The definitive single barreled shotgun thread!

[Andy Griffith]

I am but a simple man.

I realized quite some time ago don't need some new fangled whiz-bang belled and whistled tactical doomaflatchy to get the job done.

I don't have to have the latest and greatest to keep up with my friend down the street, nor do I allow myself to be swayed by trends or peer pressure.

I must admit I like single barreled shotguns, as they are what I grew up on.

There is something to be said about the feller that carries and uses one proficiently. No, that doesn't mean he can shoot it fast, although it can be done...it means making each shot count.

America does, or did have a love affair with them for so very long. To many a boy and man, from the latter half of the 19th century to the mid part of the 20th, the single shot .22 rifle and single barreled shotgun were the mainstay of the nation. How many doughboys were taught to shoot at an early age with these? How many people protected their life, livestock and property with them? How many brought home dinner during the depression with these things?

These pieces which have sustained families for so long are often maligned, forgotten, mistreated and taken for granted for the important piece of Americana they were and still are. Sure, they will never have the status of a Model 12, Remington 1100 or a Benelli, but can it take meat and be just as functional? Certainly, if you don’t mind being aggravated a bit by the fellers with the pumps and autos.

I’ve gone dove shooting with some friends that have some whiz-bang autos, and have been aggravated only once- likely because I brought home more doves, with less shells expended.

Freely admitting that it, in ways is hard to get excited about a single barreled shotgun, I do think many have some character that do set them apart from the rest of the pack.



Ah heck, y'all just want to see some pictures!

1. Forehand and Wadsworth 12ga
2. Remington #9 12ga side-cocker
3. Excel Arms (Stevens) 1929 .410
4. Stevens 1929 16ga, belonged to my father
5. Winchester model 20, .410

1. My father's second Stevens 94 16ga
2. Ithaca 66 .410

That old Stevens 94, was bought when I was a kid at Hag Davenport's old store on US-64 on upper Shooting Creek NC (now old 64) when we were on a trip to Franklin NC for some reason- I do remember it started to snow on the way back and father didn't think we'd make it back across the mountain!

That 94 is the gun that he killed his only deer with- with a slug. He determined that killing a deer is too much darn work, and would stick with squirrels and such. Also, when he was growing up, there were very, very few if any deer in the area so it wasn't something he grew up doing.

Only thing I don't like about it now, is about 10 or so years ago I had it out hunting and the triggerguard broke on it during shooting! That ugly thing was the only thing I could find at the time- I need to find another one closer to original.

The only one I can't find is my Winchester 37 in 16 gauge...that bothers me. I'll find it sooner or later.

I did get back into buying some H&R's some time back too- when they came around for a good deal.
I did have one "card gun" made up locally so I could run with those fellers with the sleeved model 37's, but I didn't have to spend a mint to do it.

Here's a pic of a set of family: 10's (2 of 'em), 12 card gun, 16, 20, 28 and .410. I always picked them up when they were @ $50 or so.

Now, I'm done playing for the week- I've got work to do!

 

[GatorFarmer]

Maybe a better term is "single shot shotgun"? I'm asking, not telling, since pumps and autos technically have a "single barrel", and are simply fed extra shells from a magazine.

There was a 16 gauge Stevens that kicked around in my family for years. I think it is still sitting in my mother's closet. When I grew up, my grandfather had it. It sat on the steps leading up to the attic. After my grandfather died, we found three rounds of buckshot that he'd kept sitting next to it and a partial box of old Federal paper hull birdshot.

Before he had it, it belonged to my great grandmother as the farm gun. She gave it to great uncle Nicky who used to take it with him on his job as bus driver in Detroit, including during the riots. Family legend has it that at one point he was threatened by a group who mentioned that he only had one shot, and he responded by asking which of them wanted to take that one shot. When no one did, he threw them off his bus.

I've only owned two such guns. I had a break top NEF Tamer in .410 that was a lot of fun to shoot, but that I sold to a friend so that his son could learn to kill rabbits. I still have a cut down NEF 12 gauge - legal length - painted camo that I traded for. I've been meaning to put it in a Choate stock or something more useful, just haven't got around to it.

 

[JohnnieB]

Nice lookin' Chest-of-Drawers - Guns ain't too hard on the eyes either.


John

 

[Andy Griffith]

I agree with you Gator, but the term "single barreled" is what is more often used, at least around here. I think most people would know what we're talking about, if either term is used.

Thanks for the comment on the little set of drawers. The set belonged to my great grandmother- but they were painted black! I stripped them and clear coated them and have a nice piece now.

 

[JohnnieB]

The term was probably coined when "double barreled" guns came out, long before lever actions, pumps and autoloaders came into being.

 

[jlrhiner]

I've got several, the first 20 ga. I ever shot, and my dads winchester that he had the barrel drawn down so tight a dime won't fit in it. He liked those meat shoots.

 

[kraigwy]

When I was a kid about 11, I wanted to go deer hunting. I walked the road between the house and store (about a mile) until I came up with enough money from coke bottles @ 2 cents each, to pay the $.25 for three 16 ga shot shells (buck shot). Took my grandfathers single barreld shotgun and hit the woods. Some time long before I was born someone stuck it in the mud and fired it. My Grandfather had to cut a few inches off the muzzle so it didnt even have a bead.

