I crawled toward the moment of truth. The rifle barrel was only an inch above the ground and I was dragging the action through the dirt. When I topped the sage-covered hill I unfolded the B-square bipod's legs and pushed the rifle over the last few inches of the hill's crest, then eased myself up to pull the butt into my shoulder.
From the crest of the hill, where I was hiding behind a scrawny bit of sage brush, I could look across a deep draw between two hills. The group of pronghorn I was stalking were on the far hill. More than five hundred yards separated us.
The large doe I had picked out as my target was still standing to one side, away from the herd. Whether I made a good clean shot in the next few minutes or blew my chances depended on my shooting skill and the quality of the single-shot rifle I had just dragged through a hundred yards of Wyoming.
Hunting with a single-shot rifle is not for every shooter. Single-shot rifles present sportsmen a variety of interesting hunting problems that must be solved by developing all the hunting skills if there is to be any hope of success in the field. The most obvious is that single-shots, like muzzleloading guns, require hunters to make one-shot kills. There may not be a second chance.
In today's high-tech world, the single-shot rifle may seem a little moss-covered when compared to some hunting rifles, even the modern in-line muzzleloaders, but the modern single-shot is a precision engineered rifle and in the hands of a skilled shooter delivers shot after shot accuracy, which is what kept single-shots in production for the past century.
The desire to shoot accurately has not changed with modern firearms and it still motivates shooters to buy a single-shot rifle. It is interesting to note that in the last two decades of the 19th century single-shot rifles were delivering better accuracy and handling more powerful loads than any other rifle action, and shooters who demanded accuracy and higher energy levels selected single-shot guns over the newer repeaters.
Evolution of the Single Shot
Today's single-shot rifle can be traced directly to the Sharps Breechloader invented by Christian Sharps while working at Harpers Ferry in the mid-1800s. Sharps patented his rifle in 1848, and he quickly made arrangements for the Sharps breechloader to be produced by several small firearms manufacturers of the region.
The most important contribution made by the Sharps to the modern single-shot was the falling-block action. The early Sharps rifles used paper or linen cartridge cases, and after the cartridge was inserted in the chamber, the action was closed, raising the breech block which cut off the end of the paper exposing the powder so the round could be fired by the percussion cap.
Other rifles which used variations of the falling-block action include the Stevens, the Sharps-Borchardt, and overseas the British Farquharson action which is still in popular use both here and abroad.
Civil War Influence
Although firearms development had been somewhat slow through the 1700s and into the middle of the 1800s, the Civil War spurred firearms development around the world. By the end of the war ideas for new firearms actions and ammunitions were being explored by international firearms designers. The most popular developments were in the field of repeating firearms because of the demand from the American frontier when westward expansion clashed with the North American Indian tribes.
Historically most attention has been focused on the development of the repeating arms, but the development of the single-shot guns was equally impressive and was pushed by the world's military leaders, sportsmen, and market hunters, all of whom wanted accuracy and more powerful ammunition. It should not be a surprise that the single-shot action reached its perfection about the same time the repeater was developed as a practical firearm.
The most widely used single-shot actions were based on the Sharps falling-block action but another successful single-shot action was the Remington-Rider rolling block invented in 1866. This action was developed for use with early centerfire ammunition and was one of the strongest actions available at that time. It was popular with armies throughout the world.
The Remington rolling block is still commonly used today by blackpowder cartridge shooters and even some shooters with modern smokeless ammunitions prefer the action where practical. However, the Winchester Model 79 is probably the longest continuously used single-shot action. This action used the falling-block principle but was combined with a hammer. Invented by John Browning, Winchester purchased the 79 action for $8,000 in 1885, and the action became the Winchester 79, which has been made for a variety of cartridges and in many forms including, high side, low side, thick wall, and thin wall. Today the Browning Firearms company is successfully marketing the same action as the Browning 1885 High Wall.
Today's Guns
Last year Browning introduced a new version of the single shot, this time as the Model 1885 Low Wall. The Low Wall rifle is designed for lighter calibers, from .22 Hornet to the .243 Winchester, and is nearly two pounds lighter than the Browning High Wall. The weight was reduced by using a lighter weight and thinner 24-inch barrel and reducing some of the metal on the receiver.
Historically the original low-wall single shots were called "thin side" guns and were used as carbines, but the popularity of the repeaters took over the thin-wall market. Browning's High Wall single shots are available in .22-250 Remington, .270 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, 7mm Remington magnum, and .45-70 Government. All of the guns have 28-inch barrels, an overall length of 43-1/2 inches . They weigh between eight pounds, 11 ounces and eight pounds 14 ounces.
