If you only had one......

[Catsmith]

If you could only have one single shot brush gun (150 yds absolute max) to cast and load for to put meat on the table, what gun, round and sights would you pick?

[Wolfer]

I've never had one or shot one, but I've always wanted a 85 win in 38-55. I also believe the 35 rem is a good choice.

[bubba15301]

anything in 45/70

[btroj]

Shotgun. Lots of food can be gathered with a shotgun.

[williamwaco]

You didn't specify game animal so I would go with the 1885 Winchester ( modern replica ) in .38-55.

Perhaps 30-30 in the smaller game states and perhaps .45-70 in Alaska.

.

[nanuk]

first choice - 12ga with a shortened barrel, cylinder bore, rifle sights

second choice - 20ga as above

if I only had one, I'd not choose a rifle

[jp99]

Out to 150 if I didn't have any worry of taking anything bigger than deer I'd go with the .357 or .41 magnum. If the chance of running into anything bigger like bear, elk, or moose I'd go for the .45-70.

Regards,

JP99

[runfiverun]

probably the 375 winchester or the 45-70.
i could second bbl them and make the cases into small bore shotgun shells easily if'n i had to.

[M-Tecs]

If I only had one it would be a 12 gauge with a smooth bore barrel and a rifled slug barrel .

[Artful]

I'd keep my Ruger #3 in 375 Big Bore

[waksupi]

I was sitting around a camp fire with DeanD, his wife, Charlie/aka The Deacon and several others. Someone brought up the "one gun" question. The Deacon got a horrified look on his face, and said, "Oh, I could never do that!" That ended that conversation, as everyone was laughing too hard.

[runfiverun]

ric his wifes name is tammy....

[.22-10-45]

Well...I have an original 28" oct. brl. Remington rolling block in .40-50 Sharps bottleneck..this shoots very accurate at 100yds. with AA5744 and a 300gr. NEI bullet.

[JeffinNZ]

Shotgun. Lots of food can be gathered with a shotgun.

Reminds me of the old Trade guns. Fed a lot of settlers.

[white eagle]

one gun for everything.............
I shudder at the mere mention

[captaint]

I actually have an 1885 Modern replica in 38-55 and I told my son - this year, the hiwall is going hunting. I can't wait. enjoy Mike

[I'll Make Mine]

I'd have to think pretty hard to choose between a .45-70 and a 12 ga, but in the end I'd most likely come down on the shotgun side (especially if I could get one with the rifled choke insert option -- shoots slugs almost as well as a fully rifled slug barrel). The versatility of the 12 gauge far exceeds anything that's rifled all the time...

[Bluehawk]

I have a Single shot in 38/55 and one in 45/70 BOTH H&Rs Either one is fine BUT if "there can be only one " then its the 45/70 for sure ! MINE shoots the RD 350 GC bullet VERY WELL .
AND will shoot the Hornady J bullet 350 well too. Doesn't like bullets under 330 or above 400 Have tried all of the sizes and weights . Best load is with the RD 350, Second best load is the Lyman 385 Grain Rn . RD bullet shoots best with Varget and the 385 Shoots best with 3031

[Hickory]

50 caliber flintlock for me.
1) You can make your own powder.
2) Boolits easy to make.
3) Ignition system not reliant on others.

[rockrat]

Savage 24 in 30-30/12ga or one of the Baikal 308/12ga guns. Probably the Savage, since 150 is max range.

[badbob454]

i would have to be different ,.... a 30 06 would be very versitle load 93 grain boolits to 200 gr would take anything from a squirrel to a med-large size bear. it can be loaded subsonic to near magnum velocity ,and a versitile array of boolit molds and jacketed (shudder ) ...... but .....how could i leave any of my other guns behind ???

[ShooterAZ]

If I could only have one gun I would make mine a Contender....you didn't say how many barrels for it!

[MBTcustom]

If you could only have one single shot brush gun
Single shot eh? I dont know how it would do at 150 yards, but I believe the next single shot I buy will be a handi-rifle in 500S&W. That is the way to go.
If I were hunting in brush, I would load a wadcutter in that sucker as hot as I thought I could get away with.
Shotgun is a decent choice also, but a single shot is going to put you across its knee every time you pull the trigger, that, and I have never seen a single shot with a rifled barrel, and there is no way I would take a shot at 150 without a rifled barrel.

[RevGeo]

Ruger #3 in 30-40 Krag.

George

[1Shirt]

Pump shotgun w/two bbls. One with mod, the other rifled for slugs w/rifle sights.
1Shirt!

[dragonrider]

If there can be only one, TCR-87, with an assortment of barrels. If I had to choose one caliber it would likely be 30-06 for the wide range of boolit weights.

[MBTcustom]

Pump shotgun w/two bbls. One with mod, the other rifled for slugs w/rifle sights.
1Shirt!

Single shot remember?

