How many of you hunt with single shots?

I have had Ruger #1's and 3's in .22 Hornet, 44 Mag, .375 H + H, .416 Remington, 38-55 Win, 45-70 and 7 x 57. Only one I hunted with was the 7x57 and I enjoyed using it--chamber was long throated and you had t seat the bullets well out to get close to the rifling. I no longer use it as it doesn,t suit my hunting conditons.

44Bore
 
I hate single shots with a vengenace.
I understand handicaping ourselves with (more) primitive firearmes, for the sake of it - but I am still against creating special seasons for them.....
BUT - getting in the field with a single shot like a parade walk.... not my style....
The image that keeps bugging me is Jim Shockey hunting buff with a single shot. The captured film shows the PH sporting a double (to back him up)... and the buff was wounded... and the hunt ended with a shot form the safety of the pickup truck... the grass was too tall he said....
All this time he praised his adventure with a single shot deal..... BS!

what drives you towards hunting with a single shot rifle? Please share it with me, because my imagination has limits....
 
Love the single shot rifle. No need to ask a single shot shooter whats in the gun, he or she know exactly whats up.
To limit to one shot is a great Idea. Don't hurt to carry extra ammo along for finishing shots , and small game. :D
 
I think the beauty of the single shot is in the rifle itself, most are works of art, usually from a past era, when things were simpler, people less hurried, and guns were made with pride, no plastic,etc. Just take a look at a Highwall, a Ballard, or Sharps and then a plastic Tikka or Rem.......I think an earlier Poster talked about Shockey and I think he may be mixed up between a single shot and a muzzleloader. He also talks about special seasons, again I think their is some confusion.
 
ben hunchak said:
I think the beauty of the single shot is in the rifle itself, most are works of art, usually from a past era, when things were simpler, people less hurried, and guns were made with pride, no plastic,etc. Just take a look at a Highwall, a Ballard, or Sharps and then a plastic Tikka or Rem.......I think an earlier Poster talked about Shockey and I think he may be mixed up between a single shot and a muzzleloader. He also talks about special seasons, again I think their is some confusion.
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I throw the ML's into the same mix as the cartidge single shots, but not doubles.
My target rifles are single shots also, some bolt action, but they ARE still single shots.
The problem with dangerous game and a muzzle loader is , well,
RELOADING TIME!:eek:
Comments deleted about Jim Shockey......:cool:
Cat
 
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I would not give a nickel for a NEF and I am not a fan of the Ruger#1's either... nothing wrong with them I just don't like em.
I love the Thompson Centre's though... I have taken Moose, Deer and many varmints with the Encore System. The Muzzle Loader Encore is a top drawer in-line and the rifle barrels I have used have all been excellent shooters.
These rifles have excellent triggers, are very fast to the shoulder balance well and carry like a dream.
I can work a bolt with average speed from the shoulder but most times I drop the rifle to work the bolt.... I can reload my Encore and get back on target just as fast in most circumstances.
The only disadvantage to a single shot is in the minds of the shooters who think there is a disadvantage.
They aren't any better or worse than a repeater... just different.
 
eltorro said:
I understand handicaping ourselves with (more) primitive firearmes, for the sake of it - but I am still against creating special seasons for them.....
what drives you towards hunting with a single shot rifle? Please share it with me, because my imagination has limits....
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Eltorro, I think you are confusing "single shot rifles" with muzzle loaders, there are / will be no special seasons for single shot rifles. Shockey hunts with a muzzle loader - no second shots. With modern, or even not so modern single shot rifles follow up shots are not all that much slower than with any other action. If you hit an animal well with the first shot, you almost always have time for a second, though you rarely need to.

As for why, why not? Should we have laws that say we can not hunt anything unless we are shooting the fastest 300 super-ultra-short-bubba-mag? Come on, just because Shockey made crappy shot (I'm taking your word for it) no one should hunt anything with a muzzle loader? I wouldn't hesitate to shoot anything on the planet with 120 grains of FFG behind a 385grain Maxi-ball. If the inability of a rifle to knock down a given animal when one makes a sh**ty shot, well..... I guess we should not be allowed to hunt with anything smaller than a thermonuclear bomb! Oops, I guess I just went the USA's watch list for typing the "N" word.:runaway:

Expand your imagination! Get out there and enjoy HUNTING, not just shooting.:)

Cheers,
Ian

p.s. Not sure why there is a MAD icon at the top of this post????? I'm Happy!
 
mcrae555 said:
I just spent the better part of day trying to figure out how to take the #1 apart and put it back toghther so I can see its not something I want to be cleaning and oiling everytime it gets wet or dirty.
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I hunted with a #1A in .270 for years and they are a bugger to take apart and put back together compared to most guns. Once you've done it a couple of times though it gets easier.

mcrae555 said:
I suppose the big question in my mind is the follow up shot if needed. In a perfect world you would never need one but we all know its going to happen sometime. I am thinking with enough practice it will not be all that much slower than a bolt gun but would still like to hear from "seasoned" single shot users!
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You are correct. With a little practice you can reload and fire quickly. Maybe not quite as fast as a bolt action but I could get reasonably close. What I found mattered is where you have your spare ammo. I tried keeping it in a butt cuff which worked acceptably but found a more natural movement was spare ammo in a belt holder on my right hand side. Your hand is going down to open the action and it's quite convenient to pick out another round from your belt and drop it it.

While you do lose a little in follow-up shots you gain in other respects with the #1. My #1A was shorter and handier than a bolt action with a barrel of the same length. With the #1B you get an even longer barrel and more velocity. I also found the gun's handling and top tang safety made it very similar to the sxs shotgun that I used in upland.

