single shot rifle guys. question.

[vash]

for some unknown reason, i kinda want the simplicity of a single shot centerfire rifle. i am thinking of either the ruger No. 1, or the Knight KP1. the bonus of the knight is that i can buy different uppers to convert from muzzleloader, shotgun, and myriad of rifle caliber choices. i know folks here have the Ruger. anyone shoot the KP1?

downside is: the calibers for either rifle seem a bit vanilla. i have 2 -30.06's already. a bolt action, and a semi auto...great caliber..but. i guess i could go with a .300 win mag, but i really had my heart set on a .300 WSM, or even the .328WSM.

[vash]

here is the Knight. slightly lighter, break open action. not even available in 7mm.



maybe better looking than the ruger?

[porsche4life]

whoops thought we were talking shotguns....

[Jeff Higgins]

Knight just went out of business.

There is no reason for a short magnum in a single shot.

The Ruger #1 is arguably one of the greatest rifles of all time, single shot or otherwise. I currently own four; one a custom varmint rig with a 28" Lilja stainless barrel in .220 Swift, a 1A Light Sporter in .30-'06, and two Tropicals, one in .375 H&H and the other in .458 Winchester Magnum. They are all fantastic hunting rifles in their various niches.

Other choices are the Browning High Wall or Low wall, the Blaser, the T/C Encore, and the H&R Handi Rifle. The Browning is a beautiful rifle, and is available in a good variety of calibers. It's about the same price as the Ruger. The Blaser is very expensive and kind of quirky, but a very good rifle. The Encore is typical T/C - function wins over form; ugly but hell for stout, accurate, and it has interchangeable barrels, including a muzzle loader barrel. The H&R is cheap and ugly, but very accurate and strong. It, too, can have interchangeable barrels, but you have to send it to H&R to get new ones fitted. I think it still has a muzzle loader barrels as well.

Then there are the semi-custom recreations of 19th century single shots, like the Shilo or C. Sharps Arms '74 Sharps, the Ballard, various Highwalls from Ballard, Meacham, C. Sharps, and others. Most come in at least one or two calibers that can be used with modern ammunition so you wouldn't have to reload for them. .45-70, .38-55, .32-40, and others still have ammo available.

For a first single shot, I would recommend the Ruger. They are pretty scarce at the dealers right now, so you might have to check the shows or on line. And what could possibly be better looking than a Ruger #1?

[MT930]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Knight just went out of business.

There is no reason for a short magnum in a single shot.

The Ruger #1 is arguably one of the greatest rifles of all time, single shot or otherwise. I currently own four; one a custom varmint rig with a 28" Lilja stainless barrel in .220 Swift, a 1A Light Sporter in .30-'06, and two Tropicals, one in .375 H&H and the other in .458 Winchester Magnum. They are all fantastic hunting rifles in their various niches.

Other choices are the Browning High Wall or Low wall, the Blaser, the T/C Encore, and the H&R Handi Rifle. The Browning is a beautiful rifle, and is available in a good variety of calibers. It's about the same price as the Ruger. The Blaser is very expensive and kind of quirky, but a very good rifle. The Encore is typical T/C - function wins over form; ugly but hell for stout, accurate, and it has interchangeable barrels, including a muzzle loader barrel. The H&R is cheap and ugly, but very accurate and strong. It, too, can have interchangeable barrels, but you have to send it to H&R to get new ones fitted. I think it still has a muzzle loader barrels as well.

Then there are the semi-custom recreations of 19th century single shots, like the Shilo or C. Sharps Arms '74 Sharps, the Ballard, various Highwalls from Ballard, Meacham, C. Sharps, and others. Most come in at least one or two calibers that can be used with modern ammunition so you wouldn't have to reload for them. .45-70, .38-55, .32-40, and others still have ammo available.

For a first single shot, I would recommend the Ruger. They are pretty scarce at the dealers right now, so you might have to check the shows or on line. And what could possibly be better looking than a Ruger #1?

Yep! Ruger #1
220 Swift

[vash]

jeff, what model is that lower rifle? i cannot surf "weapons" sites on my work computer. what caliber?

what kinda groups do you get with a #1?

i cannot find a Knight rifle anyways.

[m21sniper]

Sharps for me please.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by vash

jeff, what model is that lower rifle? i cannot surf "weapons" sites on my work computer. what caliber?

what kinda groups do you get with a #1?

i cannot find a Knight rifle anyways.

The bottom rifle started out as the #1V, or "varmint" rifle. It has a custom barrel from Lilja, chambered in .220 Swift. I ordered it in the same profile as the Ruger varmint barrel. At 28", it's 4" longer than the standard Ruger barrel, plus it is stainless steel. I had it installed when I finally shot out the original Ruger barrel, after over ten years of pretty heavy use. The scope is a Leupold Vari-X III 6.5x20. It shoots into about 1/2 MOA for five shot groups.

Accuracy is a known buggaboo with the #1. Some shoot as well as any bolt gun, some shoot like shotguns, stinging shots vertically. Especially the earlier ones. They are pretty much on top of it now, so it is quite rare to get one that won't shoot well right out of the box.

The problem stems from the method of forearm attachment. The short "Alexander Henry" (upper three in the photo) style forearms are not as prone to trouble as the longer standard forearms (bottom rifle). There is a known fix; both Midway and Brownell's sell a little kit for a few bucks that usually cures the problem. I have never had to use it, but I have seen rifles with the kit installed. It's a simple little jack screw arrangement for tensioning the forearm against the barrel.