[JDL]

Would a cape gun in 12 ga./8x57 be disqualified? If yes, I'd have to choose my B-78 .45/70.

[Catsmith]

MAN.......I started this thing and I am still trying to figure out my answer!

Single shot, reloadable, castable, I guess I would go for a 38/357 h&r 18" barrel open sights composit stocks. load light enough to shoot squirrels and might not get the max range but could take any southern deer and the biggest thing we gotta worry bout to eat us is hogs. I may end up with a 100yd max gun but it would do everything else.

[quilbilly]

I agree with Rockrat. A Savage Model 24 O/U 30/30 - 20 ga does it all. Rather heavy for bird hunting though. Have had mine for 40 years after needing the one gun to take to college in Corvallis.

[roverboy]

I'd probably pick a N.E.F. Handi-Rifle in .30-30, because I got dies, bullets, powder. And besides I like .30-30 rifles.

[John in WI]

I have a decent (and growing!) supply of firearms. But my "if there was only one" weapon is a 12 gauge pump.

I have a shorter adjustable choke barrel and it takes care of everything from slugs to small game at short range, to heavy buckshot for SD/HD. For my money it's the ultimate in SHTF firepower. They are cheap to buy, reliable and easy to operate (and teach someone to operate). I can't think of another weapon that lets you hunt any animal in N. America from little bunnies and birds to grizzlies if you need to. (I also have a devoted rifle slug barrel and devoted long shot barrel--but the shorty is because it serves 95% of it's life as my closet/HD piece)

[RU shooter]

My dads old Tikka O/U 12 ga. over 222 with a low power scope . That should be able to kill anything I care to in my area.

[Jeffrey]

If you could only have one television station... If you could only eat one meal over and over again... If you could only live in one room of your house... If you could only listen to one song over and over... If you could only have one child...
If I could only have one gun, it would be the one I was holding when the dirty SOBs come to the door to take the rest of them.
Maybe I'm a little sensitive, I vote gun rights, and this is an election year.

[badbob454]

MAN.......I started this thing and I am still trying to figure out my answer!

Single shot, reloadable, castable, I guess I would go for a 38/357 h&r 18" barrel open sights composit stocks. load light enough to shoot squirrels and might not get the max range but could take any southern deer and the biggest thing we gotta worry bout to eat us is hogs. I may end up with a 100yd max gun but it would do everything else.

hate to say this but you may just piss them hogs off i would want more knock down to fire only 1 shot ...

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Well, If I get the drift of your orginal question , I think you mean single shot rifle & caliber & sights....not shotguns, not lever action rifles....:groner:

So my answer would be T/C In 45/70 , shooting the 330gr cast boolit...and a 1x4 power scope , I don't see iron siights like I used to:holysheep

I use this set up and it works for me , when I don't have my Marlin...the T/C is very versitle I have 12 ga bbl, 45/70 bbl, & 50 cal. muzzel loarder, .223 cal and a 338 just for grins:redneck::cbpour:

[222]

I would 35 Remy or larger with rifle, must have an ejector (no extractors) action type not that big to me to but hiwall look nice, a 2-7 power Leopold scope for my poor eye sight.. Or my .54 GPR with peep sight.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Simple answer: my old FN Mauser 375 H&H.
Factory Irons, and the Leupold 4-12X that sits on it now.

300gr cast RFN at 2000fps has been doing the trick for four decades now.


Rich
Sua Sponte

[leftiye]

And it's a great rabbit gun too! I clicked on this to say .375 H&H (or improved). I've got one of each.

[Lloyd Smale]

love my 4570s but if it came to keeping just one it would probably be my 444 outfitter.

[softpoint]

If allowed to have multiple barrels on the single shot, it would be a TC Encore with a 12 guage barrel, .22LR barrel, 45/70 barrel. The rifle barrels with low power scopes.

[Ramjet-SS]

Ruger #1 475 Linebaugh topped with a Trijicon 1-4 30mm scope green post.

Load 355 grain HC WFN driven to 1600 FPS +

[OnHoPr]

Well it's not the Daniel Boone or Davy Crocket days. Cars have trunks and pickups have boxes. Maybe the OP should be, "What would be your first gun."

[Bluehawk]

OK re reading all the threads here and allowing a single frame with multiple barrels, THEN I ALREADY have it MY H&R Frame is fitted to 5 barrels .223 Rem ; 30/30 AI; 30/06 Spring. and 45/70 . PLUS a 24 inch, 12 ga 3.5 inch chamber . If I cant do EVERYTHING with that combo, I'm afraid it cant be done . BY the way I did fire that gun with a 12 ga 3.5 inch slug once
"O N C E "

[Catsmith]

hate to say this but you may just piss them hogs off i would want more knock down to fire only 1 shot ...