Low Wall single shots are available in .22 Hornet, .223 Remington and .243 Winchester, have 24-inch barrels, and have an overall length of 39-1/2 inches and all the guns weigh six pounds, four ounces.
Ruger's Model No. 1, also uses a falling-block action and is one of the country's most popular single-shot rifles. When gun designer Bill Ruger set out to build a quality single-shot rifle he opted to base his design on the Farquharson action that had proven itself in Europe as capable of handling the biggest cartridges for hunting the world's dangerous game.
All of the No. 1 rifles have a massive receiver that is rigidly connected between the barrel and butt stock of the rifle. The metal parts are polished and when the gun is assembled the receiver and stock for each gun is individually fitted to insure the rifle's accuracy.
Ruger has six different versions of their single-shot rifles so they are available in different barrel lengths, stock designs, and weights. These include a Light Sporter weighing about 7-1/4 pounds, which has open sights and a barrel band; the Standard Rifle, which weighs about eight pounds and has no sights but is set for scope rings; the Tropical which weighs about nine pounds, has open sights and a barrel band on a heavy barrel; the International which is 7-1/4 pounds, has a lightweight barrel with full-length forearm, folding-leaf rear sight and ramp front sight base, and dovetail gold bead front sight; the Medium Sporter which weighs about eight pounds, has open sights, a barrel band on a medium barrel; and the Special Varmiter, which weighs about nine pounds, has a heavy barrel, no sights, and target scope blocks.
Ruger No. 1 rifles are available in calibers up to the .458 Winchester magnum.
Break-Action Guns
For overall simplicity the break-open action provides an exceptional foundation for modern single-shot guns. Two American manufacturers who have built an entire line of firearms around this action are H&R 1871/New England Firearms, with their Handi-Rifle and single-barrel shotguns, and Thompson/Center with their Contender carbine line, based on their single-shot pistol action.
Contender carbines are available in eight calibers, including .17 Remington, .22 long rifle, .22 long rifle match, .22 Hornet, .223 Remington, 7x30 Waters, .30-30 Winchester, and .375 Winchester. All of the barrels are 21 inches long and have adjustable iron sights and are tapped and drilled for scope mounting.
One of the most economical lines of guns on the market today are the single-shot rifles from H&R 1871/New England Firearms. These are all break-open side lever release actions with positive ejection of the round whether fired or not. Standard barrels are 22 inches, and a few rifles are available with 26-inch bull barrels, such as on my own .25-06. All the barrels are interchangeable with the actions, and they can be purchased either tapped for scope mounts or equipped with fully adjustable rear sights and a ramp sight. The stocks are made from American hardwoods and have a walnut finish. All the rifles have sling swivel studs on the stock and fore-end.
These rifles are among the most economical rifles and shotguns available on today's market, leading many shooters to mistakenly believe the low-priced H&R guns lack the accuracy or durability needed for modern hunting situations.
My own hunting experience has proved otherwise. In the past three seasons I have taken deer, pronghorn, and wild boar with H&R single-shot rifles. Last year I took an H&R .270 Handi-rifle to Africa and hunting on Rocco Gioia's Casketts ranch where I killed impala, springbok, and warthog with the gun using factory-loaded Winchester ammunition. The light weight and break-down features of the rifle made it easy to pack and a good backup to my Winchester .375 H&R magnum.
Single-shot rifles are often called a fad gun. I think it is more an evolution of the shooter. A lot of sportsmen get tired of carrying semi-auto or bolt-action rifles on their hunts, and they begin to look for something that will deliver more challenge in a traditional way without dragging them into muzzleloading or blackpowder shooting. The modern single shot accomplishes that for today's shooter.
The desire to push the hunting envelope is what first led me to carry my H&R bull barreled .25-06 to Wyoming. I set the gun up for that one shot. My scope was a Bausch & Lomb Elite 3000 that cost more than the rifle. The B-Square bipod gave me a steady rest. I knew the ammunition (Federal 117-grain boat tail soft point), and I was confident.
When I thumbed the hammer back, sighted in, and pulled the trigger I knew where the bullet would hit. A fraction of a second later I felt the satisfaction of knowing I had shot successfully. I ejected the spent case, picked it up, and put it my pocket. As I stood up, picked up my rifle, and walked toward my pronghorn I knew another hunt had ended with a single shot.
Copyright (c) 1996 Galen Geer. All rights reserved.
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