OT (?): Viability as a Hunting Rifle

[.45_Rich]

I am going through a personal renaissance regarding the rifles I am hunting with. Previously, I have always been of the opinon that you needed a larger caliber, specifically the pointy bullet variety with a bolt action, to have a successful hunt (or harvest?) as evidenced by my Smith & Wesson Model 1500 .300 Win Mag and Husquvarna .270 Win being my "go to" rifles in the past. More recently I have had an epiphany regarding the type of weapon I'm taking to the field. One might say a more purist revival. I am becomming more drawn to classic guns (specifically lever actions) chambered in more "obscure" or classic calibers (.35 Rem, .45/70, .30-30 Win., .32 Win, and in some cases .243 Win), Muzzle Loaders, and Single Shot rifles.
My question is is a single shot rifle a viable hunting weapon? I think it would be. It would be used it for whitetails at closer ranges (150 yds). I have recently become acquinted with Ruger No.1's and Thompson Center's single shot. I like both of them.
As a disclaimer, all the deer I have shot in the last 5 years have not needed a quick follow up shot to "seal the deal".
Thoughts?

[adirondakjack]

Except for a finisher on a down deer, I have never taken more than one shot.

MANY folks hunt with front stuffers and do well.

Does that help?

[.45_Rich]

I would like to start Muzzle loading just to lengthen my deer hunting season.

[Streetstar]

You can deliver a follow up shot with a #1 Ruger pretty quick with a butt-cuff style cartridge holder at hand. Not enough experience with a sharps or a H&R to comment on though

Muzzle loader? The fastest follow up shot would be from a second muzzle loader

[Lawyer Daggit]

A single shot is a reliable weapon. remember, speed is fine, accuracy is final.

[Iron_Marshal]

"Single shot" weapons have probably killed more deet at 150 yards or less than any other...IMO.

Bows and muzzle loaders usually have extra seasons as well.

I have killed more deer with my .50 cal front stuffer than with my .300 Win Mag or my .44 lever action. (No luck with my bow yet....harumphhh...well, there is always next year.)

[allhands]

Around 7 years ago, I purchased a Thompson Center Encore and 3 barrels...30-06, 12 guage turkey, and 209x50 magnum muzzleloader. I cannot speak more highly of any firearm produced in terms of quality, accuracy, and best of all customer service from an American company. All of their guns are made right up here in New Hampshire and come with a lifetime warranty. Although I personally have never had to have any repairs done, I did have a gentleman ask me to look at a T/C contender that was hard to open. He carried it under the back seat of his truck for 4 years, and it took a beating. Instead of starting work on it, I called T/C, and they told me to bring it in. Well, long story short, the gun went through the factory and they rebuilt the whole thing.....no charge.

As for accuracy...well, they are excellent. enough said.

And although I own several leverguns which I hunt with, my turkey and muzzleloader barrels get alot of work in their respective seasons, and I can reload either of these barrels fast enough if necessary that I don't feel,"undergunned" in the follow up shot department.

So (in my humble opinion) I like the single shot "challenge" alot, and with a quality firearm like T/C, you can't go wrong.

PS I do NOT work for T/C...in case you were wondering....

[86er]

