Single Shot Rifles

In a world full of semi-automatic firearms and large magazine capacity, sometimes it's worth it to step back, slow down, and think about your time at the range, what you enjoy about shooting, and the more fundamental aspects of hitting your target. If you aren't too worried about the Zombie apocalypse, a much wider world of firearms opens up. One type of firearm to consider is the single-shot rifle. During my years as a shooter, some of my most enjoyable shooting experiences have been shooting single-shot rifles.

Single shot rifles are great for beginners and for youngsters shooting under adult supervision. I first learned to shoot with my grandfather's single-shot Ranger .22. In his youth, he used to drive nails into trees with that Ranger. Perhaps the story is our family's equivalent to George Washington chopping down the cherry tree, but that old rifle is a reminder of family heritage and it remains quite accurate to this day. If you are teaching young people to shoot, a single-shot rifle usually has the advantage of being easily verified as safe. If you open the action, you can quickly see that there isn't a round in the chamber and you can be assured that there aren't any additional rounds lurking in a magazine. A single shot rifle makes a great first .22.

My shooting skills were further honed in a college marksmanship course. We learned shooting techniques, by the book, from an Army sergeant attached to the ROTC at my university. The rifles were heavy, but very accurate. I emerged from that course with a collegiate marksman qualification and a sense of shooting competence. As a marksman, I know that shooting is about firing position, breathing control, sight picture, trigger control, and follow through. I may not always execute well on those fundamentals, but magazine capacity doesn't come into play.

You can shoot the center out of a target with a Crickett or Chipmunk .22 or the latest tacti-cool training rifle. If you want to focus on making a single-shot count, make it with a replica Hawken muzzle loading rifle. After a few minutes of shot preparation and loading, you'll want to make pulling the trigger count. The example I had the privilege to shoot had two triggers. One trigger was a set trigger to enable the second trigger and the second trigger was a hair trigger with a very light pull for making the shot. The Hawken was very accurate and also made a very big hole in the paper target that you could see without a spotting scope from a long distance.

Another reminder of the past that I got to shoot a few times was the single-shot Springfield Trapdoor rifle in .45-70. This 19th century, breech-loading, assault rifle was elegant easy to load and quite accurate. But the thing I remember most was pulling those big .45-70 cartridges out of the box and loading them after before each shot. It was a memorable single-shot shooting experience. On that same shooting day, I also had the opportunity to shoot the venerable Ruger Number 1 single-shot sporting rifle in .30-06. If you want to focus on trigger control, the trigger on that Ruger was sweet. The Ruger Number 1 is simply a great rifle.

While some hunters may want multiple shots to be sure of a kill. If you are concerned with hunting humanely, a single-shot rifle will force you to get into positions where you cannot miss and will make you think twice about taking a marginal shot. Similarly at the range, you'll make fewer shots with a single-shot rifle, but you concentrate more on making them count. You just may save money shooting, become a better marksman, and find yourself enjoying time at the shooting range more with a single shot rifle.

Sources:
"Hawken Rifle," Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawken_rifle

Other articles by this contributor:

Four Fundamental Rules of Gun Safety.
Gun Safety Rules From the NRA.
Range Etiquette 101 - The Basic Rules of Behavior at Your Local Shooting Range