I am considering purchasing either a 7mm-08 or a 25-06 for general hunting and target shooting.

I have never owned a single shot but own a bolt action.

In your opinion, what is the advantage/disadvantage of either?

Thanks,

Paul

Be very careful of starting on this slippery sloop, I too just wanted on , My first was a Hall F action(side lever) in 308 Palma just for fun, Gun was built by Danny Patterson at Classic Guns no big deal when it arrived went to the range to try it out fired first group after getting the scope close and the group was only .359 five shots witness by other shooter at the range, thinking just lucky I had four rounds left fired the 4 rounds into one hole and this was with factory Hornaday tap police duty ammo. I was hooked very bad I am having now being built on a Hagn in 300 H&H and another Hall F in 338-74 Keith and last but not least a take down Hall F two barrel set in 30-06 and 338-06. So with that warning in mind have fun you will like a single shot it makes hunting fun again, by the way the original Hall has taken 14 deer out of 15 shots in the past four years. Good luck

Bolt action advantages:
better accuracy in some rifles
relatively fast reloading
spare ammo kept handy
Bolt action disdvantages:
limited to either right- or left-handers
fast reloading encourages spray-&-pray
high scope mounting necessary on some
cartridge OAL limitations in some

Single shot advantages:
more suitable for embellishments
1 shot limitation discourages spray-&-pray
most are fine for right- and left-handers
no cartridge OAL restrictions
Single shot disadvantages:
limited scope eye relief on some
no fast second shot available
relatively weak extraction in some

JMOFWIW and a short list at that, I could go on. BTW I have about a dozen of each but like the single shots much better, nowadays even my ornate bolt rifles seem more like mere tools when compared to a good single shot. It's all in the mind anyway.
Regards, Joe

I grew up like so many others here, with a bolt rifle. A Ruger 77 .270 to be exact. Inow hunt with a single shot I built, and have not looked back.

I can reload without looking while I asses the situation at hand after the first shot. I did the same thing with the bolt rifle. Never needed to rack another round in as fast as possible.

The handling advantages of the single make hunting that much more fun for me.

A single shot has its place. Weather that place is with you depends on your hunting style and where you will be hunting.

Although I agree with the previous posters I think some things have yet to be pointed out. This may well be because their hunting conditions are differant from mine.

When a person hunts in the mountains for example you will find that you and your rifle have the greatest demands placed upon performance in the hunting world.

You will have long range shooting requiering the best accuracy possible along with days on end of carrying the rifle requiering light weight.

These are two variables that just don't work together well at all.
One of the best ways to achive this is by simplifying the action.

Take away the magazine well, along with about half the length and weight of the bolt action and you are on your way to success.

A single shot is typicly a fairly simple design. This is an advantage in reliabilety but as mentioned before extraction can be less than completly reliable in "rare" cases. This can be over come with the choice of a rimmed cartridge.
The short lingth of the reciver on a SS also makes it much more compact and easy to carry especially through the brush.

If you choose a Ruger #1 1A in 30-06 you will have a rifle that allthough not ultra light will still be nice and light and under 40" with a 22" barrel. A miner modification to the forarm hanger will have it shooting as well as most bolt actions.

The ultamate mountain hunting rifle is the kipplaufbchse. The Germans and Austrians perfected this system many years ago and they seem to have left no rock unturnned.

There are many custom makers and a few companys making a kipplauf, the best example here that is commonly known to the U.S. hunters is the Blaser K95.

A kipplaufbuchse for those of you who don't know is simply a singleshot rifle built on the break open design. There are several guys here on AR who have them and they will all tell you how wonderfully accurate they are. Most guys talk about half inch groups some with factory loads from the K95.

All this in a rifle that weights a little over five pounds depending on caliber.

Hunting in the mountains especially here in Alaska is usually an expedition. Long hikes to get into the hunting grounds and days on end living in a light mountain tent. when the weather is bad you may hold up in the tent or not. When your climbing up the open mountainsides everything is in sight especially any menacine grizzly bears, so if you choose to tuck your short little rifle away in your backpack to protect it from weather etc you easilly can. If you have a kipplauf type system you can quickly and easeally take it apart and stow it away.

I'm not a big fan of the super light weight bolt actions. The ones I've seen had to compromise something usally accuracy.

I know there are guys building very accurate light weight bolt action rifles but for everyone who dose there seems to be a few who only claim too.

Bailey got it right.

I'd get a 1885 if I were you, 7*57R or 7*65R i comparable to you caliberchoices but with rims. I have a nice one in 30-40 and love the handling and having a hammer.

I can tell you that my Blaser K95 is the rifle that I shoot most accuratly.



And as Akshooter points out very light. I also like the ability to change calibers but, it has the kick of a light weight gun.

