Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Best caliber for a single shot?

If you were going to get a Hagn single shot what caliber would you get?

7x57 Mauser

A rimmed cartridge is classic. 7x57R

Yup, a 7x57.

45/70

Stan in SC

Don't really care about the cartridge, per se, but do make it a rimmed cartridge. JMHO

maddog

Whatever the cartridge, it would have a rim. If I were going after deer size critters, a 7x65R would be hard to beat. If the quarry was a little meatier, a 9.3x74R would do nicely. For nasty critters, one of the NE rounds...say a 450/400 on up. JMO.

Jeff

I often thought a 7x57 would be nice...about perfect. In 2006 I visited with Martin and at his home he allowed me to shoot a .45/70 which he was regulating the sights on. I still dream about it.

Perfect Jeff!
But since Hagens are a dime a dozen I would also add a rifle in the following cartridges, 7X57R and 8X57R.

according to their website they do rimless and belted calibers too. I am going to say a .270 Weatherby

7x57 would probably be my first choice, but what about a 30/40 Krag?

28

30/06

Good Golly Miss Molly! Just went to their web site and.... Oh My! I didn't realize a rifle could be so beautiful.

Didn't even try to price 'em, am sure they're way out of my reach.

That said, I'd go with a .300 H&H mag and make it a stalking rifle of the first order.

Regards, Guy

Those would round it out nicely! Perhaps a varmint rifle in 219 Zip Imp, or one of the Euro 5.56x??R.

Jeff

I'd go with 7x57 as a first choice.

But if you're going to insist on a rim, I'd seriously consider the .303 British.

- Tom

6.5x57R

Were you thinking 5.6x50R or 5.6x52R 9.22 Sav Hi-Power?

Edw

The versatility kings are the magnum 30s. The only choice is thus a 300 Super flanged.
Cheers...
Con

Con,

Not to get too technical, but technically wouldn't that be the "Super-Thirty Flanged"?

Does it have to be a flanged cartrige?

Not unless you're a single-shot purist.

I have several friends who've rebarreled Ruger No. 1's over the years to various rimmed rounds, simply because older falling-block actions needed a rimmed/flanged case to function. But No. 1's and Hagn's don't, so having them chambered for a rimmed round is sort of like leaving the chamber under the hammer empty on Ruger Blackhawks. It's traditional, but has nothing to do with functional reality.

I am thinking a 7x57 mauser would be perfect for a stalking rifle and plains game.

I'd base the cartridge selection on what I was going to shoot with the rifle.

You radical!

Fred's on the cutting edge...

Ingwe

I'm thinning my safe herd and trading several rifles for one single shot, a pretty Blaser K95. To keep things simple (I have already have dies,bullets, and cases, and appropriate powders), I am thinking 30-06 but in this case and time of life the rifle is more important than the chambering and I will take a 280 or a 7mm Rm, all good for the usual NA big game if it gets me the rifle I want sooner.

A purist may call for a rimmed cartridge, and for the German Blaser, one of the continental metrics but I'm actually trying to be practical here. Something new to me; besides, I've actually figured out the 30-06 is a very good and multi-talented cartridge.

I went through the same thing when I bought my Merkel K-1 a few years ago. Instead of getting a 7x57R or something like thatg, I got a .308--which works perfectly--and the Merkel and Blaser actions are quite similar.

458 Lott, cuzz you only want to shoot it once.

7 Mashburn Super for me

Dober

Yes indeed ... and doesn't it roll off the tongue smooth as silk!

"I shoot a Super Thirty Flanged".

I just feel that a person selecting a single-shot is doing it for reasons beyond pure practicality. Cartridge choice should reflect that and in my opinion is best rimmed or at least 'classic'. I have two No1's coming in 303British and 450/400NE ... but I'd like to grab another in 30cal. probably break my own rule and grab a 300H&H.

Another lovely choice would be a 375 Flanged Nitro Express or if only chasing lighter game ... a 7x57R.
Cheers...
Con

Ed,

The x50R. While I think the Hi-Power is a cool round, the bullet selection is pretty skimpy.

