there are some of us who hunt with only a single shot rifle ,shotgun ,muzzle loader with the thought : make the 1st shot count , that`s how i grew up . so i guess i will go 1st, my favorite is a Ruger #1 for the last 25 years , the last 20 years 257 Weatherby mag. and for the last 45 some years maybe longer i have always loaded my own ammo for family and myself . i feel a more accomplished hunter using my own hand loaded ammo to hunt deer or other game with so i guess that makes me a Looney too . Pete53


so let`s hear or see what you use ,Thanks

I love my Encore/Arrowhead muzzleloader and am thinking of getting a center fire rifle barrel to use during gun season. I’ve compared my encore side by side with my bolt actions and an encore with a 22” barrel is about the same overall length as a short action rifle with a 17” barrel. Should be a nice and handy stand rifle with zero ballistic compromise

i like how easy its to load and unload a single shot rifle ,my 10 year old grandson understands this type of rifle easier too makes things safer too.

Pete, the ideal for me would be a one and done, but my bottom line is getting that deer on the ground as quickly and humanity as possible.and hunting where I do, brush deflection happens. This year and last, both bucks needed a second follow up shot and a bolt action with cartridges in the magazine was a welcome alternative to a single shot. Cold fingers with a glove I don’t think would give me the dexterity that I’d need for a smooth follow up shot. I have thought about a Merkel or a Dakota, but they just don’t fit with my brush cover deer hunting.

Ruger #1, x2. 7x57 RSI with M8 4X Loop ( gasp) #1 Medium Sporter 45-70, with a soon to be mounted Nikon Monarch 1.5-5.

OTOH, if years ago you go on a hunt with your family, and your Dad takes his M1 Garand and forgets his clips...that counts as a single shot too

i have a stand in a thick Tamarack swamp with 15 feet wide long shooting lanes, i understand sometimes i don`t get the shot ,but if i do its one and done .

I hunt deer with a variety of firearms including the single shot Ruger Number One. This one is a 7mm Remington Magnum. I do enjoy loading for and hunting with my single shot rifles.



Regards, Guy

Currently my two single shooters are front stuffers.

A TC Hawken .54 with a Green Mountain RB barrel, assembled from a kit my dad bought me and a CVA Optima V2.

The Hawken has killed the CVA hasn't, hopefully that changes this year.

Have killed with a TC Encore in 25-06 back 15-20 years ago when they were all of the rage.

Had a Contender 44 Mag 10" once, never hunted it.

My two singles are a Ruger #1 in 7x57 and a #3 in 223 Rem. Both kill deer.

Singles are great for teaching! And nice and short in a stand!

good point i almost forgot that with a single shot like a Ruger # 1 0r 3 ,T -C or some others we don`t have a receiver like a bolt ,pump or auto so our rifles are around 4 inches shorter makes it easier to swing in a enclosed stand , hunting in the brush or even a vehicle window. did you guys know Federal Cartridge ammo company has used Ruger #1 actions for test firing and pressure testing ammo for many years ?

My first deer - 50 years ago - I was glad I had a Winch 64. Since then, a quick follow up shot has done nothing but waste meat. Most recent deer have been taken with an Encore, either muzzleloader or center fire.

I use my CVA Scout .45-70 often especially in the woods.

I’ve done a variety of single shots with no concerns.

I find now the arthritis in the fingers has buggered my dexterity a bit. So I now lean to my bolt guns. In our zones with multiple tags it’s nice to be able to crank off three quick shots when the opportunity presents itself. Or the odd case when you want to anchor the beast before it goes over a long steep nasty edge.

I do love the look of the German single shots.

Whatever floats your boat 🛶 or cranks your tractor 🚜 😃

Assorted Handi rifles, traditional muzzleloaders,
T/C Contenders

I frequently use my 1B in .308, in fact latest deer I killed was with that. Also have killed a good number as well as caribou with my Encore as a ML and as CF with .25-06 AI barrel.

Ruger No.1 B, 257 Roberts. Nosler 100gr Partition, 46g H-4350, 3200fps from the 26" barrel. PBR 6" target to 300yds.