If I had to keep only one rifle, it would be my K95.

If I had to keep only one rifle, it would be my Winchester low wall sporter in 22LR.


Not a big-game rifle but far more fun and far more useful, not to mention far more beautiful and far better-balanced than my bolt rifles. BTW that's a cartridge trap in the belly.
Regards, Joe

IMO, the only true advantag of the bolt gun is firepower. With 3-5 down, you just have more rounds at your disposal more quickly. The single shot can e just as accurate so for a longer range hunting gun, I do not feel handicapped hunting w/ my Ruger #1s.

I don't want to hijack the thread but I have to ask JD a question about the low wall. Is it one of the new ones that Winchester just came out with a few years ago or an old original? If nothing else it's beautiful absolutely beautiful. I want one just like it and another just like it in a Hornet. DW

My Blaser K 95 Stutzen in 308 is one of the most accurate hunting rifles I have ever fired.

quote:

no fast second shot available

Don't necessarily agree with that comment. With a little practice, the single shot can be shot just about as fast as the average bolt action shoot with aimed shots. I'm talking the average Joe shooter now, not a trained high power marksman.
Anyway, isn't the name of the game to do one shot, one kill?
Paul B.

Simply put;

The Marine sniper credo "one shot, one kill"

Should we not as hunters maintain the same mentality?

My uncle is the one that taught me to hunt and to shoot. He grew up through the depression and hunting was not just for sport.

He used to say this to me every time we went out and I asked if it would be better to have a pump or semi auto, or something that shot more than one round. I have never forgot these words; "first shot is the only one that counts, the second shot is for the ammo manufacturer and the third shot is to express your frustration for missing the first two". Uhhm?

Your Uncle was a very wise man. Thanks for sharing his thoughts.

quote:

Originally posted by dwheels:
I don't want to hijack the thread but I have to ask JD a question about the low wall. Is it one of the new ones that Winchester just came out with a few years ago or an old original? If nothing else it's beautiful absolutely beautiful. I want one just like it and another just like it in a Hornet. DW

Sorry I'm late DW, I just spotted your query. Thanks for the good words, it's an original, made in 1894 in 22RF and rebuilt by me. The CCDSTs are by Ben Rice, the engraving by Ken Hurst, the 2-tone blue finish by Firearms Outfitters and the balance by me. I squirrel hunt with it each year, it usually wears a slick little Unertl 1" Target scope.

Am currently about 1/2-way through building its 22 K-Hornet sibling, again on an early low wall action sold originally in 22WCF in 1895.

It's much, much more satisfying, for me at least, to build a single shot rather than a bolt rifle. Please don't get me wrong, I'm building several bolt rifles right now but they're all quite unique in some way, somewhat of a breed apart from the normal run of modern cookie-cutter 'classic' bolt rifles in my mind at least.

IMO single shot rifles afford their makers a much broader and deeper canvas upon which to paint their particular interpretation of beauty as well as functionality. Hard to beat a good single shot for simple flowing lines and beautiful workmanship. And, in my mind at least and for those who care about these things, the braggin' rights are SUPER!

And hst builds the best-looking single-shots I've ever seen. Anyone who owns one of his rifles has, IMO, one of the finest custom single shot rifles being made today or at any time in the past.
Regards, Joe

I've never felt undergunned with a single shot and never will. Learn to use them correctly, and they'll serve you well. As to quick second shots, I've taken a number of animals within mere seconds of each other, so that is not an issue, either.

As far as accuracy, mine will shoot with the best of the bolt rifles and not give up a thing.

Here are just a few of my successes with single shots.

A good single shot rifle may not be as accurate as a good bolt action but is still plenty accurate for hunting. Why is a second shot needed for most hunting? If one misses a standing animal on the first shot how likely is one to hit a running animal on the second shot? I never feel handicapped when hunting with my single shots and I also own and hunt with bolt actions. Also, over the past five winters I've shot a lot of deer at well over 400 yards with my heavy barreled .338-.378 Weatherby bolt action. I am not sure if I ever put a back-up round in the magazine. My single shots are the Thompson Center TCR's which are break-over guns. I especially like the way one can just open up the action for a little added safety when crossing a stream or fence. I like my bolt action rifles but like the single shots a lot more.

Since 1970 the only 'second' shots I've fired at big game have been finishers from my 22LR S&W Kit Gun, down through the top of the head or through the ear if they were still kicking a little.
Regards, Joe

Gentlemens:

Sure, a bolt rifle may be a more practical and efficient hunting weapon. But egad man! What if somebody saw you with one?

I just couldn't live like that...

Glenn

JD,

I always heard:
1. "you can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think...". Wasn't me, I have a cousin who is one of them things at Callaway Gardens. Wasn't me!

2. "you can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to roll over and float on his back; that's some.".


Rich