You have a good point, BUT............I would hate to try to get meat for the pot off a squirrel after hitting it with a big bore anything. It would be tenderized though!:bigsmyl2:

As far as the hogs go. I have all respect for wild hogs. Think about it,,,,,,With the millions of wild hogs in the south, how many documented cases are there where a person was injured in the woods by a wild hog. I have never seen a documented case. I hunt around them, trap around them, have had coons eaten out of my traps by hogs. Never have I seen anything but the rear end, trying it's best to get away from me. In a stand they will mill around a while but on foot, they want no part of us.

Maybe we just have scardy cat hogs round here:happy dance:

Oh Yeah...........If you go out there and poke a Hog or bear or bobcat or a squirrel with a stick, you may just deserve to be bit. Gotta be smarter than the squirrel. But that is another story.:oops:

[MT Gianni]

Savage 24, 357 max over 20 gauge. Put a peep sight on it and leave the aperature out.

[32ideal]

Absolutely a Ruger #3 in 45/70, first one I had I also had a TC in 45LC-410 with choke tube, with it in mind I tried some cheap 2 1/2" 410's in my 45-70, they worked fine but really messed up the bore with a hard to remove lead fouling, so I just used my old unsized 45-70 shells loaded with a fast 410 shotgun powder (don't know what I used it was 1977 or 1978, maybe 2400 used it for everything back then) 45 Cal gas check seated upside down (cup side down) on powder then lubed felt 45 muzzle loader wad, thin card wad, thin plastic strip (some type of shim stock, very tough) rolled into a tube inside case to end of shell, shot in the tube to almost top off and another gas check seated upside down and crimped in 45-70 seat die, shot a lot of squirrels with that load while hunting Deer or wild pigs. It left a little fouling in bore, but it still shot my 405gr cast bullets accurately to at least 150yds. :smile: :-) :-)

32ideal

[pls1911]

"Only one" means about the same as only one for everything...aka "what's te best"?
Tag the 30-30 and cast bullets, hands down.
Perhaps not best at anything, but damn good at about everything...
Old coots and Grandaddy's know this to be true.
I'll take their collective experience as gospel.

[pls1911]

Also, I'll acknowledge 45/70 as an absolute best second choice, and won't argue it mcuh as a #1 choice.

[45-70.gov]

357 MAX.....H&R handi

as it also will handle the 357 mag carry gun ammo
and is real qiet with 38 for small game and discretion
or
44 mag handi to go with 44 smith i some times carry

after that 12 ga......45-70.....500

[Catshooter]

Cat,

The 357 is very popular in the H&R. Many like to ream it out to 357 Max. They use from 38 Special to Max and that is a pretty wide range. Squirrells to big hogs would be covered nicely.


Cat

[nanuk]

50 caliber flintlock for me.
1) You can make your own powder.
2) Boolits easy to make.
3) Ignition system not reliant on others.

There is That!


And the Gov't up here doesn't classify them as firearms

[nanuk]

Single shot eh?...I have never seen a single shot with a rifled barrel, and there is no way I would take a shot at 150 without a rifled barrel.


GS

check out the Handi's... 12 and 20ga fully rifled barrels, and the Ultra Slug Hunters are fully rifled Heavy Barreled "Shotguns"

I have read some amazing stories of the accuracy of the H&R USH in 12ga

[Artful]

And the Gov't up here doesn't classify them as firearms

And they do that because of single shot, or black powder, or non-cartridge, or ignition system? inquiring minds want to know.

[UBER7MM]

7x57 elephant gun.

[saz]

Well I would have to agree to 2 parts of this discussion. I am torn between them as I believe they are both equally effective within 150 yards dependent on how they are loaded and equally dependent on the game each is being used on. The two cartridges in question are the venerable old 45/70 and the very modern but incredibly impressive 500 S&W. I have cast and loaded a bit for both, but have taken even more game than both combined with equal caliber muzzleloaders. Knowing what can be done with the "underpowered" blackpowder rifle is what gives me my opinion. I have done everything from thumping bunnies with a 45cal longrifle with a round ball over 30grs FFF, to taking a BIG Alaskan Bull Moose at 115 yards with a .50cal 495gr conical over 85grs FF. It isn't the rifle, it is the "flying brick" hitting the critter in the right spot. Now, if I had to pick either caliber in a centerfire rifle, it there would be ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT be chambered in a Ruger #1.

But then again, if I could afford a custom #1 in 500 S&W I sure wouldn't be concerned with owning only ONE rifle. But I love the sentiment. I think of it often.

[gungadoug]

Greener 12 bore takedown shotgun, with 12 bore rifle, 303, 50-90, and 22 barrels. But I guess that really doesn't fit the parameters?
Doug

[Aces an Eights]

45-70, (bought my fist one (1895G) last week and I've been giving it a little hug every night since :D)

Sharps or maybe a Trapdoor, can't decide, Uberti have a couple of nice looking replicas.

I like the sights on mk.3 303s but a tang sight seams more pragmatic.