Single Shot Rifles - boring?

I wouldn't call a single shot boring. First off, why would you even own a single shot? Well, for hunting, or target shooting right? I Mean, I love shooting my AR, but that rifle has a purpose. It's a defensive rifle. It's a type of rifle I actually hope to never need again. Sure I could use it for many other things, but I mainly own it as a defensive tool to protect the life, and liberty of my family. Same goes for a single shot... it has a purpose, and if you are using it for that purpose, why would you get bored with it? There is no need for real quick follow up shots when you're shooting a target at the range. Your life is not in danger, and rushing will probably just spoil the fun of what could be a relaxing day shooting anyhow. Same with hunting, providing you used "enough gun", took the time to wait for the shot, then placed the round where it needed to go. Let me put it this way, My AR is the one gun I'll never give up. It's the one I'll use to defend myself with, to defend my family with, the one I have the most ammo for... However, I enjoy shooting my bolt guns more. Similar to a single shot, I get more enjoyment out of taking my time, and placing a shot as accurately as I can. I also get satisfaction out of working the bolt, and chambering each round myself. Likewise with using a single shot I'm sure. (though I don't own one) I'm sure if I did... I wouldn't get bored with it.

I enjoy shooting my goofy little 20ga with its 9mm single shot insert.....if you get bored, shoot farther. Thatll both challenge and slow you down.

Totally different kind of fun. It’s the thrill of the challenge. With repeaters you flub a shot and just try again. With a single, you totally come off of the gun and reset for your next try. I always find myself moving away from paper and shooting progressively smaller things, and the lids to Diet Mountain Dew bottles are my favorite because they are so bright and easy to see both before and after the shot.

I love single shots! Keeps me from shooting up too much ammo too quickly. I prefer to make my own. The rifle on the left is a 45-70 and on the right, a 30-06. OK my puter is drunk again. The longer gun is the 45-70. At least the second pic came out right side up. In the middle is an original Remington 1902 in 7mm with a pristine bore.

film495 said:

I think I'll probably get one. For a few years I was thinking lever gun, maybe bolt, but - maybe the single shot is something I'll be glad I kept an open mind about. First rifle I ever shot was a .22 Stevens Favorite single shot, so - mabe the Henry will be my tribute gun to those times so many years ago now.

Click to expand...

Don’t underestimate the fun. I would suggest a Contender or Encore because they are affordable but are also in demand. You can get into the gun reasonably, but if you don’t like it then you can get out of it with little if any loss, and the flavor of your gun can change just as easily as picking your favorite ice cream. Pistol, rifle, puny, powerhouse... it’s all just a barrel swap away.

I think my 45-70 Handi-Rifle and my CVA Scout 300 blackout are quite fun. And they were cheap too.

First good looking Henry's I've seen other than the Iron Frame (drool). Single shots can be plenty entertaining.

I use most of the ones that live around
here for hunting, and haven't needed a
follow up in a very long time. That, and
after the first pop, usually everything is
long gone except for what got popped

JMHO- I don't understand the concept
of boredom when used with fishing or
camping or hunting or shooting

I think single shots can be a hoot.

"it's more fun to ride a slow motorcycle fast than a fast motorcycle slow."

[QUOTE="Dave DeLaurant, post: 11883379, member: 252988"HUMAN BEINGS MAKE LIFE SO INTERESTING. DO YOU KNOW, THAT IN A UNIVERSE SO FULL OF WONDERS, THEY HAVE MANAGED TO INVENT BOREDOM." - Terry Pratchett[/QUOTE]

Bonus points for quoting Terry Pratchett in a gun forum.

If you find single shots boring, you'd probably find muzzle loaders mind numbing.

Leisurely is an apt way to describe them. They're like a 50cc scooter. Not the fastest or most glamorous thing, but they're fun and cost-effective.

If you want to do the scooter equivilant of an 80cc Big-Bore kit, making your weed wacker on wheels go highway speeds, SBR a single shot.

My T/C Encore SBR is fantastic fun and I can slap on whatever pistol barrel I find on eBay.

12" 22 Hornet? Super fun and an effective short-range varmint setup.

10" 50 Action Express? Why not.

12" 357 Mag? Sometimes you just want something basic.

14" 357 Maximum? Why buy one 357 barrel when you can get two for twice the price.

10" 401 GNR? Wildcats can be great fun.

6" 9mm Luger with a red dot? Technically Tactical.

5" 45 Colt? Watch your fingers.

7" 45-70 threaded for suppressor use? I didn't expect it to sell for that little.

