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Double Rifles, Single Shots & Combinations >> Double Rifles

400NitroExpress
.400 member

Reged: 26/11/03
Posts: 1154
Loc: Lone Star State

Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES
27/04/06 06:00 AM

If the Germans were ever to catch up to the British it would have happened long before WWII. A great many German makers built double rifles in those days. You have to remember that driven game shooting has always been more common there than in Britain. I've handled a great many of the pre-war German double rifles over the years - dozens of names - Merkel, FW Heym, Simson, Bock, Sauer, Geyger, Schwimy, Foerster, etc. Some of the workmanship was to a very high standard, but style was usually heavily Teutonic. Yes, some of the engraving is incredible, but so is some of the British.

Like the British, the Germans largely held to their own specific "formula" for their sxs double rifles, and still do. They've always favored very slender actions. Since most of their double rifles were intended for the driven game of western and central Europe, most were medium bores, and the slender profile worked OK for these. However, the heavy caliber rifles had to have very little profile to the barrels to get the weight up to a reasonable level, resulting in a finished rifle that swung like a post. I've encountered a few refreshing exceptions along the way, but they're rare. The British used larger actions and more barrel profile, which put more weight between the hands and improved handling dramatically. I believe that this is partly why the British dominated the large bore double rifle market for the duration.

I remember the first large bore German DR I ever handled - a Merkel boxlock .500/.465 from the '30s. I hadn't owned a double rifle yet then, and was looking at everything with an open mind. The workmanship was high quality, and the Teutonic flavor unusually subdued. It was a lovely rifle in high condition. I remember describing it to a friend as the first "bull barreled" double rifle I had ever seen and would still describe it that way today. It handled like a brick.
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Subject	Posted by	Posted on
GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Taylor416	26/04/06 11:15 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	nitro476	04/05/06 11:31 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	CptCurl	04/05/06 12:05 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	nitro476	04/06/06 03:18 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Taylor416	04/05/06 10:49 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Chasseur	05/05/06 03:21 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	pwm	05/05/06 02:37 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	400NitroExpress	05/05/06 04:49 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	400NitroExpress	05/05/06 04:58 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	CptCurl	05/05/06 05:47 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	mehulkamdar	06/05/06 03:21 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	tinker	07/05/06 02:21 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	pwm	27/04/06 06:07 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	NE450No2	27/04/06 07:33 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	mehulkamdar	27/04/06 04:25 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	vigillinus	27/04/06 06:02 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	CptCurl	27/04/06 09:13 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Safarischorsch	02/05/06 06:05 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Taylor416	03/05/06 01:15 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Northman	03/05/06 05:17 AM
The smallest double rifle...	tinker	03/05/06 10:07 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Northman	03/05/06 06:12 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	clark7781	28/04/06 10:14 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Marrakai	28/04/06 01:25 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	clark7781	28/04/06 11:19 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	smicha6551	29/04/06 01:38 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	NitroX	28/04/06 03:25 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Marrakai	28/04/06 08:04 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	NitroX	02/05/06 11:45 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	bulldog563	28/04/06 11:29 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	bulldog563	28/04/06 11:36 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Chasseur	28/04/06 03:59 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	new_guy	28/04/06 04:58 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	500Nitro	28/04/06 07:47 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	NE450No2	28/04/06 07:27 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	hoppdoc	27/04/06 10:07 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	smicha6551	27/04/06 10:51 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	CptCurl	27/04/06 11:30 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Ratel74	28/04/06 02:28 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	333Jeffery	28/04/06 10:03 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	bulldog563	28/04/06 11:32 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	500Nitro	28/04/06 03:02 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	CptCurl	28/04/06 03:05 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	400NitroExpress	27/04/06 06:00 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Taylor416	30/04/06 10:49 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	400NitroExpress	03/05/06 04:05 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	Marrakai	03/05/06 10:38 PM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	400NitroExpress	04/05/06 02:29 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	pwm	03/05/06 05:05 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	400NitroExpress	03/05/06 06:50 AM
Re: GERMAN DOUBLE RIFLES	MauserRifle	27/04/06 01:49 PM

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