Single barrels for hunting

On a hot day following the GSP from pheasant to pheasant, I can really appreciate a 5-lb single shot.

my bird hunting is grouse with out a dog. by the time that you have recovered from being scared to death from the bird flying out from under your foot, you rarely have time for one shot let alone two. although my avatar is not my Sam nor did we ever hunt pheasants it sure could have been him.

Close flushing birds are part of the excitement. As a young kid in the latter 1950's I used to cross a large open field to get to a friends house. Sometimes you'd almost step on one before they'd flush. When that happened we used to play "pheasant hunter" by swinging our imaginary shotguns at the bird and yelling " BOOM" . The real pheasant hunters back then took pride in the one shot kill even if they were using a repeater. It just made you look real proficient and showed your hunting pals what a great shot you were, AKA "Bragging Rights".

I have an old H&R 16 ga. that was my grandpa's pheasant gun, until my Dad bought him a WIn. 1300 to go pheasant hunting with us. After I inherited it, I took it out once. (It has a hair trigger; My grandpa owned an auto shop and was a machinist, so I've no doubt that's his doing) Still drops 'em in one shot. It will go to my oldest son as soon as I'm positive he won't trade it off like he's done with almost every gun I've given him thus far......

Over the years I've hunted quite a bit with a single, either 20 or 16 gauge but when I could afford it I bought a 16 gauge SXS and never looked back. I prefer the internal hammer to an exposed one.

olafhardtB said:

I started this thread and feel like it is a significant accomplishment. Thanks to all who contributed. I am 72, disabled and may well never hunt agian. On my bucket list is to accumulate a fine collection of guns that appeal to me. One of the things I do is aquire a gun that appeals to me and try it out and decide to keep it or not. On shotguns I have eliminated lots of things I had originally drooled over and kinda settled on a Savage/Stevens single barrel 20 ga or what is referred to around here as a britch loader.

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I enjoyed your story, sir!

I grew up in SE Michigan and begged my Dad to let me go hunting with him for 2 years. At age 12, he bought me a used Springfield Arms/Chicopee Falls Mass (later bought out by Savage/Stevens) break-open 20 gauge 28" modified choke (I think he might have paid $20 for it, if that). The first year in the field I was not allowed to load it or carry ammunition. The "elders" of the hunting group wanted to check my gun safety moves (in the field, crossing fences, et al). I was brought along to go into what they termed as the "cedar swamps" with my new pair of green calf-high rubber boots to flush out pheasants and ruffed grouse (partridge, or "pats" as they termed it), in lieu of a bird dog.

I must have passed the test because next year I was allowed one shell to carry in the gun. If I hit and killed a bird, I was allowed another shell. Pretty strict rules, but I was willing to do anything that the old guys wanted just to hunt with them. I managed to kill one rooster per season. My crossing into "manhood", I guess. Fantastic days!

We moved to Nebraska ("pheasant heaven") in 1968 and I graduated to my Dad's Win Model 12 16 gauge and my new Rem 870 12 gauge, and the single shot stayed in the closet, until...

My Dad found a .357 Mag barrel for it at Numrich Arms, reamed the chamber for .357 Max, fashioned/inletted a new piece of walnut for the fore-end and converted it to his whitetail deer gun, complete with a 4X scope. I don't think he ever killed a deer with it.

I never saw it as a shotgun after that and I don't know what ever happened to the gun.

Just reminiscing, sir. I am 65 and have not hunted birds for more than 2 decades, and that was for ducks and geese when I lived in Alaska.

Good luck to you in your endeavors!

Jim

huntsman said:

Over the years I've hunted quite a bit with a single, either 20 or 16 gauge but when I could afford it I bought a 16 gauge SXS and never looked back. I prefer the interrior hammer to an exposed one.

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As a kid, when hunting with the single, my thumb was always on the hammer with the finger out of the trigger guard. I had several monitors watching me.

My Dad had a couple of Fox Sterlingworth SXS shotguns in 12 and 20 gauge. Both had double triggers and a severe (3") drop in the stock at the heel. Neither had recoil pads, the 20 only weighed a bit over 5 pounds, and it always smacked me hard in the face when firing it, no matter how good the cheek-weld to the stock. I shot it for a round of skeet ONCE, swore I would never shoot it again, and did not.

Jim

My late father in laws 16ga pheasant gun has accounted for many Toms since he passed it to me.
1947 H&R Topper with an awesome trigger for a shotgun.

jmr40 said:

If you're clumsy a hammer gun is probably a poor choice then. They are the easiest to have an AD with. Falling or otherwise. I strongly advise against any type of exposed hammer gun for beginners. It is quite common for a shooter to cock the gun, not get a shot and then have to uncock the gun. This is where many AD happen.

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Interesting that you would mention lowering an outside hammer as a contributing factor to unintentional discharges, The real answer is a good deal more complicated. The age, strength and hand size of the shotgunner is certainly of concern in addressing this potential problem. However, the design of the exposed hammer single barrel shotgun is of key concern.

In virtually all of the older single barrel, exposed hammer, single shot designs, (like the Savage/Stevens model 94), allow the action to be opened with the hammer cocked. This means the chambered shotshell can be moved away from the firing pin or even removed entirely from the shotgun before lowering the hammer. When properly handled in this manner there is no way to discharge the shotgun when lowering the hammer.

In later hammer guns, such as the late lamented NEF series single barrel shotguns, the action cannot be opened with the hammer in a cocked position. Ostensibly, this would prevent firing the shotgun with an unlocked breech. Nonetheless, these later designs require carefully lowering the hammer on a loaded round!

I have always like the single shot shotguns. There is nothing fancy about them but that's what makes them so appealing. The 20ga with the 26 inch barrel makes for a nice woods gun. I can carry one all day long in the woods.

Lots of happy memories with an Iver Johnson single shot .410 Champion (on loan from an uncle) accompanying my dad in the vineyards hunting pheasant & quail ( waxed paper cartridge #4s for pheasant and #8s for quail, IIRC, and they smelled terrific after being fired! )

You learn to make the first shot count. That's not a bad quality to have.

Here are some pics of some of my single barrel adventures:

I have a real soft spot for single-shots. I’m pretty excited to see the new Henry shotguns.

Geno

Me too; I bet a 20 ga. would be sweet. Still waiting to see one in person and maybe see some reviews on-line and in print.

When I was a kid, I had an H&R single shot. It was my only gun for years. I could shoot report doubles with it. True doubles were hit and miss for me. But the point is it can be done and you don't need to feel undergunned hunting upland and small game with a single shot.

I have a 20ga. single bbl. Savage that my oldest brother gave me when I was a kid, man growing up, I put a lot of meat on the family table with that shotgun...

These days, I MUCH prefer a S&S, but I could get by very nicely again, with a single bbl. if I had to...

DM