Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Why does the Single Shot get passed over so many times?

Paul,

Wow! If I had known that you wanted one that bad, I'd have let you know. A local gun shop had one in .300 Win. recently, but last I was there, it was gone. I entertained the idea for a short time, (Very short!) But since I already had one in a 1-B, I just couldn't justify an "S". 'Sides, I don't really like cluttered up barrels, anyway.

Grasshopper

Then again, they are worried about liability.

Xphunter. If the single shot was so poor during hunting dangerous game, a lot of young British officers in Africa and India would have bought the farm.

Seriously, if I could afford an African hunt, I'd take two rifles. My #1S in .300 Win. mag. and my .416 Rigby. Yes, Cape Buffalo would definitely be on the menu. It only takes maybe five minutes practice a day using spent brass and a couple of dummy round to get reasonaly quick as reloading for that second shot, should one be necessary. I've hunted with Number Ones since 1975 and I feel confident enough to not worry any more than someone with a repeating rifle under the same circumstances.
With practice, one can use the recoil and part of the reloading plan. As the rifle recoils back at you, you drop the lever and tilt the rifle to the right (left for left handers)to insure the empty casing doesn't hang up on the safety button. Then, you slide the hand at the forearm to the breech with the thumb covering the opening and the hand holding the rifle with the muzzle tilted down. You reach for the next round from your storage place of choice and with the index finger helping to guide the bullet to the chamber mouth the thumb is moved out of the way and the round allowed to fall into the chamber. Raise the lever closing the breech, aim and fire the next shot, should it be necessary. All this is done while continually keeping your eye on the target or game animal.
I know that sounds slow and complicated as hell, but it works.
The important thing is to make that first shot count, but do the rapid reload in case it doesn't. So far, I haven't had to take a second shot yet, but who knows? I might screw up come this years deer hunt. I hope not, but if I do, I know that I can get another shot off in plenty of time.
Edited to add, comment by Al Miler of Rifel magazine on hunting with single shot rifles.

"If hunting with a single shot were half as tough as it's supposed to be, millions of elk,buffalo and antelope would still call the Great Plains home. And as for that one round business --- few of last century's African hunters would have lived long enough to write about their adventures if they hadn't been able to crank out a quick second shot now and then. The truth is, a good game shot will do just as well with a single loader as he will with a repeater; an indifferent marksman will fare no worse."

He then goes into some of the various ways to do a reload for a fast second shot and the best ways to practice doing this. It only take 5 or 10 minutes a day to get up to speed. (no pun intended) When I take one of my "one-shooters" to the range, I always finish up with a couple of speed loading sessions.

Paul B.