Actually caught one under the hide on the off shoulder. Retained 64.1gr.

I've owned quite a few H&R/NEFs in the past, a couple CVAs, and one Ruger #1.

Currently my only single shots are both CVA; a Wolf .50 ML and a Scout v2 in 300 Blackout.

Encore pro hunter 35 wheeler for woods hunting.

I like how short and compact it is.


The 180 ttsx are hammers.

i do mis or wish Encore from TC and the barrels were still made even there old time muskets like the Hawken . heck i even mis Ruger not making #1 `s and #3`s

"Don't knock it unless you tried" was how I came about a single shot. Ruger #1 B, 257 Roberts.

Guess I'm 15-20 years behind the times, Brian !!

I've used single shots from H&R, T/C, and CVA. The H&R had a super stiff trigger, but they've all worked well otherwise. Now I am down to just two CVA models: A stainless Apex in .35Whelen and a Scout Compact in 7mm-08. I liked that both were ready to go, out of the box (no trigger jobs needed). I do really like how compact they are.

Not only single shot, but vintage with vintage iron sights. There is much to be said about hunting versus shooting...

These are my two favorite single shots but I have a Handi-Rifle with a few additional barrels that gets used, just not as much as they should.
Shrapnel, nice pics.

I've hunted with quite a variety of single shots, including several Ruger #1's. They're Ok and I like the single shot hunting experience, but Nothing has satisfied me as much as hunting with this Krieghoff Hubertus. Well balanced, accurate, handles like a dream, and I think it looks wonderful. It's a keeper!

Recently acquired a #1 in 30-06 for rifle areas & an Ithaca 66RS in 20ga for shotgun areas. Looking forward to getting my next deer with either gun.

This browning 1878 in 25-06 has killed a carload of deer and antelope...

Love my encore 270. Killed a bunch of deer and hogs with it and an Axis buck. My other single shot I use a few days a year in muzzleloader season. A CVA 50 cal. It shoots great. Killed a few deer and hogs with it.

The plan is to use these two. A .50-90 and a .40-70 Straight

T/C Encore with .460 S&W barrel and 1.75 x 5 Burris scope. 275 Barnes over CFE Blackout.

I have officially declared my favorite hunting rifle to be my Merkel K3 Extreme in 30-06. Last week while in WV I took a nice 8 pointer and a coyote with it. To help mitigate the recoil of such a lightweight rifle I shoot Hornady reduced recoil ammo. It makes my little rifle a joy to shoot and I’ve found the 125 grain bullets to be quite accurate and they do a number on deer!

Mackey

I do most of my hunting with Blaser K95s.

The photo is from my last hunt, this past Saturday in the French Alps, with a 270 loaded with 130gr Bergers.

Alvaro

Got my daughter a cva scout compact in 6.5 creedmoor. Nice handy little rifle.

Fantastic pic!

This picture which would appear as a ‘claim’ that RoundOak killed it with his Ruger #1 in 257 Bob is BS.

RoundOak is a lying fûck, that has been playing all Fire Members for 13 years. He’s been exposed as a fraud!

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...7850113/1/things-that-make-you-say-hmmmm

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt.../17845123/1/drove-some-islands-yesterday

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/17837944/1/sumac-buck

Just thought you all might want to know.

🦫

Aside from muzzleloaders, have a Ruger #1 in .257 Roberts. I haven’t hunted with it in a few years because I have been playing around with some other rifles. I plan to use the #1 extensively next year. I really enjoy that rifle!

Muzzleloader is a CVA Wolf 50.

1921 Savage 219 30/30
1968 Savage 24V .222/20ga

NEF handi rifle SB2. 30.06

Last year, 1885 Swede, a week old.

Still a good rifle but years ago the shops around here couldn't keep them in and were ordering tons of them for customers as well.

I had 2 or 3 frames at one time and somehow ended up w 2 identical muzzleloader barrels as well.

Had a 223, 25-06, 2 muzzys and possibly something in 284/7mm.

