Repeaters VS Single shot

[The Oregonian]

I think it comes down to trade offs....like a sports car that is a convertible vs a head top. For some people the weight and lack of stiffness is worth the wind in your hair, for others, not so much.

It is great that this sport has advanced to the point of having great options for either preference.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

If you can't get it done without reloading a magazine you never should have taken the first shot to begin with.

.....
I am however reminded of a time many years ago my dad and I were trying to put down an antelope someone else had wounded with him shooting a Rem 700bdl and me shooting my Ruger number one.

The animal was on the run and I was able to get two solid hits that put it down in the same amount of time it took him to fire four misses.

Your first sentence is spot on, perfectly accurate. I agree with you whole heartedly. Your last sentence may be a factor of Indian vs Arrow more than accuracy of single vs mag fed.


t

 

[406precision]

For true lrh or elr work I'm a single shot fan wouldn't own a lapua or cheytac in a repeater unless I'm fighting insurgents.

But in a true hunting rig with lrh intentions I prefer an extended mag well and a caliber more suited to running in a mag ie.. 300 norma or 338 norma etc. Something a little more enjoyable to carry and with a 3 round capacity ...you never know when a follow up or chance at two coyotes or wolves might present itself..lol

Big mags are not friendly to carry on your back.

Jordan@406

 

[sp6x6]

My last big game hunt was for alaskan moose. I shot a B&C moose 3 times @ 350 yards in about 7-8 seconds. I was using a single shot. My buddy shot his moose at a similar distance 3 times with a single shot.

My buddy the year before shot 3 wolves one day and 2 the next at ranges from 100 to 600 yards. He was using the same single shot.

Neither one of us felt handicapped in any way by the lack of a magazine. That said, we have both shot competitively with single shots for years, so we both have a fair amount of relatively applicable practice.

This is not to say a repeater can't be accurate, or that we would had less success with a repeater. I think the need for, or perceived speed of a "repeater" is vastly over-rated.

-nosualc

Sound like a great hunt.In some of those type areas wonder how it be if big brownie beared down on you and you dont get it done on first shot. I hunt extensive in grizz area thus I want some extra

 

[nosualc]

Sound like a great hunt.In some of those type areas wonder how it be if big brownie beared down on you and you dont get it done on first shot. I hunt extensive in grizz area thus I want some extra

Good point. I think a magazine would be a necessity for dangerous game, especially if up close. A single shot would push my pucker factor too high. In my case my guide was in charge of up close bear duty.

-nosualc

 

[ohiohunter]

Good point. I think a magazine would be a necessity for dangerous game, especially if up close. A single shot would push my pucker factor too high. In my case my guide was in charge of up close bear duty.

-nosualc

Or how about in griz country where one may spring on you in an instant. I'd much rather my hand not leave that bolt to rack one and shoot vs pulling off the butt bag or out of my pocket.

For me I like having the option and I would think repeaters are more desirable across the board for resale. I'll keep the single shots for comp where the barrel weight will justify it.

 

[WildRose]

I dont know, i do lots of shooting where i know im gonna shoot more than once. However there are few occasions i put the rounds in the mag.

On game?

I can't imagine such a situation. On predators or trying to wipe out a herd of hogs running out of the field that makes sense but I thought we were talking about medium/large game hunting. I can't imagine a situation in which I would be planning ahead to shoot more than one magazine on a single game animal.

 

[ohiohunter]

On game?

I can't imagine such a situation. On predators or trying to wipe out a herd of hogs running out of the field that makes sense but I thought we were talking about medium/large game hunting. I can't imagine a situation in which I would be planning ahead to shoot more than one magazine on a single game animal.

More than one doesn't equate a whole mag.

If you were bordering some private property, rough terrain, or an Indian res you can bet your ace I would most certainly be planning on a second or 3rd shot. Its these situations you'll be glad you have a repeater and not a single shot. You cannot predict the future, but you can prepare for it.

Besides that I don't think I'd ever hunt with a barrel heavy enough to see a measurable difference. If a single vs repeater shrunk my groups by 0.1" or even 0.2" @100yds who cares, again I'd take the repeater everyday of the week.

 

[dragman]

More than one doesn't equate a whole mag.

If you were bordering some private property, rough terrain, or an Indian res you can bet your ace I would most certainly be planning on a second or 3rd shot. Its these situations you'll be glad you have a repeater and not a single shot. You cannot predict the future, but you can prepare for it.

Besides that I don't think I'd ever hunt with a barrel heavy enough to see a measurable difference. If a single vs repeater shrunk my groups by 0.1" or even 0.2" @100yds who cares, again I'd take the repeater everyday of the week.

