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Double Rifles, Single Shots & Combinations >> Double Rifles
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clark7781
.375 member


Reged: 28/10/04
Posts: 612
Loc: Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: new_guy]
      #32172 - 27/05/05 10:55 PM

In reply to:

My advice is to hook up with George Caswell,



The cost of an airline ticket to Enid, OK is well worth it considering the $$$$ you are going to plop down on a used double--especially if it is an English Double.

If looking at a new production gun, give Butch Searcy a call and fly out to meet him. One hell of a great guy to deal with.

--------------------
Clark

Double Rifle Shooters Society
.500 NE and .577 NE

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500grains
.416 member


Reged: 16/02/04
Posts: 4732
Loc: Salt Lake City, Utah USA
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: rgp]
      #32174 - 27/05/05 11:29 PM

If this is your first double, you may want to consider getting a new one which will be backed by a warranty.

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400NitroExpress
.400 member


Reged: 26/11/03
Posts: 1154
Loc: Lone Star State
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: rgp]
      #32179 - 28/05/05 12:11 AM

rgp:

I bought a used British double rifle from Chadick once and did very well, indeed. Really nice rifle, incredible price. The guy didn't have a clue what it was worth. He threw in some old Kynoch ammo which turned out to be the wrong caliber - .450/.400 3.25" instead of .450/.400 3". He swore up and down that they were interchangable! I've never understood how a guy could buy and sell as many double rifles as he has over the years and still know so little about them.

Chadick's seldom deals in used double rifles these days, usually just new Chapuis, which you can also get from Champlin's. Best to avoid Chadick altogether.

Buy from Champlin. George Caswell makes it easy and will stand behind what he sells, new or used. For a pre-purchase evaluation of a double, and repairs and service, J. J. Perodeau is one of the best. His shop is in Champlin's building, although he is not a Champlin employee. You can trust him for an honest, competent evaluation, even if the gun is from Champlin's inventory.

For your first double rifle, always buy quality - get a nice used English rifle from Champlin. These will have far stronger resale if you later decide that you would like to try something else, and George will back it. You can play with the current new-built junk later.
-----------------------------------------------

--------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

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new_guy
Sponsor


Reged: 10/08/04
Posts: 581
Loc: Texas
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: 400NitroExpress]
      #32181 - 28/05/05 12:49 AM

In reply to:

I bought a used British double rifle from Chadick once and did very well, indeed. Really nice rifle, incredible price. The guy didn't have a clue what it was worth. He threw in some old Kynoch ammo which turned out to be the wrong caliber - .450/.400 3.25" instead of .450/.400 3". He swore up and down that they were interchangable! I've never understood how a guy could buy and sell as many double rifles as he has over the years and still know so little about them.



Interesting take on Chadick's. I've gotten the impression that he's made all of his money on parkers and other collectible american guns. Beyond that, i was out there w/in the last year or so and think he may have made all the money he wanted, as he just doesn't seem to be looking for new customers. I suspect that with the parker collectors, he probably has all the "customers" he wants to deal with anymore. just my observation.

--------------------
www.heymUSA.com

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greyhoundzr1
.224 member


Reged: 14/05/05
Posts: 36
Loc: Western USA
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: 400NitroExpress]
      #32182 - 28/05/05 12:59 AM

In the same situations as you RGP...my first double as well- I've decided to go Searcy. Making the trip out there next week (1.5 hour trip by car).

Butch will measure me for the stock dimensions and let me pick the wood out.

The quality/reputation, warranty and custom fit plus proximity to Searcy were the reasons. Butch has been very good in answering my questions on caliber, loads, components etc a plus for a neophyte like me.

I priced a few used pieces out and they weren't that far off a new rifle...I guess the stories associated with some of them added to their value!

I considered Merkel and Chapuis and Searcy. The Chapuis ran a close second in fit and feel.

my 2 cents.

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500Nitro
.450 member


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: greyhoundzr1]
      #32183 - 28/05/05 01:33 AM


rgp,

"Depending on how much nasty red tape is involved in international transfers, I'm also considering
checking shops in or near Melbourne and Sydney next time in Australia."

