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Butch Searcy

The rifle shown here is a bit of a departure from those normally found in this section. Although it can be and usually is a “bespoke” gun, and therefore made for a specific client, it is the first modern made double rifle that has appeared in the custom gun section under my byline that I can recall. Butch Searcy has been making double Rifles for a number of years now. Over time, his Rifles have developed a reputation as solid, affordable, working double rifles. This rifle is the first of a new breed of Searcy double, and for two reasons: it is a sidelock gun instead of the more often encountered boxlock. Still, though not common, Butch has produced sidelock guns before. What really sets this one apart, and something that no one has produced in at least a half-century or more, not even the Brits, is that this Rifle features a Rigby-Bissell patent (1879) rising bite third-bite. It is my understanding that the “new” London Rigby firm is producing a Rigby double featuring this locking system as well. I’ve seen photos of it “in the works,” but don’t know if it is finished as yet. At any rate this rifle is complete and chambered for the .470 NE cartridge.