Would you use single shot for Dangerous Game?

[Rafiki]

@Rafiki Who did your 50/90 #1. I have a old rolling block in 50/90 and a #1 would be a good addition.

Several gunsmiths. The barrel was was made by McGowen Precision Barrels; Beautiful dodecagon thing. Much of the metal work was gone by Steve Nelson Custom Guns in Oregon. Woodwork was done bt R. Palmer in MN, now deceased. James Kobe also has done wood and metal work. Trigger is by JARD Inc. Case color by Turnbull Restoration.

 

[VINOYASADO]

Personally, I wouldn't...

Too much pressure and overcomplicating a situation that doesn't need it.

You can be very fast at reloading and practice all you want... but when you have almost 1000 kg and a pair of horns running towards you, things may not be so easy

Since the post is from 2016, i was wondering if @AZDAVE finally did it

 

[AZDAVE]

It's a old post, I took a ruger #1 9.3x74 for my leopard hunt. Unfortunately based on where the bait was and the only place we could place the blind I couldn't use it due to a big water tank behind the shooting lane. used the outfitters 300WSM with a much more fragile bullet. Used my #1 on the follow up. Thankfully found a very dead cat a little over a 100 meters from where I shot. have used my 12 bore muzzleloader on elk. (very effective). I have a single shot 577 that I will use at some point in the future.

I love my single shots unfortunately not quite as much as I love my doubles.

 

[Puddle]

Would you hunt Cape buffalo, lion, or hippo on land with the Ruger #1 450/400 loaded to 400gr at 2300fps?

Yup. BTDT on Cape Buffalo and at a MV of 2100fps.

I won't now, because:
- My eyes are old, and the factory stock is not designed for a solid cheek weld using optics.
- The PH that I accompanied and have complete trust with through many hunts has retired.

I outta retire too, but I'm not that smart.

 

[AZDAVE]

Yes I would hunt Buffalo/elephant/ rhino/ lion with a Number one in 450/400 at 2300.

Shot a hippo in 2018 with a 450/400 double with one shot 400gr CEB solid at 2110fps.

 

[AZDAVE]

@Puddle I will also state that I always have to restock a #1 due to having a 15 1/4-3/8 LOP. So I use a butt stock design that is more friendly to optics.

 

[Grandpa Moose]

I have a multitude of single shots in a dozen different calibers and gauges. They have taken black bear here in NW Ontario and several African game including Cape Buffalo with my Highwall in 375 H&H. PH had hunted with me in past and covered mu six with a 458 Lott. The buff and others were all one shot kills taken patiently and carefully

 

[IvW]

Anytime.......
The Zim PH course record is held by a Ruger Nr.1 in 416 Rigby......

 

[grand veneur]

Would one of you big fans of single shot rifles go hunting in Africa big and dangerous game alone, without a PH and only with this kind of rifle ?

 

[degoins]

Would one of you big fans of single shot rifles go hunting in Africa big and dangerous game alone, without a PH and only with this kind of rifle ?

I wouldn't hunt dangerous game alone at all by choice even if I could use a .50 BMG belt fed.

 

[Dave Fulson]

Good morning all. Thought I would throw out a question for fun since we are in the end of safari season and getting ready for the shows and prep start of the 2017 season. I am currently building a matched pair of Ruger #1's in 450/400 and 9.3x74R with upgrades to the wood. (Thin shell english walnut).

I have alott of experience with singles and can shoot and reload a number one for three shots within a second of what I can do with a bolt gun for a reference point.

Would you hunt Cape buffalo, lion, or hippo on land with the Ruger #1 450/400 loaded to 400gr at 2300fps?

 

[Dave Fulson]

Only if I was down to the last bullet in my rifle would I ever hunt DG with just a single shot. Been in, and filmed too many shootouts that would have resulted in a death if it started with a single shot rifle. Can you and Should you? are two very different subjects in this high stakes game.

 

[grand veneur]

My question is certainly irrelevant for the average African hunter as he always assumes that he will hunt with a PH for backup. But we are above all hunters and normally hunt alone in our countries and sometime worldwide without any kind of backup. If it was not mandatory, some of us would maybe also do it in Africa, only with a local guide and a few trackers. Therefore my question about the rifle in such cases.

The discussions in general are always conducted from the point of view of assisted hunters. If we conduct these from the point of view of hunters left to her own devices without any support, we would perhaps get completely different answers.