Jeff

As for the rimmed rounds being favored due to tradition. That absolutely is part of it. That said, a rimless extractor, is much simpler mechanically, and would be generally more robust. No spring loaded blade, as is used in break action guns. As for the No.1. I would think it would have a more positive extraction, were it designed around a rim. For starters, the extractor itself, could cover the entire extractor cut in the chamber, rather than the as issued little hook. You also wouldn't need the spring loaded plunger that pushes the extractor against the camming surface on the block. It could just come straight back the whole way. Fewer moving parts/simpler mechanics, is never a bad thing IMO. Having said that, I've never had an extraction problem, after firing several thousand rounds through various No.1's......a guy's gotta nit pick something!

Jeff

I must admit the 8x68 intrigues me (here I go again) but then the idea of an "8mm RM" in a 5 1/2lb rifle doesn't seem to me like a match made in heaven.

Con,

Oh, I agree with you--at least to a certain extent. About a third of my single-shot are chambered for rimmed rounds, from the .22 Hornet to the .450/.400, though my Super-Thirty is the belted version. And only my Merkel .308 is chambered for a cartridge developed after about 1925, but then I deliberately chose it as a travel rifle, because it takes down so easily--and good .308 ammo is very easy to find world-wide.

Jeff,

The only time I've had a No. 1 fail to extract was once after I shipped one off to a gunsmith who claimd to be a No. 1 expert. It was supposed to be a simple rebarrel job, but he also rebedded the forend (in a way I hadn't asked for, and didn't like), and when he replaced the quarter-rib he got it on slightloy crooked. And he evidently lost the extractor spring and replaced it with a wimpier one, so about one in three rounds didn't extract.

I fixed everything myself, partly because it had to taken so long to get the rifle back in the first place. I modified some Ruger rings so a scope could be mounted parallel to the bore, rebedded the forend, and replaced the extractor spring. But that is the only No. 1 I've had fail to extract, and I must have owned a couple dozen over the years, including several in varmint chamberings that were shot thousands of times.

You mean "cuzz you only get to shoot it once."

(And now starts the discussion about how fast you can reload and get a second, aimed shot off! No need. To quote Foghorn Leghorn, "It's a joke son. It's a joke!")

Jeff,

So, you're saying that a single break action like the K95 that is chambered for both rimmmed and rimless cartridges has significantly different extraction systems and that the one for the rimmed cartridges is simpler, more robust, and less prone to failure?

Geez John! At least you know who not to send a rifle to; No.1's in particular! You also now know who you can trust your No.1 to......you! Like I said, I'm just picking nits. Never an extraction problem here, either. My only point is that a mechanically simple design, could be even more simple, were it rimless.

Jeff

Oh, yeah, an extractor for a rimmed round is usually simpler in a single-shot. Though the extractor in my Merkel K-1 .308 is just as simple as those for the rimmed round.

The simplest "extractor" I've seen on a rifle is the one on the 38-pound .338 Lapua sniper rifle I'm presently testing. This rifle is a single-shot bolt action that's as simple as it gets. It doesn't even have a bolt stop or a safety. The front of the bolt is essentially exactly like the case-holder in a reloading press. You remove the bolt from the rifle, slide the rim of the case into the face of the bolt, replace the bolt (with round), and fire!

goodnews,

Essentially, yes. Most all single shot action extractors work using the same basic design, with break actions having the extractor push straight back, guided by a rod that is plunged into the barrel assembly. With falling blocks/tipping blocks, the extractor is generally a lever affair of some sort, and the lever pivots rearward. In either case, with a rimmed cartridge, the extractor is merely cut, as as if part of the chamber. With a rimless round, there is no way for the extractor to engage the extractor groove, without having some mechanism to "get out of the way", when the round is chambered. There are several ways to do this. A rimmed style extractor, can be fitted with a spring loaded blade, for instance. It allows the blade to depress into a slot while the round is chambered, and it snaps into the extractor groove, when it passes over it. It's all kind of like the fixed power vs. variable scope/PF vs. CRF. Makes for good discussion! I still maintain that needed or not, a rimmed extractor by design, has to be more simple a design, than a rimless. Really no way to extract a rimless round without additional parts, or mechanics of some sort.

Jeff

Now that's a controlled round feed!!!

Jeff

Yep. Unless you drop the bolt, it's pretty foolproof....

Thanks. This I take it is why those peculiar people who are so fussy about not being eaten, stomped, and generally killed, are so particular about their double rifles being chambered rimmed cartridges.