Not a rifle, but I hunted for years with an H&R Trophy Slugster single shot rifled barrel 12 gauge. With Federal Premium Barnes expander all copper slugs, it was like a single shot rifle out to 150 yards. I never felt under gunned. I concentrated on making my first shot count.

Ron

That is a great picture and great rifle - thank you for sharing!!

……and Shrapnel awesome rifles and pics as well!!

PennDog

I have hunted with a TC Contender in 7-30 JDJ and 444 (sent a 44 mag barrel to them and had it converted) as well as several TC black powder muzzleloaders.

A Stainless steal TC Contender for me with a MGM 7mm 08 barrel, and a MGM 45-70 barrel converted a smokeless powder muzzleloader By Hankins customs.

Tell me more about your 460 S&W Encore. Since 357 Max. and 450 Bushmaster are so hard to come by, I have been thinking of that cal.

Levers and bolts. I tend to avoid singles

As a hunter, always make the first shot count.
This single shot elitist BS gets old.

Who goes afield w only one fuggin round?

I grew up shooting Ruger #1, have had several.
Just a rifle, nothing more.

.357 Max in stock

https://grizzlycartridge.com/shop/g...lver-cartridges/357-maximum-200gr-wlngc/

Sorry, I was not clear on the 357 Max. I need a barrel for the Encore not ammo.

My father's friend had a browning highwall in 7 mag. I always lusted after that gun.

Great photo! Nice kit you've got there too.

I love single shot rifles. I have 4 Ruger #1's from 250 Savage to 450-400 and 4 custom guns 3 on the #1 action 7MM-08, 300 Savage, 300 H&H and one High Wall in 38-55. I find myself reaching for one of these before any other rifle. After all Shrapnal said it best. It's hunting not shooting and the first shot determines everything afterwards. Aim small miss small.

I don’t see much “elitist BS” in this thread. Also, nobody I know who hunts with single shots, including myself, goes afield with only one round. That being said, I usually only have three with me at any given time.

Just out of curiosity, how many aimed shots do you get at a single animal after the first one, in most cases?

Over the years, I have primarily hunted with various Contender or Encore handguns (hence my screen name). Currently, I have gotten into building bolt rifles, so my primary hunting guns have shifted to those, however my primary black bear rifle is a TC Encore with a factory 308 barrel, chopped to 17” with a suppressor. Great little light and compact package.

Have used a number of single shots, usually in Ruger #1s. In normal hunting situations, when you think about it, if a follow up shot is needed it is often minutes-rather than seconds- later.

When I was a kid I hunted with a hand-me-down Remington 742, the only times it ever loaded a second round is when I didn't need it. Does that qualify?

I have killed deer with .50 cal muzzleloaders, Sharps .45-70 , High Wall .45-70 and the 9.3x72mm barrel of a drilling. There have been a couple of occasions that I would have shot again, that turned out to have been unnecessary.

Justiying/explaining the use of a single shot rifle isn't necessary. It just is, and always will be.

An ethical hunter, no matter what weapon, strives to make the first shot count.

I like falling block rifles.
Just dont think using em makes me special.

VERY TRUE ! that`s why my grandson got a Ruger #1 -1B 257 Roberts from me .

I'm not sure if there are other locations with similar rules, but in Louisiana & Mississippi they have a fairly liberal definition of what a "primitive" weapon can be by including breech loaded single shots >= .35 caliber with an exposed hammer. While the law may have been written with rifles that shoot rounds like .45-70 or .38-55 in mind, two of my buddies hunt with CVA's in .35 Whelen which I don't usually think of as being a very primitive round. The requirement that it have an exposed hammer is inconvenient since that eliminates my Ruger #1. But fortunately I have Winchester 1885's in .405 & .44 Magnum that qualify so I can hunt with them. I have eight single shots that I can use for deer hunting during the regular season. A few reasons for owning them is that mechanically, I just have a fondness for falling block rifles. Being a right-handed person who prefers to shoot left, I like their ambidextrous design. I also have an unexplainable penchant for less common calibers that can sometimes be easier to find in a single shot rifle (since not buying right-handed bolts eliminates a lot of options for me). So my fondness for single shot deer rifles is largely defined by personal quirks and narrowly defined hunting regulations. I would never try to convince anyone that my choices are better because there's too many good arguments that they're not. I just buy what makes me happy.

