Single-shot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Single-shot firearms are cartridge firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded after each shot. Single-shot designs are less complex than revolvers or magazine fed firearms, and are still produced by many manufacturers.
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[edit] History
[edit] Rifles
Many of the early cartridge fed rifles were single-shot designs, taking advantage of the strength and simplicity of single-shot actions. A good example is the "trapdoor" action used in early cartridge conversions of muzzleloading rifles. The conversion consisted of milling out the rear of the barrel, and attaching a folding bolt, the "trapdoor", that flipped up and forwards to allow the cartridge to be loaded in the breech. Once loaded, the bolt was closed and latched in place, holding the round securely in place. The bolt contained a firing pin that used the existing percussion hammer, so no changes were required to the lock. After firing, the act of opening the bolt would partially extract the fired case from the chamber, allowing it to be removed. In 1866, the United States standardized on the .50-70 cartridge, chambered in trapdoor conversions of rifled muskets used in the American Civil War. The trapdoor mechanism continued with the adoption of the Springfield 1873 rifle, chambered in the new .45-70 cartridge. The Springfield stayed in service until 1893, when it was replaced by the Krag-Jørgensen bolt action rifle.
Remington, Sharps, and Browning all made single-shot rifles using different actions, such as the rolling block and falling block. These rifles were originally chambered in large black powder cartridges, such as .50-110, and were used for hunting large game, often bison. Later production rifles would be in popular smokeless powder cartridges, such as the .30-40 Krag.
Single-shot rifles co-existed for some time with the lever action rifle, but they began to fade out of manufacture with the advent of reliable bolt action rifles.
[edit] Pistols
Single-shot pistols were less common, as the revolver was a fairly mature technology by the advent of cartridge arms, and cartridge conversions existed for the common models of revolver. Versions did exist, which usually fell into two categories: single shot derringers, and target pistols, which were essentially single-shot rifle actions cut down to pistol size. The Remington Rolling Block is perhaps the most well known of these. As the era of single-shot rifles faded, so did these early single shot pistols.
In 1907, J. Stevens Arms, a maker of inexpensive break-open single-shot rifles in pistol calibers, started making pistol versions of their rifles. This pistol was chambered in .22 Long Rifle and came with adjustable iron sights and grips designed for target shooting. These models were discontinued in 1939.
[edit] Shotguns
Single-shot shotguns have always been popular as an inexpensive alternative to double barrelled shotguns. Single-shot shot shotguns are almost always break-open designs, like the double barrelled designs, but single shots are far less expensive since they do not require the precise aligning of parallel barrels. Single shot shotguns are also the lightest type of shotgun, which can be an advantage if they are carried hunting, though it does mean they have the most felt recoil. Single-shot shotguns are not widely used in shotgun sports, as most shotgun sports require the ability to quickly fire two successive shots, which would require reloading a single-shot design while a target is in the air.
[edit] Modern single shots
[edit] Pistols
The modern era of single-shot firearms is most visible in the realm of pistols. Remington introduced the single-shot bolt action XP-100 pistol in 1963, which hearalded the era of high performance, high velocity pistols. The .221 Fireball cartridge lived up to its name by reaching velocities of 2700 f/s from a 10.5" pistol barrel. Essentially a shortened .223 Remington, the compact .221 Fireball delivered accuracy exceeding that of many rifles, out to ranges unheard of for other handguns.
Even bigger than the XP-100, the 1967 introduction of the Thompson Center Arms Contender pistol changed handgun sports forever. The Contender was a break-open design that allowed barrels to be changed by the shooter in minutes. Available in calibers from .22 Long Rifle up to .45-70, and in barrel lengths of 8, 10, and 14 inches, the Contender could, in the right hands, handle any type of game, and delivered rifle-like accuracy to match the XP-100.
Many other manufacturers make single-shot pistols, most based on the bolt action rifle, with barrels generally ranging from 10 to 15 inches. Single-shots dominate the game of handgun metallic silhouette shooting, and single-shots are the most common handguns used for hunting.
[edit] Rifles
In 1966, Sturm, Ruger introduced their first true rifle. Their earlier long guns had been carbines, the first a .44 Magnum and the next the highly popular Ruger 10/22 in .22 Long Rifle. The rifle Ruger brought out, named simply "#1", used a falling block action, and was available in a wide selection of calibers from .22 Hornet to .458 Winchester Magnum. The #1 is the top of the line of Ruger's rifles, with their highest level of fit and finish, and it has always been sought after by shooters who appreciate the compact size and light weight a single shot rifle, and the falling block action cuts about four inches off the length of the rifle for a given barrel length.
A number of manufacturers have started to make single shot rifles since the #1's introduction. Most common of these would be the New England Firearms inexpensive break-open rifles, which are built on their 12 gauge break-open shotgun actions (and also sold under the Harrington & Richardson name). These rifles are quite accurate, and often less than half the price of a bolt action rifle in the same caliber. The popularity of Cowboy action shooting has also had an impact on the availability of single-shot rifles, with many reproductions of the old black powder cartridge rifles, particularly the Sharps rifles, now being available.
