folks who have more money than judgment. There are few who can afford to pay $100,000 for a Royal, and still afford to hunt Africa, so most who buy these are collectors. Since the quality field grade supply is drying up, people who hunt, are turning to the new ones, which in many cases shoot better than the old ones anyway.

I say, in view of the current sittuation, when I look at a table full of double rifles, the older ones are, for the most part, barely workable, at best. This fact makes the new rifles look like the bargains they are. The thing that caused the doubles to be cheap, and give them room to increase in value in the 70s, has long passed, and the rate of increase is slowing, on all but the top of the line. IMO, you will never see the increases realized in the 70s, and 80s on double rifles again. It has just about peaked.

I say buy yourself a double rifle that shoots to regulation, and will serve you well in the field, whether new, or old, and spend the extra money on a Cape Buffalo safari, and invest your extra money in something else for an investment.

You know what they say about opinions, everybody has one..............................