An additional advantage to SSs is that it’s nearly impossible to lose the magazine……

Don't underestimate my capabilities...

Have a nice little SB1 in .30-30 Win.

Debating whether to leave as-is............have my smith AI it............or have JES re-bore to .375 Win.

Or sell it to me.

Have a #1 in 30-06 in the safe. Never hunted it.
It's cool, looks nice.

But it's a heavy POS.

Have numerous bolts that are lighter.
A couple are more handy.

A pump (hate pumps) that is similar weight.

I don't pull the trigger to miss, don't pull if a good shot isn't anticipated.


I've killed several deer that were missed by the first shot.
Had some that needed a follow up. Sometimes later, sometimes right now.
I do not care enough about one shot kills to let an animal run off or hang around.
If given an opportunity, I shoot agin.

Really like the fastest follow up shot available. (Except using that dang pump. But it is fast!)


Love hunting with a flintlock.
Go figure!

My current thought is a Henry Single Shot rifle in 3030 win, rebored to 460 S&W. That chambering would provide plenty of power. Like 45-70 type of power, and light to heavy bullet options along with a 200 yard capability. It would meet both Maryland and Delaware regulations. I have a Weaver K4, just waiting to ride on top of that rifle. Decisions, decisions......

another neat thing about a 460 SW is you can use 45 long colts and 454 Casull cartridges in your 460 SW.

With the new IL regulations allowing single shot rifles of certain cartridges, I have an urge to get one in 357 Rem Mag, not a Maximum. Any decent ones out there? Urge is due to an abundance of 180gr 357 Rem Mag hunting ammo that I have. Different beast out of a longer barrel!

Killed a few Deer and Pigs with this one 38-55 Remington Hepburn



Killed many Pigs and a few Deer and Coyotes and 1 Elk with this one .243 A.I. Rio7

Delaware has a 1-9 inch case length restriction, which excludes many cartridges but allows the 460 S&W. Which i would have to guess would develop a good bit speed from a rifle barrel. I do not know if JES would cut a chamber for me or not.

My one and only in 7x57, but I do enjoy carrying it-

Someone recommended you that you had info on a elk hunt in Montana I’m still new so I can’t message you

I picked up the .460 Encore barrel when .450 rifles were unobtanium a couple of years ago. The first one went back to TC/S&W due to fouling and asymmetrical broach marks at the muzzle. The replacement had broach marks but not asymmetrical. Shoots Hornady
300 gr XTP .451 bullets poorly but XTP .451 Magnum bullets did much better. Barnes monolithic even better but I was able to find just one 20 round box of the Barnes 275 gr so really have not been able to do much load development. Also, after perhaps 40 rounds it probably is still breaking in. This barrel doesn't seem to like 200 or 250 gr bullets with the factory and handloads I tried.

Hornady brass life seems good but I'm not pushing for maximum velocity. Recoil is manageable but I use either a slipon limbsaver or a sissy pad when shooting from the bench.

If I were to start over I would look for a TC Rochester NH or MGM barrel rather than a TC-S&W barrel. While the TC-S&W barrels might be easier to find and less expensive I would not buy one unless I could get a good look at the bore. I understand S&W bought TC in part for barrel making technology but my samples suggest that S&W failed to master the barrel broaching technique and no longer makes TC products.

The only deer I shot with the .460 was a wounded buck at 20 yards. Neck shot knocked it off it's feet.

Shiloh Sharps 40-70 bn, 40-90sbn, 45-70, 45-110, 50-70, 50-100, 50-140. One and done. Mb

Absolutely stunning picture...scenery, animal and rifle. Thanks for posting.

1885 Highwall very accurate rifles

Thank You, Sir !

