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Searcy.

I have a Searcy field grade .500 NE with a minor upgrade on the wood. Generally the field grade did not come with options, so mine is a standard rifle except that the wood is slightly nicer than normal.

The rifle fits me perfectly and comes up and swings very nicely. Some European doubles are ultra-thin and almost feel like a .410 shotgun. A Searcy in contrast is built to be stout and durable and is not as thin as its European counterparts. Then again, a Searcy lasts forever. There is a man in California who shot his Searcy field grade .470 NE more than 6000 times and it still did not come off face. Try that with a European double!

As for accuracy, my Searcy shoots better than I can see at 50 yards, and that is impressive. Overall I am quite delighted with my Searcy rifle and plan to drop not less than 2 elephants with it this fall.

The good news for prospective Searcy buyers is that the lead time for a Searcy, which used to be 9 or 10 months, has been dramatically reduced. Even when it was 9 or 10 months, the wait was well worth it.

Comparing Searcy to the competition, here are my views:

Merkel.

Sticky cross bolt issues and rumors of doubling and going off face. The off face problem may have been related to chambering the rifle in .416 rigby which was not a bright idea. Or it may be related to the fact that the Merkel is built on a 20 gauge shotgun which was not designed for the thrust and pressure of the rifle cartridges. Some people are happy with their Merkels, however, and Merkel does offer some pretty low prices. I understand that the doubling problem has not been heard about much lately so perhaps Merkel solved it, and say away from the rimless cartridges. But even then beware the sticky cross bolt and Merkels are not as stout and durable as Searcy.

Krieghoff.

First you need to cope with that weird cocking piece/safety thing which I find slow and cumbersome. Other than that I do not have any particular problem with the Krieghoff, but it does not make me feel excited either. I strongly prefer the more classic Searcy design. Boddington likes Krieghoff which is another red flag for me since I have read that author's personal DG rifle is a left handed Model 700 rebarreled to .458 lott. Let's make that a double red flag.

Heym.

More expensive than the Searcy by a good margin and much more lightly built. Heym is my second choice to Searcy, but for durability and classic design, I will take Searcy.

Vintage English Doubles.

Some can be found for $10K to $20K. A lot of them are either weird calibers, light calibers or ratty old specimens that need a $5K rebuild. Overall it's a pig in a poke unless you buy a vintage double that has been competently reworked. Then remember that those old steels are soft and the rifle may rattle apart after a couple of hundred rounds anyway. If you are a traditionalist and insist on a vintage rifle, then save up for one in top condition by a top maker. Otherwise you are buying into lots of potential problems and could lose a lot of money. I did not buy a vintage British rifle for the same reason that I do not drive a vintage Triumph Spitfire.