Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Bored with modern rifles...........

Getting kind of bored with modern rifles and fretting to take a group from 3/4" to 1/2". Seems like just about any quality modern bolt rifle will turn in a 1" 3 shot group with a decent scope and ammo and with a little reloading often pretty easy to shrink that. Seems I spend considerable time getting set up to shoot 400 yards and usually shoot my deer at under 200. So with that in mind I'm considering taking a step or two back and trying some single shot rifles with open/peep sights.

I have an itch for something like a Winchester 1885 Traditional hunter in a classic caliber like 38-55. 45-70 seems to be the standard but it would be nice to have something a bit smaller and more economical as well as less punishing to shoot. A Sharps is not off the table but I think I'd rather have something of reasonable weight where I could actually pack it for a deer in the fall as well as have fun plinking with it during the spring and summer. Some of the 1885's, Rolling Blocks and Sharps etc. I have seen have been chambered in 45Colt or 44-40 - those may be fun. I don't think I want to go the BP route but it would be nice to keep as an option.

Cost is a hurdle in this possible effort. There does not seem to be many options to test the waters economically. So I'm asking around before I jump in the deep end.

Anyone else been down this road? What did you discover? Pitfalls? Worth doing or am I nuts?

It is entirely possible that it's the middle of winter and I'm bored and daydreaming about guns again.............

Have lever rifles been a thought? I have/shoot a Henry steel in .45 Colt, 20" barrel. Just an option. Good luck in your quest.

Do you enjoy projects with hands on things? If so there are re-stocking projects to be had or a MZ kit from Jim Chambers or (easier) Jim Kibler. You can even rust blue a beater pretty easily at home as a project. Another option with your itch for a single shot would be to get a Ruger, Handi, or Contender and work up cast bullet loads that are cheap for plinking and still effective for deer, like a .30-30 or .25-35.

That's the joy of an interest in firearms; there are so many avenues to explore to keep our passion going. I started with the usual Deer-hunting rifles, then long range, then ARs, followed by BPCR, leverguns, African doubles, handguns, etc. There's always something new to keep us fired up. Go for it!

Highwalls work well either way and my basis is having two, one with each chamber you listed. How much abuse you want to tolerate is your call. Took my .45-70 version out awhile back with a friend and he named it Thumper....even after he put 5 in about 2" or so. I gave it a whirl with the Marbles style tang sight and plunked 5 into 1.5" with an elbow rest. Oh yeah, it was BP and 530 gr of lead. It weighs about 9# due to the barrel dims, but that is no hangup for me. I have the option of lighter bullets and smokeless but I'm not into that girlie stuff these days.

The .38-55 is configured for Schuetzen style and flings 300 gr lead with BP as well. Total pussycat that I can put 10 in about 8" at 100, standing on my hind legs. 30:1 alloy is my favorite with both guns and would put the splat on any critter inside 200 yards w/o a doubt.

Have a third iteration that is a .40-.38-55 muzzle loading cartridge gun, built in the spirit of Harry Pope's style of guns. It can shoot better than you or me.

Your call, they both work.

Have a friend who suffered from your identical symptoms....at the depth of his depression he discovered a Martini single shot at a show in Reno, in .303 Brit, of uncertain parentage, and questionable care by the former owner(s). For 350 bucks, and a winters tinkering and polishing, and sight fabrication, he now has an acceptably accurate, well balanced, somewhat attractive hunting rifle.

A High Wall in any caliber larger than .22 Hornet will suffice for under-200 yard deer shooting (although I would be leery of the BP pistol cartridges out beyond 100 yards, mainly because of rainbow-like trajectories). Original High Wall or modern repro- they're all good. Don't pass up a Ruger #1 in one of its more "tame" chamberings. (You don't need a .300/.270/.257magnum for close-in deer killing.) In your shoes I would feel fat dumb and happy with a HW in .38-55.

Turning 60 this year. Been shooting mostly 700s and semi custom 700s all my life. I still like them, but find them a bit uninspiring.

Having a custom FN98 custom built this year in 275Rigby to rectify that boredom. Will be a Rigby Highlander clone with upgrades.

Have a Winchester1895 in 30/40 Krag, Even has a peep sight.

I shot a bison with one last year.

Lefty

I've found that I enjoy single shots and lever guns more and more. They're kinda old school, but you can hunt with them just as easily as a modern bolt action. Emphasis on hunting. Fun at the range and interesting calibers can be had in most. I'm infatuated with Savage 99's at the moment, maybe something like that would help with the boredom. I have more single shots and lever guns the bolt actions at the moment, blue steel and walnut also helps. It's hard to tell what you have when everything is plastic and stainless steel and looks the same.