10" 7.62x39? I plead the 5th as to why I have 3 of them. 1 in .310" and 2 in .308".

14" 358 Winchester? Let's turn a 125 grain gold dot into a varmint bullet or shoot through a deer lengthwise with a 230 grain bowling pin.

I don't need an intervention. I can quit whenever I want.

While the current ammo shortage persists, a range session for me is 1 hour, 40 rounds of 22 LR which means about 1 round every 1.5 minutes, no matter what I am shooting-bolt action, lever action, semiauto. Today I went to the range with my Winchester M70 XTR using a cartridge adaptor firing .32 ACP. Have only the one, so I was firing it as a single shot. 30 rounds in an hour. Fun,yes, boring, no!

Boring? No. An auto-loader, that does all of the work for me, is boring. For all rifle roles, except defense, I could happily use single-shot rifles.

Well, now that I think about it, if I had to defend myself, with a single-shot rifle, life could suddenly become quite exciting!

Follow up shots are soooo over-rated.

Yes, single shot rifles are unutterably boring. The only interesting rifles are those which can be emptied and then reloaded as quickly as possible - preferably with some sort of steel-cased third world ammunition which can then be blamed for not hitting much of anything.

(I very much would like one of R.J. Renner's "African Light Rifles" in .303 British - but only if I can find steel cased blasting ammo for it.)

Between the Browning 1885 Bpcr, the Pedersoli sharps, the other sharps, the trapdoors, the Martini-Henry rifles and carbine, the sniders, the suhl standards, the H&R M12, winny 67, rolling block, muzzleloaders and cricket 22lr and 410 H&R . I'd say I like single shots.

They make you show down and really feel each shot. You get more bang for your time at the range. And they usually have people come looky loo at how I'm hitting the 200 yard steel with just a 22lr.

Rexster said:

Boring? No. An auto-loader, that does all of the work for me, is boring. For all rifle roles, except defense, I could happily use single-shot rifles.

Well, now that I think about it, if I had to defend myself, with a single-shot rifle, life could suddenly become quite exciting!

Click to expand...

There are guys who have practiced enough with single shotguns to work them almost as fast as a normal person works a pump. With such speed it would be hard to say you were at much of a disadvantage, and bottleneck rifle rounds feed better than square nosed shotgun shells. I’m not quite that good yet but my bedside bump in the night gun is a 16ga single with 18.25” tube. I intend to make a side saddle for the stock but it hasn’t happened yet.

IMO, break open actions are kind of annoying, but falling or rolling block guns can be great fun.

I have a Handi Rifle in .22 Hornet, and it works, but I don't love it. My 7x57 Remington rolling block and Stevens Favorite I rebarreled to .32 S&W long, OTOH, I have no intention of ever parting with. One day I'll get a nice Sharps, too.

So far I have four single shot rifles. #1 Was a pawn shop rescued Youth Handi-rifle in .223 Rem that was scoped (I removed the scope because it threw off the balance) #2: Was bought from a family friend for $150, it is an old Mossberg 320K (produced from 1958-1960) that had a scope mounted in a bind and a broken front sight (I have a replacement for it that still needs to be installed, it seems to love the CCI Quiet ammo) #3: Is a stainless steel pink stocked Crickett that had been sitting on my local shop's rack since 2017 (it's the older pattern without the feed tray) I bought it to have around as a light weight plinker/small hunter. #4: Is my Henry in .357 Magnum (bought it before my local shop had to close it's doors during the pandemic)

I find some of them boring to look at but not boring to shoot. I have rollers in 7x57 and 45 Colt. Then there is my single shot, no mag well AR. I do enjoy single shot shooting.

When I hunted squirrels frequently (high school and a few years afterwards) the only shotgun I had access to was a Winchester model 37. I think knowing you're only going to get the one shot makes you do a better job of aiming before pulling the trigger.

.308 Norma said:

If you find single shots boring, you'd probably find muzzle loaders mind numbing.

Click to expand...

I love the shooting. It's the cleaning I find mind numbing.

Single shot rifles. I have several. Two are dedicated target rifles, An Anschutz 1413 for prone competition and a Rem 722 in .222 Remington.
But the favorite is an 1885 Whitney (as in Ely) rolling block rifle now rechambered in.32-20 WCF. I fitted it with a Leatherwood optic. On a good day it will bive me 2" groups at 100 yards with negligible recoil and muzzle blast. The rifle came out of my grandfathers collection originally in .38 CFC, and its bore was a rusted sewerpipe. So relined it was.

Boring? No, not for me. In fact they are my favorites among all rifles.