And if your ejector malfunctions,you've nobody to blame but yerself.

For all around use, I'd go for the 7x65R IF you're a handloader. If not, .270 WCF. Why not shoot something that you can get at any rural general store in the US and isn't banned as a "military cartridge" anywhere in the world? If you KNOW you are NEVER going to take the rifle out of the US, I'd amend my choice to consider the .308, which is usually extremely accurate in these rifles and also can be found anywhere in the US. Kills stuff, too.

I think there are some applications where a single shot is an advantage over a bolt of other repeater. I never thought of this until last week when I was shooting at praire dogs. My buddy with a Ruger number 1 in 223 would just drop the lever after each shot, remove the spent case and reload. My Tikka, on the other hand would toss cases into the sage brush, where I'd have to battle rattlesnakes, tarantulas and grass land wolverines to retrieve the case. He was actually able to reload and fire easier and quicker than I could. Did some serious thinking about a Ruger Number 1 on that trip home, even as much as I hate to buy new rifles.

Royce

Yea, but there is also a quite a difference between a Dakota M10, a No. 1 and the break open actions like the Merkel and the Blaser K-95. But then, When I'm interested in speed or quick repeatability, I'll just go to my AR.

And when it comes to an efficient killing machine, it's hard to beat that AR with anything that doesn't use lanyards and fuses. And building on your post, what was going through my drug addled (fighting bronchitus)mind when I made that post is that there is such a wide range of single shots and calibers, from my little Stevens Crack Shot in 25 rimfire up to elephant guns, that to recommend a caliber for a single shot, you'd have to know what the user was looking for, in terms of use and budget constraints.

Fred,

Which is exactly why my most-used prairie dog rifle is a Ruger No. 1B in .22 Hornet. I have also used a No. 1B in .220 Swift quite a bit as well. Since I almost always end up single-loading when shooting PD's anyway, not having to look for the brass is a help, and I find it quicker to slide another into the rear end of a No. 1 than to drop it in a bolt action.

If you have use of a powerful, long range big game rifle, the 300 Weatherby is quite a cartridge that as a long cartridge is a compliment to a single shot rifle (so is the 300 H&H). Make the tube 26"...

My friend, Prostrate8, hit the "nail-on-the-head" again!!!

I have a beautiful 1993 RSI in 7x57... and the ONLY change I'd make in it if I could change it would be to have it in 7x57R rather than it's rimless "brother", the 7x57 Mauser (aka "7mm Mauser" & ".275 Rigby").

The little RSI is already a "classic" with it's short 20" barrel and full Mannlicher-style stock... and having it in 7x57R would complete the "circle"... a "classic" within a "classic"!

Conversely, the "down-side" of the 7x57R cartridge is very limited availability of the brass (yes, I'm a reloader as well)... I've rarely seen the rimmed version of the 7x57 brass offered for sale on line and I've never seen it for sale in gun shops that sell reloading equipment & supplies. (But then, perhaps I've lead a "sheltered life", eh? Hahahaha... )


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

It would depend on what you were using it for, varmits, big game, dangerous game, targets, bench or shutzen??

Ron,
You should come to Australia ... relatively easy to source as loaded ammunition thanks to the Highland/PPU brand from the former Yugoslavia.
Cheers...
Con

If that is the going price, I'll take a dozen

Randy

7x65R Brenneke.

I've skipped over this quickly but there isn't mention of the 225 Win. Is there a reason why it isn't mentioned?

And yes, a 30/40 Krag is perfection in a single for deer.

If you hand load i would say the 45-70 to be the best. in a good single shot it can be loaded to nearly 458win specs and down loaded as much as you want with a super wide range of bullets

303 Brit of course. Krag for an American and one of the great old Winchester cartridges if going big bore. 405 WCF would be an excellent choice. Main concern for me would be rimmed and access to quality brass.

YUP!

maddog

I got mine in 405 for the reason that I will likely ever own one, and I wanted it to fit several bills -- rimmed, big bore, classic.

For me, it's all about the 45-70. For general hunting I carry my Sharps. If going after something that might eat me, It's the Ruger #1.
Bill

Whatever caliber you like. If it doesn't come in that have a barrel made in it. Or better yet one of each. The age old question of what caliber/chambering is best is only answered by what caliber/chambering do you like best. Figure out what and how you like to hunt and go from there.