This happens to me a lot.

1) It's January. If you have doubts, put on the back burner until spring.
2) If cost is an issue, then it may be a bum idea.

What I mean from that last one, is that I get a lot of wild-hare ideas, but when I start checking prices, it usually sobers me up.

Idea: what about a el-cheapo solution? Lord knows I've done that before.

What I mean is there are plenty of single-shot rifles out there. Maybe they're not as sentimental as what you mentioned, but the idea ends up being the same. There is a single-shot Traditions 44 Mag on Gunbroker right now for under $90. Sometimes you can have quite an adventure starting with the bottom of the barrel.

I have done the whole gamut, single, shots, open sights, MZ, and AR's. I have returned to the boring modern bolt action rifles. They are used for my social, relaxed, enjoyable, stress free rifle hunts. I enjoy going to range and working up loads, banging LR steel. I find it very therapeutic and great stress reliever. That is, when I have time.

I use traditional archery equipment, so I get all the challenge I need there.

I picked up a Swedish roller last summer. Having a blast playing with. Mounted a Lyman #2 on back and a Swiss diopter on front. It is about .050 in length from being our 50\70. Use 50 Alaskan brass trimmed to length and you are good to go. So far have used BP sub under the 450gr Lee cast. Might gravitate to Holy Black soon. It was made in 1871 and is in wonderful shape. 300 dollar range. The stuff that can keep you from going crazy this time of year.

Owned the 38-55 Traditional Hunter for awhile and was tremendously impressed with it. Never shot anything but cast and it grouped beautifully. I did put a Shaver soule on it. Won our informal buffalo match with it against some fine shooters. Let a friend have it when we stopped doing the buff matches.

It is a beautiful rifle and superbly accurate. There are many options out there, but you won't regret getting the TH if you go that route!

centershot,

As far as I can remember, have had something like the same affliction ever since I was around 8 years old--except that I haven't gotten bored with modern rifles.

My collection includes "traditional" muzzleloaders, and cartridge rifles made from over 150 years ago to last year. Have gone through periods of collecting (and hunting with) Winchester single-shots (mostly original), Savage 99s (including one 1895), both old Marlin and Winchester lever-actions, pre-'64 Model 70s, Ruger No.1s, drillings, etc. Among other stuff, have done an all iron-sight African safari, and used a pre-'64 70 .270 to take a bull caribou at 350 yards--with an equally old Lyman aperture sight and the factory front bead. My guess is that boredom with modern rifles requires a regular treatment with older stuff to appreciate the history of sporting rifles!

I have a 1873 made in 1884. It’s a 38-40, fun to kill pigs with. Savage 99’s are fun too.

Love taking deer with my 1886 Win, 33 WCF..Tats a thumper of a round.

One thing to consider is your eyesight. I have one of the Low Wall .44s and it's a bit of a struggle for me to shoot it well with the irons. Depending on the day, a +1.5 or +2.0 works. I also replaced the bead with a Skinner blade, easier for me to get a clear sight picture with.

These little Brownings aren't drilled for mounts, but I just found a Skinner dovetail adapter that will let me mount a tiny red dot or See All in place of the rear leaf. No permanent mods to the pricey little rifle required.

The High Walls in .38/55 are still to be had, but pretty expensive. Low Walls like mine are a bit less and usually have really nice, sometimes stunning wood. Since the sights are the limitation for me and it weighs a lot less, I'm sticking with the .44. Out West, the .38/55 might be better, or if you can find one (good luck!) one of the Browning .30/30s.

If you want to try out the concept on the cheap, pick up one of the Henry Single Shots. It's a break-action (kipplauf), but is pretty nice looking and comes in .30/30, .44, and .45/70, I'll bet that .45/70 is pretty sporty on the back end. Other than the heavy trigger, easily fixed with a spring, I've not heard any complaints from owners, and I like my .308 a lot. Nice wood, blued steel, $400.

Get yourself a '74 Shiloh Sharps rifle and learn to cast bullets, both paper patch and grease groove, the most satisfaction I've ever had with a sporting arm, nothing more fun than when you cast, load and shoot a black powder powered 1.5" three shot group on 500 yard steel with buckhorn ladder barrel sights and a copper penny blade front sight, everything has to perfectly align at those times of course, but what a blast!

Quigley, is that you?