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I am single-shot curious.

Let me repent. When I started hunting back in Regan's 1st term, my mentors were definitely against going afield with only a single shot. I had a Vietnam vet and a WWII vet among my close friends. Their philosophies were boiled down to laying in enough rounds to assure the game was down. I started deer hunting with a Remington 742.

It is from that background that I grew as a hunter. My philosophy has always been to take the shot and then strive to get back on target for a second shot as quickly as possible. I never wanted to get caught up in Golfer's Syndrome.

But here's the thing: I'm looking at 40+ years of experience now. The last time I actually got a chance at a second shot was 2010, and I have only a few other incidents (2002, 2005 and 2006) where I had to take more than one shot at an animal to put it down. Normally, by the time I get another round jacked in and get the crosshairs back on target, I'm met with 4 feet sticking up in the air.

It is only recently that I started to reconsider all this. Those 4 incidents mentioned:

2002: I put several into a small doe at less than 20 yards. All were in the boiler room, but the animal kept walking. See Ode to a 30-30 PT 3
2005: I put 3 into a large buck that just stood there and stared at me. He finallly went down as I was chambering the 4th round. See Hubert D. Buck vs Mister Whelen
2006: I put 1 into a buck that immediately bedded. I got down from my stand and put in a finisher. See The Shaman Backs into a Buck. . .
2010: I shot at a buck about 100 yards out. He acted unfazed and walked over to a barbed wire fence at the edge of the field. I lit him up a second time as he paused before jumping. See The Shaman Bags and 8-Pointer

In all these cases, the animal was dead after the 1st shot. They just didn't know it. I maybe saved them a little time putting in any follow-up.

I am left to conclude that I could have easily spent the last 5 decades hunting with a single-shot rifle.

I have used more single shots in more than 50 years of hunting ( some traditional cap lock muzzle loaders) than any other type of action.
The vast majority have been 1885's, B78's and No's 1 and 3's.
Out of the last 33 deer I have taken, 31 were taken with this rifle, built for me in 2010 by Greydog.
It's a Ruger #3 in .303 Brit , totally reworked from the barrel to the trigger guard , and he did a super job on it!
I have taken animals with it from inside of 12 yards to past 350 yards, about half of them with the irons on it.
I can switch from scope to irons and back ( and have) without fear of needing to re-zero
Cat

That is one of my favorite #1's..

Beretzs, although this rifle was the inspiration for Ruger to do their .303 British 1A run ( very interesting story!), it is actually a #3!
Cat

Very neat. Didn't catch that.

No worries,very easy to mistake it, as most associate the looks of that rifle with a #1 not a #3!
I think the story of this build is in the single shot forum.
Cat

NEF handi in .45-70, plastic shotgun stocks, NECG banded front ramp sight, No-Dak Spud ghost-ring peep, 'smithed trigger, 6 pounds/7 ounces, well-balanced, compact, accurate ...

I've had a bunch of H&R Handi Rifles. I really miss my 450 Marlin. Only Ruger #1 we ever had was a stainless 458 Lott.

i own a few Ruger #1`s these single shots have always fascinated me, i wished i would have started using them 40-50 years ago instead of 30 years ago ,have shot some very nice bucks out west and in my home state with these single shot rifles. years ago i had 2 Ruger S.S. Laminated #1`s still new in the boxes rebarreled with a Brux barrel and both chambered in a 257 Weatherby mags. son got one and i use the other one both are accurate and have work thru all weather conditions. with this cartridge the 257 Weatherby mag. out of my Ruger #1 i have kill nice bucks and antelope from 30 feet out to a measured 700 + yards and the funny part is my biggest Whitetail buck shot in a Tamarack swamp was the 30 feet buck with my 257 W. MAG. Ruger #1. great pictures and stories thanks,Pete53

like my browning b78 25-06

Have had a few , the sweetest being a Browning hi wall in 45-70 , then there was a New England buffalo gun that I thought highly of .
And a T/C carbine in 7-30 waters that was ok , but the pistol version with 14” barrel would out shoot it
Had an H&R in 22 hornet that was a shell waster
And a New England in 17HMR that shot pretty damned good
A few 22’s , a suhl snd Annie that was lights out
Kenneth

I have used several TC Contender Carbines over the years. 223, 7x30 Waters, 30-30, and 35 Rem. My current is a 357 Maximum and a couple of 22lr match.