Had a beautiful #1V 25-06 about 10 years ago. One of the few rifles I truly regret trading off

The more I hunt the more I reach for one of the single shot rifles.

Stunning rifle.

I have 5 Ruger No 1’s and a couple a black powder cartridge rifles. I have used a number one to take 3 antelope, however never have hunted deer with any single shot. That will be changing this next year.
My 257 Roberts will be carried or maybe the 300 win or possibly the 45/70.
See this is the problem, I have so many rifles that haven't been carried it makes it hard to decide
Oh and plan on carrying my Win 71 and 64.

I still have my first rifle, a Lakefield MkI single-shot 22. I’ve taken all sorts of small game with it. Shot lots of soda cans.

Other than that, I have an 1885 high wall in 45-70. I wish the low wall came in 25-35 or 30-30.

Winchester 1885’s: 300 WSM, 7mm WSM, 17 WSM

No idea how many deer I've taken with my Ruger #1 .270.
Actually bought it for my wife because she's right hand/left eye dominant and the No.1 is the perfect ambidextrous rifle....AND I could shoot it too! LOL!

Aug 2019, I had total (right) shoulder replacement. As much as I like the No.1, the .270 recoil is just a bit much for the implant. Not impossible, just uncomfortable.
Now I shoot an AR in 6.8mm Rem SPC.
Still a .277 caliber and I still only shoot one time....unless I get in a sounder of pigs! Then, all bets are off!
With the AR, I can empty a 30 round mag with no discomfort.
Win/Win as far as I'm concerned! 😉👍

When faced with restrictions, you adjust as necessary to overcome.

Deer #31 hit the deck this Fall at the hands of my custom Leeper built #3 .303 !

Cat

Cool buck and rifle!

catnthehat,

Nice buck! Interesting rifle too.

My Browning 1885 Highwall in 7 MM RM is one of my favorite rifles. It has accounted for several whitetails, a west Texas muley at 603 yards and a bunch of pigs. It loves the 145 grain Speer Grand Slam handloads at 3150 FPS, but I've got one last box of some old factory Federal Premium 150 gr. BTSP (Sierra's) that it really shoots well that I' am currently using up. I think I've got about 10 rounds left. I used it last year to kill two axis, one doe and one buck, and then used it this year on a coyote. Nearly blew the yote in half. It wears a gloss Leupold VXIII 3.5-10X40 in Conetrol mounts.

Now, if I can just find another one in 6.5X55 I'd be on cloud nine.

Thanks
That rifle was built with the input of the guys here on the 'fire and on Canadiam Gun Nutz
I had a spare action on a 45/70 BP long range match rifle I could not shoot at the time so decided to have some fun and build my dream hunting rifle.
We ened up with express sights, half round/ octagon barrel, Treebone wood, and since it already had Wolf springs and a Kepplinger trigger we left that alone.
The biggest problem was choosing the cartridge, seeing how there are so many good ones to choose from.
After a bit of discussion it was generally agreed that it should be a rimmed cartridge .
Somebody here ( can't remember who) said that seeing how I was a Canuck the obvious choice was .303 British!
Greydog graciouslly accepted the job, and he already had a .311 blank .He added a few of his personal touches ( I told him to do whatever he wanted ) and altered the trigger guard, added the Brno front sight band, and milled the quarter rib right into the barrel as well as the barrel sling stud.
The result is a 26" barreled falling block that handles and carries like a dream ans shoots super!
Closest animal was 19 yards and the furthest was 372 yards, all 31 but two were taken with one shot , but there was really no need for the second shot on those two as it turned out .
I run 150 Barnes TSX's at 2774FPS with it using 4895
Cat

It has been a while since I hunted with a centerfire single shot but I hunt with a side lock ML fairly often. I've been shooting a .45 cal TC Seneca which I bought used/abused a few years back. Unlike most ML I have owned, this one shoots more accurately with lighter loads. I feed it a 245 grain .45 cal TC mini and 70 grains of Goex 2Fg which makes it pretty similar ballistically to a long barreled .44 mag revolver.

