Posted on 08/25/2017 4:36:17 PM PDT by JoeProBono
The shotgun is nothing new. The smoothbore musket was the weapon of choice in the 17th and 18th centuries (not rifles). Why? Because you can get any job done with the same gun. While the shotgun—and other weapons—have evolved since then, the shotgun still holds its own with a colorful variety of firearms, action types, and ammunition choices to suit any conceivable need. For the last hundred years, the pump action and semi-automatic design have reigned supreme, eclipsing their break-top predecessors namely the single shot and double barrel varieties. But the break-top guns are still around and still going strong, though their design has already reached its pinnacle, while pump action and semi-automatic designs continue grow. With all this innovation going on, is there still room for the single shot shotgun? A case for and against can be made.
What the Single Shot Is Good At
The single barrel shotgun does offer a number of advantages over its newer pump and semi-automatic competition. Advantages include:
• Simple, Break-Top Design—The single barrel shotgun uses a simple break-top action that comes open via a lever or a button near the hammer (some single barrel guns are hammerless). The barrel is held in place via a robust locking lug in the receiver. Simply break the gun open, load a round into the chamber, and close it. The design also has few moving parts to include the hammer, hammer spring, and firing pin. There are no magazines to jam up or magazine springs to weaken. Nor are there bolts to short stroke like that on a pump action. Due to you being able to see the chamber directly, it is also very safe. • Lightweight—The single barrel shotgun, due to the virtue of not having magazines or a bolt mechanism that rides inside a receiver, tend to be light weight in comparison to other types.
• More Versatile—The break-top shotgun can, in general, digest nearly any type of ammunition of the appropriate gauge. Break-top shotguns can take interchangeable barrels and shotgun adapters to use sub caliber ammunition for plinking and game getting (if you happen to not have or don’t wish to use shotgun shells). The semi-automatic shotgun relies on its ammunition to feed and operate. Certain loads will not work well. The pump action does not have that problem, but will not take adapters readily. So, the single barrel shotgun gets a bit of a nod with respect to versatility.
• Lower Cost—The single shot shotgun remains popular because of their low cost. It is one of the few powerful options out there that you can have for under $200 new. A quality pump shotgun could be double that price.
Single barrel shotguns take sub caliber adapters at ease. Here I use a fine Short Lane rifled 20 gauge to 9mm Luger adapter. With some cheap remanufactured ammo, I was able to put rounds into a nice 5 inch group at 36 yards using the basic bead front sight only.
A single shell or a single bullet in any gun is better than ANY unloaded weapon. I started with and still have a single shot .410 which is an excellent weapon when called upon. Great for a kids starter weapon to improve accuracy when the shooter knows he/she has only ONE shot.
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my grandfather’s old .410 with bird shot is still good for scarring the starlings out of the trees and occasionally killing one or two.
We keep an old .410 at our dock to deal with snakes.
Exactly...I got my son a single shot .410 for his first gun...He was nine...
Quick to reload too. My old HR twelver throws the empty hull about 20 feet behind me.LOL
Looks like a perfectly good shotgun to me.
I still have an old H&R 4.10 single shot that I keep on the back of my ATV as a snake gun out on the farm.
Just used it this week to take out a cottonmouth out at the pond!
It is supremely relevant when it is pointed at you.
It is if it's pointed at your face.
Single-shot over-under rifle-shotgun combos are generally underrated nowadays. Something like an over-under 20ga/.22LR is a fairly light, portable, versatile tool for harvesting a wide range of game. Savage Arms had a camper version of an OU which broke down into a couple pieces for easy carriage in a small case. And they tended to be very affordable, which was another advantage.
I still have one, 12ga full choke, have used it with magnums for duck, geese. I think I paid $79 at K-Mart many moons ago. Haven’t lit it off in 15 years at least.
That depends on whether or not one is standing in front of it.
L
I think it was Tapco that made tactical furniture for those.
My Nephew had a neighbor who moved and left a whole bunch of fairly valuable stuff behind. Among it was maybe 20 boxes of 20 gauge shells. He gave them to me.
Now I once had a large number of guns but now had no .20 gauge at all. I found an old Revelation single barrel at a pawn shop and got if for $50 including tax.
It was rusty and cheap looking. I removed a large part of the rust and it actually cleaned up pretty well. The action itself was perfectly good and to my surprise it had an ejector if you opened the action all the way and an extractor if you were careful.
I live in a rural area and when I need to shoot some varmint which is too far away for a pistol, I nearly always grab that old 20 gauge and a few shells. It is probably my most used gun.
H&R Bolt Action 3 shot 16 Gauge with a poly choke. I wanted a 12 gauge but thought that may be too bold. I shoot from the left shoulder and had to learn how to reach over with my left hand to reach the bolt.
My point is that I learned to rely on my first shot since by the time I got the second loaded it was over. This is the case pheasant hunting.
My most accurate shot gun today is a single shot 12 gauge from Brazil that I paid $12 for about 50 years ago.
Good for hits. You don’t leave evidence lying around (except for one large piece that isn’t very useful), and it’s cheap enough to be disposable.
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