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Did anyone happen to read about Stevens 12 ga double in February American Rifleman?

Yeah, it isn't a rifle, but for $399, MSRP no less, one could experiment pretty cheaply with a DR chambering in 8x57R, 9.3x74, or 375 FM.

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Savage Stevens doubles have never been very expensive, and there is a reason for that! They aren't very well made, is the reason! They are OK for 8,000 psi of a 12 ga, but not designed for anything over 10,000 psi!

You might get by, for a while, with something like sleeving in something like 30-30 (35,000 psi) barrels, but I'd be reluctant to put anything that developed more pressure than a 45 Long Colt ( under 12,000 psi) in one! A 410 might make a nice 22 hornet, or 218 Bee.High pressure, but very small diameter, leaving a lot of steel around the chambers, and a small foot print to the case rim. The lock-up is such that it could become a "SELF OPPENER" if very quickly if a 375 Flanged were shot in it! A 375 Fl Mag developes 48,000 psi chamber pressure.

Who knows, maybe they lowered the price, and made them stronger at the same time! Knowing what I know about bean counters, I doubt it, however!

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..........Mac >>>===(x)===>
DUGABOY1, and MacD37 founding member of DRSS www.doublerifleshooterssociety.com
"If I die today, I have had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"

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Hmmm, you might want to reconsider the Stevens. The action looks pretty strong and it is an all new design, not a remake of the old 310 model.

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First off the gun you are discribeing is not a Stevens, or a Savage, but a BIAKAL, the same one that is the basis for the $600 double rifle everyone is talking about! This is still an action that is not strong enough to take a steady diet of 375 FLanged Mag. Though the cartridges chambered in the rifle version of this action, are in the 45, to 50,000 lb range, they are very small in diameter, and are wrapped in considerable chamber walls. Additionally the foot print of the case head is small as well. Even with those conditions, I believe this rifle will shoot loose in short order, even with the little 308,In the double rifle cloths.

I will more than likely buy one,in 45-70, and slip the barrels out, and replace them with a pair of 20" tubes for something like a 22 Hornet, 218 Bee,45 Long Colt, or 357 Mag, and regulate it to 100 yds for shooting coyotes called in with a predater call! I certainly will not barrel it for anything near a 375 H&H FL!

I may, very well, be wrong,I was once, back in 1941, but I don't see how anyone can build a double of any quality needed to hold serious rifle cartridges, and sell it for $600 USD.

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..........Mac >>>===(x)===>
DUGABOY1, and MacD37 founding member of DRSS www.doublerifleshooterssociety.com
"If I die today, I have had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"

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Though the cartridges chambered in the rifle version of this action, are in the 45, to 50,000 lb range, they are very small in diameter, and are wrapped in considerable chamber walls. Additionally the foot print of the case head is small as well.

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dugaboy1,

...informative post...

...would a maker that uses mono-blocks for their double rifles, like, say, beretta, be able to reduce the labor costs associated with fitting barrels to locks to action?

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TE, There seems to be the misconception that there is less fitting to a mono-block than with the older shoe lump, and choppper lump barrels! This isn't the case, the mono-block must be fitted exactly the same way as the others. Anyone may reduce their cost of fitting by not fitting as closely as they should, the Mono-block has nothing to do with it. The worst place to cut cost,is in fitting, and that is one of the many places where the things like the $399 double cut the cost so they can sell for $399, but they can get away with less fitting on a shotgun, than on a rifle.

The only place mono-block cuts cost is,it is easier to machine a small square block of steel to it's basic shape. The fitting between the barrels of the chopper lump, is eliminated, but replaced by the threading of the mono-block, and barrel shank for fitting into the block! The fitting of the mono-block, to the action, is just as demanding as it is with a chopper lump.

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also, would the costs differ significantly if using a s-by-s vs o-u configuration?...

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The mono-block system can be applied to both types of double, as well as the chopperlump, so this isn't a decideing factor. The lump barrels are easier to join together in the O/U than the S/S. The top barrel is usually dovetailed to the bottom, and that is a simple machineing opperation. The rest of the fitting is much easier in the O/U, and the regulation is much easier done because you have only the lateral convergance to worry about, because both barrels are on the same lateral line. A simple twist here and there is all that is required to join the windage of their grouping.

However hand fitting, is hand fitting, and requires skill to do properly. Skill costs money, no way around it!


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..........Mac >>>===(x)===>
DUGABOY1, and MacD37 founding member of DRSS www.doublerifleshooterssociety.com
"If I die today, I have had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"

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