How many have actually used this type of rifle for Dangerous Game?

The reason I ask is although it would not be many peoples' first pick they seem to sell quite well. Why would Ruger make all these big bores (375, 404 Jeff, 458, 458 Lott) #1's if no one bought them?

Basically I am just thinking out loud.

Pop,

big bore single shots were in vogue about 150 years ago. They really began to sell like hotcakes when they soldered two of them together...something like Dial Soap..."takes the worry out of being close". IMHO, they present a real challenge hunting less the services of a guide/PH or presence of backup. The challenge is mitigated (disappears?) when a backup is present and that "...only get one shot, make it count..." thing is gone.
Africa is a once in a lifetime deal for most of us, and the thrill of hunting DGR is NOT!! having a good shot and then the guide/PH kills your trophy for you. If I could plan on going to Africa at least twice, the second trip would revolve around one of my Shiloh Sharps sidehammer rifles in 50-90 or 50-140 and a hard-cast lead bullet. For me, taking a SS for DG would be after I could put three rounds on a pieplate at 100yds in 10 seconds or less.

Rich

I and a hunting friend of mine took #1s to the dark continent last summer. The PH was unsure of a single shot rifle. I told him just because it was a single shot didn't mean we only brought one bullet. If the ammo is carried in a handy place you won't beat me by much (less than a 1/2 second per shot) with a bolt gun of equal caliber (mine is a 416 Rigby). It does take practice to reload without looking at your gun, but can learned in a reasonable amount of time. After an hour or two I can do it blindfolded.

IMO everyone should hunt with exactly the gun they want to hunt with.....as long as it's legal and the PH says it's ok!!

For me it's a bolt rifle.....but if you want to hunt with a single shot have at it!!!!

They sell because mor epeople shoot them than hunt DG w/ them. I have several #1s but relegate them to non DG. I can reload very fast but a bolt gun is still faster.

I believe Selous used a single shot and had no problem.The first shot is the one that counts most.Besides,the PH is there for back-up.I don't think I'd have aproblem hunting with one.To each his own I guess.

#1s are interesting because they are reminiscent of the old Farquharson single-shots which were used by plenty of British soldiers and adventurers, because they were economical and considered more reliable than some of the newfangled repeaters of the day.

Those old time hunters were not constrained by licenses, limits, seasons, daily rates, or 'wanton waste' laws. If they shot an animal and it ran off never to be seen again, they generally just went looking for another specimen.

None of that is true anymore, and unless you are willing to trust the follow-up of your DG animal to the PH (who will have more than one shot available, I guarantee you), a single-shot is not a wise choice for the non-expert.

George

If you can't make a killing shot on an animal that is unaware of your presence and stationary with the first shot,what makes you think you'll be able to kill it on the run with all they're adrenaline pumping with your 2nd,3rd or 4th shot?The only instance I see needing more than one shot is going after wounded game,which you won't be doing.Thats the PH's job.

going after wounded game is my job the ph shoots when I tell him to do so thats what I PAY HIM FOR

the only time he is to shoot is when some one else in our party is in iminate danger. or i tell him to do so periode.

I think the Singles are a great idea. People just tend to be much more selective about their shots with a single shot. That's the name of the game. You realy can load one pretty fast with a lot of practice. I don't think it would be the best of all worlds for a proffesional hunter to depend on one but for the sport hunter I think if would work out wonderfuly.

I think single shots are great too, more so when they come in a handgun form such as the wildcat big bore Encores. Plenty of power on tap when using the likes of a 416GNR or 458GNR, and the 450KNR (470 nitro necked down). I like the short, heavy barreled big bore custom #1's too.

We have been through this before if you search the threads, but again

Every couple of years on the PH shooting exams in Zim, A ruger No1 in .375 appears in the hands of some apprentice. They fare better than many with a bolt action rifle. I used one ( A webly 1904) for several years in parks and am more than happy enough to see one in a clients hands. In most of the country where I hunt, you have one shot anyway and then the animal has vanished into the jesse, or you have a poor angle raking shot. On buff at any rate, I would rather the client fires once and unles I see that there is a real problem, wait. It will only run a hundred metres or so and then stop to find out whats up. If you have waited a while and then sneak up you often get a second chance at a lightly wounded animal. Wound one and blaze away a couple more rounds and it will keep going.

If you want to be able to hit an animal more than once- use a double. And the difference in real world reloading time between a long action bolt gun ( like a .458 Lott or .375) and a good single shot isn't worth worrying about as a client. What's a few mili seconds between friends!

one of the interesting things about big bores is that according to the stats, about 97% of the ones sold, never get used to hunt anything. some poeple just enjoy owning and shooting them.

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
one of the interesting things about big bores is that according to the stats, about 97% of the ones sold, never get used to hunt anything. some poeple just enjoy owning and shooting them.

