Would you hunt big game with a single shot?

Yes or no to hunting with a a single shot.

  • Total voters
    413
All I ever hunt with is single shots I hunt with my tc endeavor in 7mm or 50cal
I also own lot’s of h&r nef guns. So far I only needed one shot per deer . So I don’t think I will ever hunt with a different gun. Now if I am walking in the bush and I am not hunting. I carry my 870 12ga or colt 1892 for bear defense For rabbit hunting I carry my H&r .17 mag single shot.


all i can say is i do it for the extra challenge
 
My earliest hunting "expeditions" began in the early 60s with a Lee Enfield 303 single shot.....why was it single shot ?...because the darn thing wouldn't cycle a round out of the clip/magazine worth a hoot, and secondly because I never needed a second shot...luck , not skill prevailed . ;)
Nowadays I have to take my old Shiloh 45-120 out for a walk at least one day during hunting season, and lugging that 13lb. beast for a day makes one appreciate anything lighter...
 
For Deers,Moose,Elk ,I dont't have any problem with a single shot.But hunting for the Big Brown/ Griz, i can load up as many as i can.
 
I answered yes but not because of the challenge, just because I like the looks of a Dakota or Blaser single shot rifle and the advantage they have in light weight and short length. I don't think of a single shot as a challenge over the bolt action because I don't shoot at game unless I am shure of my shot, the days of spraying the woods with lead are long gone. The only place I would not use a single shot is when hunting something that bites back.
bigbull
 
All the deer I have gotten have either dropped or made it to cover (and dropped) before I could work the bolt on my rifle and get another round in the chamber. While I don;t feel over-gunned with a repeater, I would not feel under-gunned with a single.

Incidentially, I think a Baikal single in 7.62x54 with a low-powered scope would be fanstastic for roaming the woods with (if someone had one for sale)
 
To each their own opinion. Myself have had many times hunting deer when I've used a second and third shot and quick ones to. I do prefer the option of extra shots available asap.
 
Sure I would hunt with a single shot. Shouldn't miss anyways, but in the unfortunate event that you do how hard is it to reach into your pocket and pull out another cartridge and reload?
 
I hunted deer for many years with a single shot Ruger #1A in .270 Winchester. I never felt at a disadvantage and never needed a second shot. I did however pass on some marginal shots but that is the discipline required when you've got only one.
 
Howdy, it is obvious that most of you have never lived in an area that is loaded with Grizzlies or have had a roaring Grizzly charging through buck
brush at 20 yards to make you his dinner-and skid on his nose at 5ft from your feet, stone dead from the second shot. No single shot for me in this type of situation! Later
 
Used to hunt quite abit with a Ruger no 1.....
Took my biggest Bear with it actually. :cool:

Not my preference now but I could make do with a single shot if I had to;)
 
I voted yes... I hunt with a bolt action but never need a second shot and i never reload after i shot my buck... I only reload when i go looking for my deer. I also hunt does with a Muzzle loader so its pretty much the same thing
 
ol'harleyguy said:
Howdy, it is obvious that most of you have never lived in an area that is loaded with Grizzlies or have had a roaring Grizzly charging through buck
brush at 20 yards to make you his dinner-and skid on his nose at 5ft from your feet, stone dead from the second shot. No single shot for me in this type of situation! Later
Click to expand...

No and I'm guessing you didn't either. A bear can cover 20 yards pretty darn quick, quicker then any of us could cycle a second round in a rifle, or at least my inexperiance in these matters would think so anyways... (60 feet at 50 KpH = exactly 1.363 seconds)

And for what it's worth I play a bit every year in places where grizzlies live. In fact I even roam these places in the Fall. Last year my weapon of choice was my Browning .22 lr. I potted some grouse and lived to tell the tale. :)
 
I'd have no problem hunting with a single shot rifle, and in fact I can see myself heading in that direction over the next few years.
 
ol'harleyguy said:
Howdy, it is obvious that most of you have never lived in an area that is loaded with Grizzlies or have had a roaring Grizzly charging through buck
brush at 20 yards to make you his dinner-and skid on his nose at 5ft from your feet, stone dead from the second shot. No single shot for me in this type of situation! Later
Click to expand...

If I was hunting grizzlies,I wouldn't take a single shot as a first choice, although my buddy has a pretty good (almost 9ft) grizzly he took with his Ruger #1 in 300WM and another 8fter taken with same rifle.

I live in grizz country, although the area is not inundated with them... I see grizz every year while spring black bear hunting but I wouldn't feel underarmed with a good single shot...
 
ol'harleyguy said:
Howdy, it is obvious that most of you have never lived in an area that is loaded with Grizzlies or have had a roaring Grizzly charging through buck
brush at 20 yards to make you his dinner-and skid on his nose at 5ft from your feet, stone dead from the second shot. No single shot for me in this type of situation! Later
Click to expand...

If we're going to include all big bears in that discussion, than I would humbly submit that few places have grizzly densities as thick as the polar bear density in the western Hudson Bay region in the late fall. I've carried a single shot 12 ga and a Ruger #1. The 12 ga proved to be unreliable, so I grudgingly dropped it in favor of other options. It was short and light and a joy to carry. It was also the gun I had with me in what I consider to be one of the hairiest bear encounters I've ever had.

The Ruger #1 I dropped because despite it's power (.416 Rigby) I couldn't figure out a way to prevent the safety from moving to the fire position while the rifle was slung. When I lost it in a house fire, I figured if I was going to have to rearm anyway I might as well do it right so I got a pump 12 ga and a Brno 602 in .375 H&H. The Brno was bought with the intention of turning it into a .458 Ultra wildcat, but when a very good .375 Smith barrel fell into my lap, I opted for the .375 Ultra and never looked back.

You'll note that none of my reasons for switching to a repeater had anything to do with the rate of fire, it had everything to do with safety and reliability. Bear defense shooting is mostly a close range gig. The fellow who shoots a bear at 50 yards and claims self defense hasn't given it much of a chance. Bear attacks happen in one of two ways. Either the bear stalks you and closes to within striking distance, or you stumble onto him in heavy cover. If the bear stalks you and you can see him coming, you let him close until he is close enough that you don't have any option but to shoot, but he presents the biggest target possible. If you stumble onto him in heavy cover, or if he stalks you to within striking distance and you are unaware of his presence, you might be lucky to get even one shot off. If the second shot is not a finishing shot, you won't get it off, so if the speed of the second shot is not critical, then the single shot can be an appropriate tool. Now consider that I mostly carry a bolt gun or pump shotgun with the magazine full but the chamber empty. My single shots had a round in the chamber because if the gun was carried loaded, then by definition it had to have one up the pipe. Chances are if I have to shoot quickly, I'd get that shot off quicker with the single shot.
 
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