If you need to do an international transfer, PM me when you need to do it and I'll
help you organise the paperwork at this end and point you to people in the US who
are quick with getting the US Export paperwork.

Re how negotiable - as I mentoned before, in the US it seems alot as they put a bit extra on
to take a bit extra off to make it "seem" like a good deal. UK and Australia - you are unlikely
to find many in shops here.

If buying a used double, make sure you get the insides of the action checked before you buy it.
I've been lucky and only had NO internal probmes and only1 Rib problem (which I knew about)
out of 30 or so doubles so I think I have been very lucky. However I know of others (not many)
where the insides have been very bad - rusty.

Hope this helps


500 Nitro

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400NitroExpress
.400 member


Reged: 26/11/03
Posts: 1154
Loc: Lone Star State
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: new_guy]
      #32185 - 28/05/05 01:45 AM

new_guy:

I think you're right. He's sure flogged a lot of Parkers. When I talk to people who have been through there recently, the story is always the same as yours. If he had something I was looking for, I would probably buy another gun from him, but I would do it on my own hook and not depend on his representations.
-------------------------------------------

--------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

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rigbymauser
.400 member


Reged: 15/05/05
Posts: 1972
Loc: Denmark
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: 400NitroExpress]
      #32192 - 28/05/05 03:52 AM

HI!

I am also a newbee when it comes to doublerifles! I have heard that George Caswell from Champlin arms should be
a straigt guy to deal with! I am planning on some time to fly out to Oklahoma(from denmark) to see whats all they have!.I have been collecting guns for 16 years now and I have yet to try a doublerifle! It is my experience that when starting in a new field of area, it is well advised to seek all the advises one can get!.

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mickey
.416 member


Reged: 05/01/03
Posts: 4647
Loc: Pend Oreille Valley, Idaho
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: rigbymauser]
      #32202 - 28/05/05 07:12 AM

Rigbymauser

If you are going to go to all the trouble to fly to OK. from Denmark than why not wait until January and attend the SCI Convention. You will see Champlains there, plus 2-300 other rifles from other dealers.



--------------------
Lovu Zdar
Mick

A Man of Pleasure, Enterprise, Wit and Spirit Rare Books, Big Game Hunting, English Rifles, Fishing, Explosives, Chauvinism, Insensitivity, Public Drunkenness and Sloth, Champion of Lost and Unpopular Causes.

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rigbymauser
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Reged: 15/05/05
Posts: 1972
Loc: Denmark
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: mickey]
      #32203 - 28/05/05 07:22 AM

sounds like a very good idea!

Thanks alot mickey!

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rgp
.333 member


Reged: 17/06/04
Posts: 373
Loc: TX & VIC
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: 400NitroExpress]
      #32204 - 28/05/05 09:12 AM

.400NitroExpress and new guy,

I'll go to Chadick's to look when they have something I find interesting, but usually I prefer to avoid that town, because you can't spit in the city of Terrell without hitting an art gallery or an antique shop, and since those shops took over it seems as though the natives claim that everything is rare, priceless, valuable, antique, or an "heirloom passed down through the generations."

I think the reason Chadick's started with the American guns is because they were available cheap 20 or 30 years ago. What I was told when working part time in a gun shop while attending college was that Chadick's started with the American double shotguns and antique Colt SAA's and Winchesters, buying a lot of their inventory from other dealers. Twenty years ago in Texas, I remember customers who were glad to swap a decent double shotgun for a new Remington 870 or 1100...they were sometimes amazed that they could get anything for it, saying "but that thing only holds two shots." The dealers could not sell them easily and so they resold the traded double guns to Chadick's and other specialty shops. The same situation was common with the old Colts and Winchesters, they were frequently considered nothing but old guns that nobody wanted. Chadick's and similar shops were able to sell them easily for closer to book value because they advertised nationwide and therefore had a larger number of potential customers, which made for a pretty good profit margin.

Richard.