Thanks Butchloc.....I edited it for you slightly.....hope you don't mind.

quote:

Originally posted by dirtbikerider44:
If you can't make a killing shot on an animal that is unaware of your presence and stationary with the first shot,what makes you think you'll be able to kill it on the run with all they're adrenaline pumping with your 2nd,3rd or 4th shot?The only instance I see needing more than one shot is going after wounded game,which you won't be doing.That's the PH's job.

There is nothing to hunting with a properly chambered single shot rifle when hunting dangerous game. I own several Ruger No1s, and have hunted everything with them. The key with a single shot is,as with any rifle, practice in shooting, and reloading the rifle. My youngest son has been shooting No1s 40 of his 44 years, because he has a left master eye, and shoots left handed, though he is right handed. The No1s were the only quality rifles I could buy for him, that were chambered for decent cartridges. He can reload an empty chamber in his rifles as fast as I can cycle a bolt rifle, and he hits at what he shoots.

The idea,however, that it is the PH's job to go into the weeds after a wounded animal, I shot, is not true. That becomes his job only if the client is too chicken shit to do his own sorting out, of "HIS" mistakes! He may be with me, but you can be sure he will not be there alone on MY animal, whether he likes it or not!
IMO, anyone who can't finish what he starts, needs to play golf, and leave DG hunting to others! Besides, if the single shot is being compaired to a bolt rifle, in the thick, at close quarters, there is no difference between them. One shot is all you are likely to get, with either, anyway, when the crap hits the fan. Now with a double rifle, you are almost guarinteed TWO shots in the same sittuation!

quote:

Originally posted by dirtbikerider44:
If you can't make a killing shot on an animal that is unaware of your presence and stationary with the first shot,what makes you think you'll be able to kill it on the run with all they're adrenaline pumping with your 2nd,3rd or 4th shot?The only instance I see needing more than one shot is going after wounded game,which you won't be doing.Thats the PH's job.

Spoken like someone who han't been there done that. Very few buffalo & larger DG go down w/ one shot. You keep shooting until they are down & a repeater is better here than a single shot. The only way you don't go in after your wounded animal is if YOU don't want to.

You may be able to reload a #1 almost as fast as a bolt can be worked at the range or in your living room, but the bolt action is a much simpler motion and therefore less likely to get mucked/fumbled/etc during times of duress. How many times has the average DG hunter faced a charge? The first time, I'd give better than 50-50 odds that no matter how much they practice, when the adrenaline kicks in they will fumble that dang shell getting it in the pipe! They will have much better odds of working a bolt properly.

The same issue makes the double rifle even better...it is even easier to get that follow up shot, and can be reloaded almost as fast (with the same level of practice) as the single shot.

If and when I get the chance, it'll be a bolt rifle for stuff that can bite or stomp my butt. I would never rely on a PH to save my ass either. He may be quite able to do so, but counting on him because I only have one shot loaded is more than I am able to trust him.

I take heart from Ganyana's and Mac's posts -- I *like* my #1's...

It looks like season for African hunting articles -- with several articles recently about DG hunts with single-shots.

Dan

The article on DG with single shots I was thinking mostly about was the one in the NRA's "Free Hunters." Lots of Africa articles this month (shouldn't they be doing that in January to catch most of the trip planning cycle?)

Dan

i have a ruger nr 1 in 450 Ne and its a very fine weapon which iam gonna use on bg when i have scrounged up enough cash, that is . But one good thing about is that pulletplacing gets more careful and precise because you have one shot and you better make it count. BTW didnt the guys that hunted Bison use mostly Sharps rifles for that. Selous had a 461 Gibbs as his favourite rifle until the 375 HH came out. John Taylor used several Farquarson aswell and he liked them very much.

The difference in timing reloading a SS vs a bolt action in the hands of someone who has practiced reloading a SS with a reliable ejector makes zero difference 95% of the time. I'd hunt DG with a .416 Rigby in a Encore rifle anytime, anyplace. I'd much much rather have a double to follow-up DG in a bad place though and would NEVER depend on a PH to save my hide.
Your way ahead shooting any gun you can shoot well whether its a SS or not than one you can't shoot well. Give it a try only a couple thousand other hunters over a century or so have been successful with that approach.-Rob

I don't have the experience of many here but my friends and I have use with great success a N°1 chambered in 416 rigby in waterbuffs (my hunting buddy has shot near 70 waterbuffs with it). As someone said, knowing you have only one shot makes you aim more carefuly and ALWAYS the first shot is everything when chasing DG.

Makes me wonder how many of you have hunted with single shots before...

Most of the time one shot is all what you have and if that it is not the case you will be just a little slowly reloading your single shot compared with a bolt action, if you practice a lot you will be able to use it with confidence.

Obviously I prefer a bolt action rifle but I don't feel undergunned with a single shot.

L