FOR any type of hunting, the first shot is the one that counts and if you miss, you generally miss with your follow-up shots. My friend Ken Harding has always had a great liking for the single-shot big-game rifle, but most hunters I know think that a single-shot would be a handicap.
Over the years I have owned and hunted with single-shots, but while I’ve never gained the least preference for them, I realise they do offer some advantages.
Because a single-shot rifle does not have the long receiver of a bolt action, the barrel can be 26” (66cm) or so long without making the rifle unhandy. Decades ago I shot a mule deer in New Mexico with a rifle I borrowed from Les Bowman, a Ruger No 1 in .270 Winchester with a 30” barrel that gave .270 Weatherby velocity. Years later,