I hunt with both "long range" poiny cartridges and "short range" flat nose cartridges (FNC). My favorite deer hunting implement is a .50 cal muzzleloader. I give a lot of thought to the rifle I take with me on a hunt. Being somewhat pragmatic, I'll use my single shot when I know the conditions match it fairly well. The same goes for the flat nose cartridges. I hunt thick Eastern woodlots where the furthest deer I've ever shot on the property was 117 yards. There's a one deer limit (for the most part) so I would not hesitate to take a single shot or FNC. When I hunt out West, the terrain is open and the shooting can be long. The single shot will afford me a well placed shot and I can usually keep the animal in view (or I'll be hunting with someone else), so I could manage a reload for another shot if necessary. On the other hand, I wouldn't choose a FNC in this single shot because the range tends to be 200 yds or a bit more. In my south Texas spot the limit on deer is 5. It is quite possible to shoot two in a matter of seconds. This year I shot one and not even 20 seconds later another ran in to view. I had already worked the action and was able to take that one too. If you are absolutely okay with the chance at one deer the single shot would be fine. If you were after two a repeater could have an advantage. In another central Texas spot we shoot deer over food plots. The range is known - it is 100 yards to the plot. The arrangement is a little shoot house where it is easy to rest the rifle for a steady shot. If you are willing to wait until the deer are at the known distance, a single shot and/or a FNC would be great. There's always a trade off. This year I was looking at some does and waiting to decide if I was going to shoot one. With 15 minutes of legal shooting time left a pretty big buck jumped the barbed wire and meandered 240 yds out. It doesn't matter what happened, the point is if I took a 45-Colt rifle or my 45-70 I probably would not take the shot. If I had a 308, 7 Mag, whatever I could shoot. I'd probably hold off with the .50 cal Mzldr too. So, are you happy to take the doe? Can you pass on all of them and come back another time hoping the buck is in the area and will come closer to the food plot? Now at our little Rachito in north east Texas the furthest shot is 100 yds from my stand and it is thick but the two open shooting lanes. The deer travel through the property so shot are quick when a deer steps out and stops. A single shot and/or FNC would be great here.
Last deer scenario - at my friends property he requires that we do everything possible to keep the deer from leaving his property when shot. The 3 strand barbed wire is the border. From the stand, the deer can go left 250 yards, right 125 yards and straight away 200 yards. Two of the neighbors are not hospitable. In this case I always use something "powerful" in a repeater. There has been two occasions where we shot deer that were hit once and headed towards the fence. If you're not bored to tears with me by now - here is what it comes down to. You have to decide what your motivation is for a particular hunt. Meat hunt, trophy hunt, chance of a lifetime, only chance of season, don't really care if you get one unless it is under ideal circumstances, etc, etc. If you are honest about your motivation then you have to decided if your personality and mindset will allow you to limit yourself and still be satisfied. I hunt enough that I can vary the guns I carry and I pick them to fit certain situations. The peace of mind for me is always that there will be another day. If you use a single shot there will come a day when you miss and can do nothing but watch the deer leave. Been there - done that, but to me it is humbling and kind of funny. On the other hand, there is nothing quite as satisfying as a successful hunt with a classic rifle, a rifle you really love or a rifle that limited you but you prevailed.

[Pisgah]

A single shot is absolutely no handicap for a hunter. I have never needed a second shot for the 200+ whitetails I have shot, although I have fired a few followups through the years, just to be sure. With a bit of practice, you can get that second shot off almost as fast a you can with a bolt action, if the need arises.

I own 2 singleshot rifles, both Brown 97D's, one in 6.5 Benchrest Magnum and one in .300 BRM. Despite the name, these are rather sedate cartridges that nonetheless get the job done with great accuracy and authority out to 300 yards. Even with their 24" barrels, they are as short, light, and handy as a .30-30 carbine, and this compactness even with a longer barrel is one advantage singleshots have over any other action type.

[Hobie]

Heck, I hunt with a flintlock muzzleloader. Those new fangled cartridge guns seem to shoot lots quicker...

[rjohns94]

Single shots work for me:

[madman4570]

Single Shot a viable weapon ??? Absolutely without doubt---- Yes!

Usually it's the one shot you hear in the woods when deer hunting ,possibly followed by a second shot a short time later that I am thinking to myself---------------yep, Deer down.
It's when you hear the Bam/Bam/Bam/Bam stuff that appears to be coming from same gun from the same general area that I think ------------Nope---Someone's just shooting air!

Just be sure to cover all your bases and be precise and patient.(like you already do) Good Luck!

[76/444]

I agree with all above,... and, I have been keeping an eye out for a long barreled highwall in Marlin444 for quite some time now. I think single shots,.... with a little practice,.... can be quite fast!