[cashflyer]

Vash - I have an H&R and have been very happy with it.
Some people will knock it because it's inexpensive, but I have not been disappointed in the quality of the rifle. They are available in calibers .22WMR, .223, .243, .22-250, .25-06, .308, and .45-70.

http://www.hr1871.com/Firearms/Rifles/hunter.asp

[RPKESQ]

Why not build one?

SS rifles are pretty simple in design. You can copy a Browning (or Winchester) or a Sharps fairly easily. A break action design is another simple solution. You can also purchase plans for one.

Barrels blanks can be ordered inexpensively and it is not hard to cut the chamber.

Utilizing basic milling and lathe skills, rust blued and stocked to your specification.

Result a true personal firearm.

[vash]

Originally Posted by RPKESQ

Why not build one?

SS rifles are pretty simple in design. You can copy a Browning (or Winchester) or a Sharps fairly easily. A break action design is another simple solution. You can also purchase plans for one.

Barrels blanks can be ordered inexpensively and it is not hard to cut the chamber.

Utilizing basic milling and lathe skills, rust blued and stocked to your specification.

Result a true personal firearm.

so what,,? buy $3k worth of machine shop tools and space to build a rifle that will look like crap, shoot like crap...is crap? no thanks.

as a big fan of DIY, i know my limits. still patting myself on the back for installing 3 windows last week.

[RPKESQ]

Originally Posted by vash

so what,,? buy $3k worth of machine shop tools and space to build a rifle that will look like crap, shoot like crap...is crap? no thanks.

as a big fan of DIY, i know my limits. still patting myself on the back for installing 3 windows last week.

Wow!

Well I've seldom seen someone with such a low opinion of themselves or the inability to see solutions other than "buy a bunch of stuff, f*ck it all up and be done with it".

Nobody said you had to perform all the work yourself.

Cabella's has Knights on sale right now.

[tabs]

Steven Dodd Hughs will be you a rifle to die for.

In one of Steven Books there is a picture of an 1877 LR Sharps that he was the builder of. The attention to detail is outstanding. I have held that rifle as a friend of mine assembled the various parts and had Steven do the finish work. My friend has about 30K in that rifle.

[vash]

Originally Posted by RPKESQ

Wow!

Well I've seldom seen someone with such a low opinion of themselves or the inability to see solutions other than "buy a bunch of stuff, f*ck it all up and be done with it".

Nobody said you had to perform all the work yourself.

Cabella's has Knights on sale right now.

dude...this is a firearm. why would i want to "build" one? show me what you put together. ordering a custom barrel? big deal! so i farm out all the machine work and call it my own? what work do you consider DIY?

sorry if i offended your manly do it all yourself sensibilties. but i KNOW what kind of rifle i want..i dont want to machine a damn thing to have it. buying bits to stick it all together makes no sense to me.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by vash

dude...this is a firearm. why would i want to "build" one? show me what you put together. ordering a custom barrel? big deal! so i farm out all the machine work and call it my own? what work do you consider DIY?

Didn't you know? These days anyone who can assemble an AR-15 lower from a parts kit is considered a certified "gunsmith".

[vash]

Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte

Didn't you know? These days anyone who can assemble an AR-15 lower from a parts kit is considered a certified "gunsmith".

yea, the new .30 caliber uppers makes me want to jump on board. cool stuff for sure!

[RPKESQ]

Originally Posted by vash

dude...this is a firearm. why would i want to "build" one? show me what you put together. ordering a custom barrel? big deal! so i farm out all the machine work and call it my own? what work do you consider DIY?

sorry if i offended your manly do it all yourself sensibilties. but i KNOW what kind of rifle i want..i dont want to machine a damn thing to have it. buying bits to stick it all together makes no sense to me.

I will have to locate and scan some pictures of firearms I have made. I'll bet you will be surprised. I worked in the British gun-trade for several top manufacturers.

Having parts made for you to assemble, is not any different than other DIY projects. Brake upgrade for early 911? Rebuild 911 engine? New windows for the house? Did you or anyone here make all the various pieces themselves?

Smelt the ore, make the molds, pour the castings, machine up all the parts (nuts, washers, bolts, cotter pins, etc.), drill for the oil, distill it to specs, combine the basic chemicals to create gasket sealers, thread lock, grease, paint, line bore the case, forge the crankshaft and rods.........................................

Or did they combine the services of suppliers, ready made components, maybe some machining (by themselves or others), etc. to complete the project. It is still DIY, dude.

Your skill limitations are what you allow them to be. Your choice.

[vash]

Originally Posted by RPKESQ

I will have to locate and scan some pictures of firearms I have made. I'll bet you will be surprised. I worked in the British gun-trade for several top manufacturers.

.

oh, come on!! not fair in this country, we would call you a "ringer".

i would love to see some of your stuff. i am a big fan if DIY, i just dont want it to be firearms.....or microwaves.

[cashflyer]

Originally Posted by RPKESQ

Having parts made for you to assemble, is not any different than other DIY projects. <...> Rebuild 911 engine? <...> Did you or anyone here make all the various pieces themselves?

I carved all of my parts from solid billets of aluminum, by hand, using only a mill file and a sharpened spoon.

[cantdrv55]

You know, I really want to contribute to your threads but I can never relate. I suck at cooking and I really suck at shooting.