"Honestly, I wouldn't hunt dangerous game with a single - period."
No guts, no glory.
I think I would if I could afford to go where there is some dangerous game. I wouldn't worry too awfully much about having to take a fast second shot either. I have been hunting with Ruger #1s since 1975 and a fast second shot isn't all that hard to do with practice.
On page 22 of the January-February #43 issue of RIFLE Magazine, there is an excellent article by Al Miller or rapid reloading the single shot rifle. A darn good read for anyone who plans to seriously hunt with a single loader.
Some people seem to have trouble with the fired case hanging up on the safety button. There's an easy fix. Tilt the rifle slightly to the right as you drop the lever to extract the round as the rifle rises in recoil. The fired case dropps out every time, regardless if the rifle is a .22 Hornet ot the .416 Rigby. (I have both and 19 others in various calibers.)
I've tried the holding the extra loads between the fingers bit and that works OK if you only have to do that for a minute or two. It gets old real quick, especially if it's real cold. I don't care for the wrist holders, nor for the ones on my belt. The wrist jobs just feel awkward to me and try to get another round out from a belt holder when shooting from a sitting position. Lots of luck. Cartridge holders at pocket level on a shirt is OK but my preference is for the butt cuff holder. The weight change in balance is only very slightly noticed on the #1A, but on the "B" and "S" models, the extra forward weight of the 26" barrel negates the difference added by the butt cuff.
As Al Miller states in his article. a practice singe shot shooter can get off AIMED shots about as fast as the average bolt action shooer with emphasis on the word "aimed". A practiced high power shoort of course would outshoot the single shot shooter by a large margin. Part of my rapid loading technique comes from Mr. Miller's article and is modified by what I found out worked for me. YMMV.
As the rifle rises in recoil, I twist the rifle slightly to the right as I work the lever. Then, my left hand slides to the receiver and my left thumb covers the breech. At that point my right hand slides back along the stock to where I can pull a round from the butt cuff whic I then slide toward the breech. As the point of the round touches my thumb, the thumb slips out of the way allowing the rifle which has the muzzle tilted downward to allow the fresh round to slide into the chamber. As the left hand moves back to the forearm, the right hand closes the lever in preperation for the next shot should it be necessary.
OK, I know that this sound complicated as all get out but with about 5 minutes of practice every day, it becomes second nature and is quite fast. The trick is to start out slowly and make each move in a deliberate pattern until your mind and body have it perfectly patterned. It's kind of like learning to do fast draw and hitting a target. You will be slow at first, but speed comes with practice.
One important thing though, you cartridges must be full length resized or on brand new brass that you have run through the rifle. The loaded cartridges can safely be run through a Ruger #1 rifle with the safety on, but I would still recommend doing that with a safe backstop on hand. After all, a safety catch is a mechanical device that can fail at any time. The important hing is the round MUST drop all the way into the chamber. If you have to nudge it with your finger to finish the chambering, then the ammo is not proper for the hunt.
Second, you must practice the moves so that you can do it without looking at the rifle. you must keep you eye on your game, otherwise it might not be where you think it is and you either lose time getting the shot trying to locate it or lose sight of the animal entirely. On dangerous game, that could be disasterous as hell.
One thing Mr. Miller said was, a good shot will never be handicapped by using a single shot rifle. A poor shot will still be a poor shot, no matter what he shoots.
Paul B.
