Single-shot bolt action rifles.

dan belisle said:
I doubt that. A lot of varmint hunters use single shots. Big game now, you might be right. - dan
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I wasn't thinking about varmint hunters. That's a good point. I think our view of the world is somewhat skewed by our location and the native legislation around firearms in Canada versus the US where the vast majority of sporting arms are produced. The US seems to have moved, logically, toward the AR platform for a good deal of hunting use. I don't have the numbers to back it up, but I feel like a lot of varmint hunters across the border likely gravitate toward the AR platform which, for obvious reasons, we do not. The current US climate doesn't seem like it would be particularly single-shot friendly anymore and in 15 years there will likely be fewer bolt rifle offerings as the AR isn't showing any signs of slowing in popularity.

It raises concern for me about the future of hunting as bolt rifles lose market share to bolts, just like levers significantly lost ground to bolts over the past 100 years. Will the AR take over and thus severely restrict the availability of hunting rifles in Canada?
 
BigUglyMan said:
I wasn't thinking about varmint hunters. That's a good point. I think our view of the world is somewhat skewed by our location and the native legislation around firearms in Canada versus the US where the vast majority of sporting arms are produced. The US seems to have moved, logically, toward the AR platform for a good deal of hunting use. I don't have the numbers to back it up, but I feel like a lot of varmint hunters across the border likely gravitate toward the AR platform which, for obvious reasons, we do not. The current US climate doesn't seem like it would be particularly single-shot friendly anymore and in 15 years there will likely be fewer bolt rifle offerings as the AR isn't showing any signs of slowing in popularity.

It raises concern for me about the future of hunting as bolt rifles lose market share to bolts, just like levers significantly lost ground to bolts over the past 100 years. Will the AR take over and thus severely restrict the availability of hunting rifles in Canada?
Click to expand...

All good points. Last time I went varmint hunting in Georgia about half the guys I met used AR's. Probably higher now. - dan
 
BigUglyMan said:
I wasn't thinking about varmint hunters. That's a good point. I think our view of the world is somewhat skewed by our location and the native legislation around firearms in Canada versus the US where the vast majority of sporting arms are produced. The US seems to have moved, logically, toward the AR platform for a good deal of hunting use. I don't have the numbers to back it up, but I feel like a lot of varmint hunters across the border likely gravitate toward the AR platform which, for obvious reasons, we do not. The current US climate doesn't seem like it would be particularly single-shot friendly anymore and in 15 years there will likely be fewer bolt rifle offerings as the AR isn't showing any signs of slowing in popularity.

It raises concern for me about the future of hunting as bolt rifles lose market share to bolts, just like levers significantly lost ground to bolts over the past 100 years. Will the AR take over and thus severely restrict the availability of hunting rifles in Canada?
Click to expand...

Buy European?
 
It's simple supply and demand, that's why there are very few single shot bolt action rifles. Hunters desire repeater rifles for hunting, incase follow-up shots are required. For single shot actions, most are attracted to the falling block or kipplauf style; a much larger demand over the single shot bolt action.
 
The bolt action design is superior to other manual action firearms because of its magazine feed systems, ability to handle a wide range of cartridge designs, and comparatively high rate of fire. When you remove the magazine from the design, it becomes an ergonomic wreck. A single-shot bolt-action is longer and usually heavier than an equivalent single single-shot firearm (break action, breechloading etc). Loading ergonomics are very poor as the breech is much further away from the user, and substantially obstructed by the operating mechanism. It is substantially more difficult for the user to reload the firearm and maintain situational awareness compared to dedicated single-shot designs. Successful single-shot rifles brought the breech very close to the shooter, making it easy to load and unload single rounds, while keeping attention forward. This isn't an issue on a bench, where there are no stakes at all, but becomes a substantial issue when you're facing potential danger; animal or human.
 
Id prefer a break action for most hunting but I've always loved the look of rifles like the Noreen ulr. I inquired about them building a smaller scaled down version and they replied that they couldn't keep up with demand for 50s 416s and 338 lapuas so they would not consider smaller cartridges but admitted they had quite a few inquiries about them

I hunt with a muzzleloader so a single shot is common for me and I'd have no hesitation on hunting with a centerfire single shot it's just the cartridges I'm interested in and firearms I like come at a price point I can't afford
My hopes of a single shot Barret 50bmg have also been shot down
I agree the idea of a single shot bolt gun includes classics with butter knife bolt handles and full length wood stocks in some euro chambering or bench rest style guns
 
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