Patiently awaiting the dies 9.5x 47R

My Ruger No.1 257 Robert's has worked well for dear as have my TC Encore in several calibers. The Encore is a useful too. The Ruger is a looker.

i was 16 or 17yo when i shot my first single shot buck. it was a Handi rifle in 45-70. then in early 2000s, i bought Ruger #1 in 270 Win and it killed a pile of deer. in 2010s, i got two TC Encore in 20 Vartag, 22-250AI (27" MGM), 6.5 Creedmoor (15", 16 1/4" and 23" barrels), 444 Marlin and 500 Linebaugh, they are 23" MGM barrels.

this year, i am going to with my late dad's TC Contender. i bought 10" barrel in 30 and 357 Herrett. my dad had a 14" muzzle brake 7x30 Waters barrel that killed alot of deer. i like the caliber but hate the brake. besides, my dad always wanted a 30 Herrett.

I’m a big fan of 7mm cartridges, and for years I always wanted to pick up a Ruger #1 in 275 rigby. If I’m not mistaken Lipsey’s did a special run on the 275, so I don’t think there were that many made. I believe one came up for sale here in just the last year, but you don’t see them for sale very often. As usual, I was late to the party, and the rifle had already been sold. To me, with the Ruger #1 and the 7mm cartridge both being inherently accurate, it would be one great rifle.

You don’t see them very often. When I see a Ruger in .275 Rigby, they’re more often an M77 in either a regular bolt action or an RSI version.

In 2004, Ruger did a run of one hundred #1 RSI rifles for the Dallas Arms Collectors Association chambered in 275 Rigby. They’re uncommon so I was surprised to see two for sale this past year after not seeing one since 2020. Every now & then a model 11399 1-A with a 24” barrel from 2016 will pop up but they’re pretty rare too. You’ll generally have better luck with the more common 7x57mm. Right now there’s both a 1-A & an RSI on GB in that caliber.

A .303 British with iron sights & a .275 Rigby with a Leupold 3x Big Bore are both good single shot deer rifles:

I remember when the Ruger #1s came out. I would hit the various gun stores just for the chance to see one. It took ten years before that happened. For some reason they just didn't make it out west. Then, in 1975 I saw my first #1, a "B" model in 30-06. My wife screamed bloody murder but it came home with me. I dd a lot of deer hunts with that rifle. Have a chance to hunt elk out of state, I ordered a #1S in .300 Win. mag. The LGS called me and said my gun was in but when I got there is was a "B" model. I complained so the LGS called the distributor and was told that the "B" was the only one they could get in .300 Win. Mag., take it or send it back. Well, I took it. It went on a couple of out of state elk hunts, Nevada did not have an elk season back then, and it had a couple of hunts here in Arizona. Since then I have acquired three more #1s in .300 Win. mag. and passed on fourth. All four were "S" models an two were "Liberty" models. The one I passed on was just too rough for me to mess with. Looked liked it spent most of its life in a scabbard on a horse. Really really rough.
Currently I have a small collection of Number Ones ranging from .22 Hornet to .416 Rigby. There's a 45-70 buried in that pile as well. I love my Number Ones.
PJ

My Ruger No.1 257 Robert's has worked well for dear as have my TC Encore in several calibers. The

my last purchase on a Ruger #1 was a another 257 Roberts 1-B , i refinished the stock after i glass bedded the back part of the forearm about 3 inches , then a recut / ground the barrel channel some so the rest of the barrel is floated .with 75 gr. Hammer Hunter bullets and Reloader 17 this rifle shoots close too 3400 FPS and the 3-shot groups at 100 yards are 1/2-5/8 groups. i don`t need 5 shot groups with just a deer rifle for me and grandson , this rifle is now ready for deer season,Pete53