That is where we differ. As I stated if your shooting a LONG way your talking over 1 second minimum until you can see the impact. Most accomplished shooters can pull a second round from a box, table or holder and reload a single shot within .5 a second of how fast you can pull one up out of the magazine. How many people can settle back down at 1000+ and rip off another shot that is worth a crap in under 1 second? but you can always miss the vitals by 1" so maybe that .1 VS .2 @ 100 does matter.

 

[Engineering101]

I have a couple of rules I follow when hunting big game.

1. If you don't KNOW where the bullet is going then don't pull the trigger.

This rule applies at all ranges, all situations, for all game. It doesn't matter how big the elk is or how many points there are on that trophy buck. If you follow rule number one, a single shot rifle will do just fine. Since I started buying my own rifles, (the first several had magazines) I can't think of any occasions where I needed more than one shot. I used to jack another shell into the chamber just because but after a couple dozen 1 shot kills I just pulled the trigger and left the empty in the chamber. I finally figured out that recoil would mash the lead tips on bullets in the mag so I stopped putting anything in the mag too. Bullets today with polymer or copper tips probably won't get mashed but I never changed the habit. So, yeah I pay no attention to the mag when hand loading ammo. I load for accuracy/performance and that usually results in a round that is beyond SAAMI COAL standards.

There is another aspect to this - after a few years of hunting together, your hunting buddies will learn that when they hear your gun go off it is time to get out the pack boards. It is not a coincidence that the guys in my hunting crew do it the same way. They are a serious hard hunting bunch and they don't miss.

Of course, rule number 2 - see rule number 1.

 

[ohiohunter]

That is where we differ. As I stated if your shooting a LONG way your talking over 1 second minimum until you can see the impact. Most accomplished shooters can pull a second round from a box, table or holder and reload a single shot within .5 a second of how fast you can pull one up out of the magazine. How many people can settle back down at 1000+ and rip off another shot that is worth a crap in under 1 second? but you can always miss the vitals by 1" so maybe that .1 VS .2 @ 100 does matter.

You dismissed grizz country? or even a trip to africa?

For a follow up shot and little wind with decent positioning given the first shot was good hit, as fast as I can throw that bolt and lay the xhairs back on it. Never timed it but I know when I'm shooting 300 fclass and I'm waiting on the pits it feels like forever, and thats a single shot, a repeater is faster. I think I'd rather spend the time saved settling into the cross hairs.

Would you pass up a 400" bull b/c it was too close? Granted this is LRH, but that doesn't mean the animal is playing the same game. If you miss the vitals of a medium/large game animal you've just shot outside of your ethical limits and have zero excuses. Do people miss, yes, but the people who shoot within their limits miss less.

What if this accomplished shooter drops his 2nd shot into 3" of snow in the heat of the moment? I mean everyone drops something from time to time.. conditions aren't always perfect... etc...Too many possibilities to chance it IMO. Compared to the ever so slight edge in accuracy WHICH is most likely immeasurable under field conditions.

.1 and .2 were completely arbitrary numbers, but a single shot gun better give me one hole accuracy(of which, don't forget, repeaters are capable of too) at 100 so that .2" yields a difference of another 2" at 1000... So theoretically at 1000 your single shot is shooting 1-2" vs the repeater shooting 2-3"...... I hope this big game animal is bigger than a coyote. I think your load development and your range time are more important than this minuscule difference.

If I had a 30" hv barrel I'd put it on a single shot, I also wouldn't hunt with it.

We're allowed to disagree.. its ok babe

 

[bigngreen]

Any more the only rifle I'd build with a mag is if I was using a control feed action other wise solid bottom action built for single feeding would be my preference. I've numerous times put multiple rounds through bull elk near and far single sledding, if I've had issues with close fast shooting it's always been mag feeding related, single sledding has been a much simpler bet. I put three rounds through a bull at 600 yards feeding them of the stock pack so fast and easy a mag feed would not have been any advantage. Shot many at close range never once wish I was mag feeding, a few years ago I had a round jamb in the mag and screw the whole works up, hunted the rest of the season with that round jammed and found I never missed it.
I also hunt in areas with grizzlies and never ran into one where if they decided they didn't like me I would have been lucky to even get one round of, my rifle would actually be a liability at that point with optics and long barrel, my side arm is much more suited to bear defense since I have more rounds to bring and I practice using it in self defense situations.

 

[dragman]

No dismissing grizz or Africa.
I am a two gun hunter. Carry a light one set up with big hammer. I also have some big *** carry pieces not much a 2" 500s&w cant handle in a oh shoot moment.

On another note my friend who's 72 just killed a cape buffalo, no side arm, no gun 30 yards out just a recurve bow. I would have had to had a little more than that.

 

[ohiohunter]

That old man must have a hard time walkin..






with balls that big.