I think it was suppose to be an older gun for BP only. It was shot loose before I got a hold of it. Also you had to pry the hulls out with a knife after firing.

I shot my first deer, scared the heck out of me, after shooting it, it would go down, then back up and still coming toward me. Took all three shells. I thought it was coming after me. After it was down and the fear wore off I was proud as punch.

My aunt had position of the gun and I wanted it. She said she needed it for protection (though I don't think she had any shells) Any way, years later I bought a RG 38 snubby, sat. night special, and convinced her it would be better for protection, and traded.

I still got the gun, some 50+ years later, though I don't think its safe to shoot. I have now idea who made it, it does have some checkering but pretty worn down. Not worth anything to anyone else, but It was my grandfathers and I killed my first deer, so I'll keep it, hoping one of my kids or grandkids will understand and give it a good home when I'm gone.

 

[cass]

I just returned from Kansas on a Pheasant hunt. I took my dad's 16 Ga Winchester Model 37 just to know that that's what he'd be using if he were still here. I got a bird on the first shot. Boy, was I proud.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Here's a little survival single shot 410 that shoots great. This one doesn't have the additional .22 barrel.

 

[max]

My dad gave me his M-37 410 and that gun frustrated me so. I killed one or two pheasants with it, but missed and or wounded many more. Whenever any one asks about a youth gun, I always strongly recommend a 20 gauge. The old M-37 is in my safe, but has not been fired in years.

 

[mtgianni]

Nice guns. I really wanted an Ithaca 66 as a kid.

 

[Goldstar225]

My dad gave me a Stevens model 94 20 gauge when I was nine (44 years ago). I went on to kill my first of everything with that gun (deer, squirrel, rabbit, quail, duck, racoon, crow etc...). When I went into the military it stayed with my mom. My idiot brother-in-law got his paws on it and like everything else he touched, he messed up and lost the forearm. A workable replacement was found and installed. I then passed the gun down to my son when he turned nine, more game fell. It now reposes in my safe, waiting for the right time to be passed down to my seven year old grandson.

 

[Speedo2]

I've got one of those old, single-barreled tomato stakes around here somewhere:

Parker SBT "C" Grade -S2

 

[kshock]

Ahh, the memories....When I was a young man, I had a Westernfield 20 guage single shot (Savage 220). I loved that gun and really liked the hammerless design. Let my uncle talk me out of it (for $15 no less)years ago and then of course, he would not sell it back to me. Every time I am around a gunshop or gunshow, I always look to see if I can find another in 12 guage, but have not ran across one yet. My wife likes to shoot blue rock (trap) and her arms are short enough that my guns are a reach for her, but one of the Savage 220's in full choke would probably fit the bill.

 

[David LaPell]

This was an old red letter Winchester 37 20 gauge that accounted for a few grouse. I intend to try and buy this gun back from the current owner when I get some money squirreled away.

 

[Steave]

I've got a Winchester Model 20 .410 that belonged to my grandfather. It was not in good shape when I got it years ago, the biggest problem is a huge crack in the stock. For years I've been meaning to get a new stock and have it restored, but haven't gotten around to it.

 

[sheriffoconee]

I have got an old H&R single barrel (yup, read that single shot) with an 18 inch barrel and a 5 round butt cuff that I keep around in case of a critter....
I like to run a few shots a year thru it.....
Ain't no need a quit a gun just cause it ain't fancy....it works....that's what I need it to do
Guess if I painted it black and hung a light on it the kids around here would love it

 

[sw44spl]

I was a kid when I got my first shotgun for a christmas gift.a single barrel stevens 12 ga.I took many a squirrel with it.the barrel bulged 3 inches from the end and my stepdad cut it back and taped it and set the bead back.used it to death it was my truck gun till I let a guy talk me out of it.then I got a pump winchester.and now I am hunting hard for a single barrel 410 savage 94.

 

[bmcgilvray]

The Parker is really neato!


Here's another Forehand 12 gauge though not as nice as yours, Andy.

It's a big 'un! A Harrington & Richardson Model 176 10 gauge Magnum I purchased new in the 1970s when I was 18. I'd read of Elmer Keith shooting ducks and geese at 100 yards with his Ithaca 10 gauge magnum double so thought I needed one for my duck hunting. 100 yard duck shooting was a bust. The 10 gauge did work well as a varmint "rifle" though, taking called foxes and coyotes with No. 4 buckshot.

The barrel is so fat it is like a sewer pipe. It is so thick at the breech end that it appears humped when looking down the barrel toward the bead. Lot of scrap steel in this one for the original purchase price of $65.

There's another H&R or two around here along with a Winchester Model 37A 16 gauge, purchased the same day as the 10 gauge for $60. I bought it for my girlfriend to have something to hunt dove with. I got the gun back when she married me.

 

[NKJ nut]

Andy I am a big fan of these guns, and yes I call them single barrels too. I have yet to see a single barrel with more than one barrel (LOL)

I like the convenience of quick loading and unloading and it's very easy to get off a quick second shot by tucking a shell between the fingers of your left hand assuming you are right handed.

The Winchester model 37 in 16 ga. is my favorite of the breed.