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rgp
.333 member


Reged: 17/06/04
Posts: 373
Loc: TX & VIC
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: greyhoundzr1]
      #32205 - 28/05/05 09:19 AM

greyhounderz,

Thank you for mentioning the fitted stock included in the cost of a Searcy...I'm 6'2" & 225 lbs, and most production rifles have a length of pull too short and tend to have a comb too high.

Richard.

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rgp
.333 member


Reged: 17/06/04
Posts: 373
Loc: TX & VIC
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: 500Nitro]
      #32206 - 28/05/05 09:27 AM

500Nitro,

Thank you.

The only negotiation of cost I can think of for things in Melb is when showing a shop evidence that I'm leaving the country within 21 days of making a purchase, they are allowed to knock off the vile GST which is then replaced with an equally vile import tax on arrival in the USA.

Richard.

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rgp
.333 member


Reged: 17/06/04
Posts: 373
Loc: TX & VIC
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: rigbymauser]
      #32207 - 28/05/05 09:38 AM

rigbymauser,

That flight isn't too long...downside of a January flight is 24 hour darkness if on a polar route. If wanting to go to Champlin's during summer try to get a window seat and take a camera complete with a telephoto lens in your carry on baggage in case the flight takes one of the polar routes across Greenland in 24 hour daylight conditions.

Richard.

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JudgeG
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Reged: 10/01/03
Posts: 39
Loc: Georgia Coast
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: rgp]
      #32209 - 28/05/05 01:13 PM

In my dealings with George Caswell at Champlins (and with J.J., too), I have found nothing but honesty and professionalism. Same for Butch Searcy.

Used English... go Champlins
New.... go Searcy

I've bought from both and both absolutely stand by their oral representations, regardless of any "fine print". They are gentlemen.. Butch, a little gruff, but what the heck!

--------------------
JudgeG
Old and getting older, I hope. But once I was young.

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rgp
.333 member


Reged: 17/06/04
Posts: 373
Loc: TX & VIC
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: JudgeG]
      #32246 - 29/05/05 12:51 AM

JudgeG,

Thank you for the recommendations. I'm still undecided on new or used and probably will be undecided until seeing a lot more rifles here as well as what is available in Melbourne.

Richard.

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rgp
.333 member


Reged: 17/06/04
Posts: 373
Loc: TX & VIC
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: rgp]
      #34651 - 13/07/05 03:15 PM

Do any of you have your name or initials engraved on your double rifle? I want to order mine so engraved so that if it is ever stolen, the thief can't show it to anybody without them asking who I am and why my name is on it.

I've decided to order a Searcy PH, most likely a .470. Mr. Searcy said the initials cannot go on the receiver, and suggested the pistol grip cap or trigger guard as possible locations on the PH model. If you ordered one with name or initials engraved, what location did you select?

Thank you,

Richard

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clark7781
.375 member


Reged: 28/10/04
Posts: 612
Loc: Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: rgp]
      #34658 - 13/07/05 09:17 PM

We're getting initials engraved on a stock medallion in the .577.

That seems to be the best place for them if you get that option.

If that is not possible, I would put it on the trigger guard.



--------------------
Clark

Double Rifle Shooters Society
.500 NE and .577 NE

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Marrakai
.416 member


Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 3595
Loc: Darwin, Top End of Australia
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: clark7781]
      #34701 - 15/07/05 08:16 PM

Nothing wrong with a monogram or crest on the floor-plate either.

...though I've never done this to any of mine.

--------------------
Marrakai
When the bull drops, the bullshit stops!
--------------------------------
www.marrakai-adventure.com.au

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CptCurlAdministrator
.450 member


Reged: 01/05/04
Posts: 5284
Loc: Fincastle, Botetourt County, V...
Re: prepurchase questions for double rifle owners. [Re: rgp]
      #34703 - 15/07/05 08:40 PM

Here's the treatment that "Mr. C" had done to my little A. Francotte 9x57R SLE back before WW2.

It's funny I say "my A. Francotte" because it was his way back then!



Now the "C" stands for CURL!

Best,
Curl

--------------------
RoscoeStephenson.com

YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.



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