I don't currently have a centerfire single shot. I'd like to but they aren't just laying around the local gun stores. My last was a recent high wall hunter in .405 WCF. Should NOT have let go of that one. Oops. If I still had that, I'd probably keep one bolt action for "maybes" and hunt the .405 for everything. Prior to that, some Ruger #1s and a couple TC Contender carbines.

I have H&R single shot rifles in 348 Win, 357 Max, 300BLK, and 50cal. I just started my son with a H&R custom rebore and rechamber in 357 Max. He killed his first buck with it this year and has certainly learned the value of making the first shot count. Next June we plan to bear hunt with that same rifle in Maine.

Mine's a wonderful, accurate, and artistic Krieghoff Hubertus in .30R Blaser. The rifle is just perfect for me. Quality in materials, build, and design. The cartridge is a compromise - I would choose something smaller for deer like a 7x57R but the .30R power is called on for moose and elk and bears too. I like it a lot! Scope is a rail mount Swarovski 2-10x with a simple #4 reticle. I've owned four or five ruger #1's and a couple of cheap break action H&R's and such, but this one stands out from that crowd.

Ruger #1 RSI in 9.3x62. I would love to have a Merkel or Blaser Stutzen in 7x57R but for now the Ruger is my single shot of choice.

Not many of those. Cool Beans!

What he said.

Here is a picture of my #1 RSI in 9.3. It was originally an '06 I had re-barreled to 9.3x62. Really likes the Speer 270's over some Big Game or the Barnes 250 over some Varget.

The bottom rifle is a Hawkeye I had a Krieger barrel installed in 9.3x62, a NECG rear sight base with a "running boar insert" and then a barrel band front with the flip up night site. Then it was bedded up in a lightweight MPI mannlicher style stock. I waited a long time to get that rifle back and then ended up trading it to a good friend on Kodiak before I even got a load worked up for it. This was to be my bad weather companion to the RSI. Now it is my buddies carrying around rifle on Kodiak.

What a fantastic rifle, love it!
Cat

I picked up a used CVA Hunter to use as a beater for hunting in the swmaps. Cut the barrel down to 18", I barely use anything else anymore.

NEF handi in .45-70, NECG banded front ramp with white-line blade sight; skinner rear peep, cushy rear pad, plastic shotgun style butt and forearm, tuned trigger. easy to carry and shoot ...

+1. Over my years of hunting, I've primarily used single-shot rifles. Not due to any reason other than I just like them. I like the fact that the OAL's of single shots are shorter than or comparable with other rifle types, even with longer barrels (I like my rifles to be muzzle-heavy). The single shots I've hunted with are: H&R in 500 S&W and in 270 Win (laminated stock model). I now hunt almost exclusively with a CVA Scout V2 take-down model in 444 Marlin (great trigger). Though all of them were accurate with their preferred ammo, the most accurate of the 3 was the H&R 500 S&W using Federal Premium ammo with Barnes 275 gr or 325 gr X-bullet (can't remember which, as it was some time ago). I'd still have that rifle, if it didn't develop a problem that a gunsmith said would cost more than the gun to fix. A 3-shot group at 100 yards was one ragged hole.

I see IL has opened up deer hunting to many center fires, mostly straight-walled cases. One has to render the gun a single-shot, doable with most any. I thought about setting up my 444 Marlin lever gun. On further review, I think I’ll stick to my Knight M-L.


My tricked out Knight Elite with B209 powder works just fine.

If you're going to carry more than 1 round afield, they may as well be in the magazine.

I made magazine plugs for a couple of my levers. One perk of the Henry having the follower tube is it's a piece of cake compared to a Marlin or Winchester.

Hope to draw blood with this one, very handy little gun. CVA in 7-08

A couple months after my Dad passed in 2014 I used his Ruger #3 45/70 to fill the freezer. It's the only single shot that I ever hunted with that loaded from the breach.

I've got the next generation going single shot. My niece this year:



Since she stole the 44mag trapper, I've been using the 30-30 in quiet mode. Bonus doe never heard it.