[jlchucker]

I own a few leverguns, and one compact bolt rifle. I don't have a single shot, but if I did, in any of the classic calibers that you mention, I would never feel undergunned hunting deer or bear--or smaller game, for that matter. They worked back in the old days, and nothing's really different except for now we seem to have an over abundance of guys walking around who don't have the patience to wait for one good killing shot. We have to wait for that shot during muzzle loader season--so why not during rifle season as well? IMO, waiting to being able to make a killing shot with your first shot is something that we owe to the animal being hunted. If you need to reload, a cartridge-type single shot isn't that much slower than operating a lever-and it for sure is more sporting than blasting away at running, wounded game after someone makes a shot they shouldn't have taken in the first place. Just my opinion.

[shooter]

I don't think a single shot would be a hinderance, except in some of the situations mentioned by 86er. None of the deer I've ever shot have needed more than one. In fact, I was at Bass Pro today looking at some Handi Rifles and muzzleloaders. I've been thinking about getting one, and if the price is right...... I want some other guns worse than I want a single shot, but you can get decent used muzzeloaders for pretty cheap. I always like a challenge.

[kimwcook]

My dad used to talk about his father being faster with a single shot shotgun than most with a pump because that's mainly what he shot and was very proficient with it.

[76/444]

My dad used to talk about his father being faster with a single shot shotgun than most with a pump because that's mainly what he shot and was very proficient with it.

Some of those old duffers can fool ya! I would never believe a man could cycle and hit with a bolt gun as fast as I could with a semi-auto,... until my brothers father-in-law showed me up one day!! Fastest man on a bolt I have ever seen,... and hit his target to boot!

[shooter]

My little cousin started shooting and hunting rabbits and such with a little Davy Cricket single shot .22. He would carry that rifle around and a bunch of .22's in a musket ball pouch from El Paso Saddlery. He could shoot and reload for a follow up shot faster than I thought possible, especially for a kid that was 6 or 7 yrs. old at the time.

[JReed]

You can deliver a follow up shot with a #1 Ruger pretty quick with a butt-cuff style cartridge holder at hand. Not enough experience with a sharps or a H&R to comment on though

You can do the same thing with a H&R. The newer ones have an extractor instead of an ejector but once you get the technique down they can be reloaded rather quickly.

H&R .308Win

Rem Roller 45-70


I like singles

[Lastmohecken]

I don't have a problem hunting with a singleshot, I have used the Ruger #1, and the Browning B78, and several diffferent muzzleloaders over the years, In fact I just recenty took delivery on my first custom muzzleloading flintlock rifle from TVM.

And boltactions are plenty fast in practiced hands, but I still love leveractions the most, probably. I have killed most of my deer with a single round fired but then again, I also grew up hunting field crossings, shooting at pressured deer, on the run or at least a fast trot, to appreciate a repeater. I have killed a pickup bed full of running deer over my lifetime, and quite a few required multiple shots to connect, but I usually managed to get them dropped within 3 to 5 rounds, and they ate just as well as the one shot kills.

As a matter of fact, my favorite hunting spot to this day, is a narrow neck, at the end of one of my fields, where pressured deer will cross, from one side of the mountain to the other. It's usually good for one decent buck, on the first day of rifle season, but the shooting is often on the run. I wouldn't hesitate to hunt it with a single shot but my weapon of choice is usually my .308 BLR, or my Model 70 Boltaction 25/06. This year I killed a nice little 10 point on the first shot with my BLR, I lucked out and he stopped for just a second, giving me a standing shot.

Last year, I shot a little 6 point, on the third shot with my Model 70, he was running the whole time. Some might ask, well why don't you set up to get a standing shot in the woods leading to the crossing, and avoid a running shot? Well, I have tried, but it's not nearly as reliable, as their travel route, is a somewhat unpredictible, and the wind is usually wrong. But I could still get them killed with a single shot rifle, if I had to.

[Bogie35]

A single shot is a reliable weapon. remember, speed is fine, accuracy is final.

Man, I like that! I hope I can remember it!

bogie