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I have owned a Krieghoff Teck box lock O/U DR caliber .458 Winchester Magnum, with interchangeable barrels in .375 H&H and 20 gauge 3" Magnum since 1971. It has accompanied me on three trips to Africa and has accounted for one elephant and one Cape Buffalo (.458) and one lion, one leopard, one greater kudu, one lesser kudu and one eland (.375). All the time I have owned it, it has doubled only once.

This was a true double, with both barrels going off simultaneously. I know this to be the case, since the two bullet holes were less than an inch apart on the target, which would not have been the case had the first barrel caused the second to fire, which has happened to me frequently with my single trigger Merkel 201 O/U shotgun. The simple explanation for the Merkel's doubling is that, if not held tightly enough, the gun recoils in the hand far enough to reset the trigger. Then, when the recoil pad pushes the gun back forward, the second barrel fires.

Since the Krieghoff is a double trigger gun, this was clearly not the case. The rifle was completely dismantled and examined and no explanation was forthcoming. It has never happened again.

Doubling a .458 is an experience. The noise made was so much louder than the normal sound of a .458 that I thought the rifle had exploded. I was forced to step backwards one step, which resulted in my feet tangling up with one another, and I sat down suddenly. However, there were no after effects, no sore shoulder, no headache. This is surprising, considering the following.

When a .458 doubles, the recoil energy is not doubled, it is increased by a factor of four. This is because the bullet velocity (2150 fps) remains the same, but the bullet weight (510 grains) is doubled. Conversely, the weight of the gun remains the same, but the recoil velocity is doubled. Since recoil energy is dependent upon recoil velocity squared, two times the velocity becomes four times the energy, so that instead of 60 fp of recoil energy, the shooter absorbs 240 fp. A healthy amount.

I had the same problem dealing with the recoil of my .577, and my first shot with it also resulted in suddenly assuming a seated position. However, I found that, with practice, I can do a little shuffling dance like step to the rear and not get my feet tangled up. The .577 weighs almost 14 pounds, and the recoil is much more of an inexorable push than a sudden punch, like that of the .458.

A friend of mine also had his Krieghoff double, but that phenomenon was easily explained. He had been shooting the bottom barrel (front trigger) of his rifle first, when for some reason he decided to try the top barrel first instead. However, he came to this decision after he had absent mindedly set the front trigger, which like most German doubles of the era was equipped with a set trigger mechanism, and the recoil from the discharge of the top barrel was enough to set off the bottom barrel as well. Unfortunately for him, unlike me, he was not shooting standing over open sights. He was shooting in a sitting position with a telescopic sight. The recoil slammed the scope against his forehead violently enough to bend the tube. Intrepid soul that he was, he wiped the blood away and continued shooting.

My Krieghoff never malfunctioned in the field and remains one of my prized possessions.