What I also found using a single shot was that I was more deliberate in my shooting, willing to pass up marginal shots and did a lot more practice at the range to get good with it.
 
what drives you towards hunting with a single shot rifle? Please share it with me, because my imagination has limits....
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For me, the idea of hunting is a bit of an anachronism - we clearly don't "need" to hunt, but there's a very deep sense of satisfaction that comes from pitting oneself against a wild animal, be it predator or deer or what-have-you.

Why should a person hunt with a single-shot rifle instead of a "repeater"? Well, the idea of handicapping yourself a bit tends, in my experience at any rate, to enhance the satisfaction of the hunt. Knowing that you have one shot (and a slower reload) helps to focus one's mind on the task of placing the shot accurately and tends to discourage the taking of a hurried shot. I've seen hunters take a shot at game from a poor shooting position and then proceed to keep hammering away at the now running animal, obviously thinking that throwing a bunch of lead at the critter will make up for their poor marksmanship.

So, a single shot rifle tends to slow a person down and make their actions more deliberate.

Of course, if you're dealing with dangerous game, where a quick follow-up shot might be required to save your life then, by all means, go with something that will give you the quick follow-up.

For me, I can't think of many situations where I've required a follow-up shot on a deer or black bear with a single shot rifle (Ruger #1 in 7x57). They drop dead or walk a few steps and drop dead. That works for me.
 
I hunt almost exclusively with a Ruger #1 in 7mmRemMag, and have for many years. Never had trouble with the safety coming off, although the idea to shave the front of it is good, to prevent ejected brass from jumping back at the chamber.
As far as follow-up shots, pictured is my solution. Not as fast as a bolt, but with many years of practice, not a bunch slower.

Ruger1008.jpg
 
I have and do hunt dangerous game with a single shot. I have taken grizzly with my Ruger #1. I don't like the mindset when hunting of counting on those followups and more shots. The idea of hunting close and shooting well appeals to me. I use big bores and shoot them lots. When I get close to an animal and hit it well with the first one, I have time to reload. The reload of a big bore single is not that much slower than the average bolt anyway. With practice, it's a pretty fluid motion especially while coming out of recoil. I'd be more comfortable with a guy shooting a single shot that knows his gun on dangerous game than a guy with the ides of just getting a shot off and then pumping some more into the critter.
The classic calibers and balance of a good single shot are what appeal to me. It's just a matter of opinion and taste, but I do my own backup on big critters too. When I hit him hard with the first one, I get time to reload if needed.
DMay, that's a great ammo holder. I keep mine on the butt but I like your idea much better.
 
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Dmay said:
I hunt almost exclusively with a Ruger #1 in 7mmRemMag, and have for many years. Never had trouble with the safety coming off, although the idea to shave the front of it is good, to prevent ejected brass from jumping back at the chamber.
As far as follow-up shots, pictured is my solution. Not as fast as a bolt, but with many years of practice, not a bunch slower.

Ruger1008.jpg
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Excellent concept....great minds think alike:D ....I am having one made in leather as we speak to do the exact same......

Cheers

Jeff
 
eltorro said:
what drives you towards hunting with a single shot rifle? Please share it with me, because my imagination has limits....
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Hunting to me is not about firepower. It is plenty fast in a follow up for North American Game. For Dangerous Game in Africa....maybe something different but I am not in Africa. Hunting in Alberta or Manitoba does not present a need for firepower. To be honest in the last 5 years, 5 deer down....a bullet each....I think that is all I need....maybe others need more than one round per deer but mine seems to do the trick....:dancingbanana:

To me hunting is a personal thing. If you need a twenty round mag on your bolt gun....enjoy....you will never hear me critize you for your choice......as it is yours and yours alone.....

Cheers

Jeff
 
I do my groundhog hunting with a Ruger #1V in .22-250 and I have a Ruger #1B in .270 Winchester that I use for deer hunting and some groundhog hunting for long range practice. Personally I think they are great rifles.

If you ever have a #1 that doesn't shoot to your standards, play with the bedding pressure until it does. My .22-250 shot well under MOA with factory bedding. With it floated it shoots about the same but it holds its accuracy longer when the barrel starts to heat up. The .270 shot about MOA when I got it. With a bit better bedding it shoots well under MOA.

Chuck
 
I used a no 1 exclusively for many years. I have had one in 22-250, 25-06, 280, 300 Win Mag and now 375H&H. I have carried them for moose, deer, black bear and goat. The only drawback I ever found was on the goat hunts. Not exactly the best choice where every ounce is critical. BUyone and use it whenever you can you will never look back.
 
I've recently been enthusiastically enthralled in the last 2yrs with using single shots,who I can thank my brother "Gilly" for.My rifle of choice is the T/C Encore with a .300WM,.204Ruger and .50calx209 barrel(s).
I also like to hunt with my two .50cal sidelocks. To add to my collection I ahve also used over the years in varios hunting situations a;Win.16g,Baikal .20g,Win/Cooey .410 and a Cooey .22.
I guess I prefer the challenge with a single shot and believe fair chase is at it's best.
 
If you ever have a #1 that doesn't shoot to your standards, play with the bedding pressure until it does. My .22-250 shot well under MOA with factory bedding. With it floated it shoots about the same but it holds its accuracy longer when the barrel starts to heat up. The .270 shot about MOA when I got it. With a bit better bedding it shoots well under MOA.
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Bedding the hanger, and the aft portion of the forend is a good idea. Keeps the gun shooting to the same place every day for sure. :)
 
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