 

[IvW]

Would one of you big fans of single shot rifles go hunting in Africa big and dangerous game alone, without a PH and only with this kind of rifle ?

That was not the question.......

The man wants to hunt Africa with two custom built Ruger nr.1 rifles. He is very competant with the system.......this is his dream and he is putting in the hard yards to make it happen, so let him.....
The times of hunting DG alone in Africa for a non resident.is....well long gone.......

He should follow his dream and take both rifles to Africa and hunt whatever he wants with them....

 

[Huvius]

All this discussion makes me think of the purity and challenge of taking a DG shot with a traditionally, original Gibbs Farquarson single shot.

Attaboy!!
This is exactly what I want to do with one of my Gibbs Farquharsons!


Ross Seyfried with his 461.

 

[rookhawk]

Would one of you big fans of single shot rifles go hunting in Africa big and dangerous game alone, without a PH and only with this kind of rifle ?

@grand veneur

I'll forgive mistranslations because I know you're not an English speaker as a first language, but for clarity on the discussion lets settle on either British or American English terms for the topic.

Big Game in English means any four legged animal that is deer sized or larger.

Small Game in American English means game birds and small mammals. The British distinguish small game (poultry) from ground quarry (hares, etc.) or just quarry (crows, rooks, gallinules, pigeons).

Dangerous Game is the Big-5 or Dangerous-7.

Now that we settle on English terms for clarity, I think you need to get specific on the position of what you'd shot with a single shot. A leopard from a blind? Sure. The First shot is the only shot that matters for a client. Buffalo? On the fence, varying opinion. Rhino/Elephant? Definitely not. Eland/Giraffe/Black Bear? Certainly.

In North America we don't really have "Dangerous Game" as a descriptor, only big game. One could argue that a Moose is very dangerous, a Brown Bear can be quite dangerous, and a Bison can be marginally dangerous. All our Big Game can be hunted without a professional hunter in some circumstance based on residency, altitude, public/private land, etc.

Everyone is different, but I wouldn't have problems hunting Bison or Moose with a PH backing me if I had a single shot. Nor would I have a problem with Leopard or Buffalo with a single shot if I had a PH backing me. I would never try elephant with less than a double rifle and obviously there is at least one PH present, often two. Opinions may differ.

 

[Raven]

Take a look at this photo. The first shot I fired hit the bear in the heart. However, this well-aimed shot did not kill him. He kept moving and became even more dangerous after being injured.

I had to shoot three more times. So he was hit by four bullets caliber .375 H&H Mag. And it's not the biggest bear. But he turned out to be very tenacious.

Now imagine if I were hunting him with a single-shot rifle. I probably wouldn't be writing on this forum right now.

 

[AZDAVE]

This is a old thread that has been brought back up so I will also quantify a couple things.

Speaking for myself
1. You must always get your PH's buy in if you are hunting with a single on DG. I am hunting Elephant with the same PH I hunted my leopard with this fall. I asked him about using my 577NE single and he told me he would prefer I not use it. So now deciding on my 500/416 double or 500 Jeff bolt gun.
2. When I hunt with a single shot I practice loading 3 rapid shots over and over again till I can
shoot 3 shots faster than with a bolt gun.
3. I seem to focus even more on shot placement when I have a single shot in my hands.
4. I have the discipline to walk away from a marginal shot angle on DG. and same with inappropriate distance for the rifle I have in my hands (I have several precision scoped bolt guns that I regularity shoot out to 1000+. Am I going to use a single shot of double to ring steel out there? nope not happening.)

With one exception I would love to give the Billy Dixion shoot a try with my old rolling block.)

5. For north america or europe I am comfortable hunting any of the big game animals with a single.

Hunting with a single or double for that matter requires a different mental approach than a scoped bolt gun. I hunt with a bolt gun also when it makes more sense than the other two.

Each hunter has to make the decision what they want to hunt with. One example is when I hunt muzzl loader seasons I hunt with a traditional round ball gun. In the last 15 years since the modern inlines have become popular, I have seen only one other guy not shooting a inline scoped muzzle loader. Are there shots I could make distance wise with a inline I wouldn't take with a iron sighted traditional muzzle loader. Yes But I am good with my decision and work to stalk closer.

Hunting is about the experience and time in the field and should be enjoyed and treasured.