Very cool rifle! Farquharson double barrel falling block

The double barrel rifle has always been a darned impressive weapon with an inseparable attachment to Africa. Looking upon a beefy double rifle frame conjures ideas of ivory hunters in the bush, brave men facing down fierce man eating lions or charging buffalo. The frames can take a royal beating and remain functional while packing some astounding firepower. They can fire anything between the potent 375 Holland and Holland up to the overcompensating 700 Nitro Express, although I've seen even bigger pill pushers.

Now, most of the older models have exposed hammers with a swinging lever on the top of the frame, although I've seen other models with the lever beneath the frame, tucked below the trigger guard. Then there are the hammerless models, which are almost exclusive today. Very nifty hunting tools, but I came across a variant not long ago during my many searches that really caught my interest.
Check this out!



This is a double barrel falling block rifle descended straight from the Farquharson design, a predecessor to the reputed Ruger No.1 Single Shot. It is a very strong and reliable frame and is mighty quick with reloading. One of the difficulties with traditional double guns is that when the action is opened you run a good risk of getting gunk stuck between the parts, making it difficult to close. Walter Bell stated that this was one of the primary reasons he stuck with bolt actions, as any bit of grit or twig that got hung up in the action made it impossible to close and required cleaning.

Well, this takes care of that pesky problem! No more worrying about getting anything caught in the gears, which might include your hand which would be most unpleasant. Nope, here you work a lever that snuggles nicely beneath the trigger guard which can spit the spent shells out the back quickly and is instantly ready to accept fresh ones.
Pretty cool!

Now, don't mistake this as meaning that I don't like traditional hinged double guns. Those things are so cool and I am a hopeless nostalgic. At the same time I'm an unashamed eccentric and I love innovation. I can't help myself!
I've actually seen two or three other double barrel falling block rifles from the older days which fascinate me, but those are basically collectors items these days. This however is something that you can purchase and use today in genuine hunting situations. Although I'm a lever gun man myself, I'd love to take this piece out for a spin. I reckon that it has wonderful balance and handling characteristics.

Who knows? Maybe one day I'll be able the Cowboy can take this on the trail!

I recommend you take a look at the maker of this rifle and see what else you can discover.
http://www.bradshawgunandrifle.com/Farquharson_Double_Rifle_1B.php

Although this has nothing to do with lever action double guns, I find this article to be most fascinating regarding double gun accuracy. There's a lot of very informative and fascinating articles on this place anyway, so take a poke and see what you can find!
http://www.africahunting.com/threads/scopes-on-double-rifles.15234/#post-118655