Anyone need an inexpensive single shot shotgun?

Almost makes a man ashamed to put a lowly Browning BT-99 up on the gun rack in the midst of all the Perazzis, Krieghoffs, Ljutics and Zolis. I feel like I want to cover it up or something, pretend it's not mine.
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Nah.
If it works, it works.
There's no shame in performance.

I'm not a shotgunner, so I have no stories there. But I do have a recent one with a rifle:

I was proudly flying the FrankenMarlin flag a few weeks back, when I took the relatively-untested Glenfield/Marlin/Remlin .307 Win project out for a test drive.
It is comprised of parts from two Glenfield Model 30As, at least four JM Marlin 336s, at least two REP Marlin 336s, at least one 1895 (probably REP), and possibly a Model 444 (or two).


I dialed it in and got less than 1 MoA at 100 yards with five rounds of factory Winchester ammo.

There were three rounds left to fire, so the box would have an even 10 left in it. I pulled a bit high on the 380 yard steel gong.
Bang. - Clang.
Bang. - Clang.
Bang. - Clang.
*Happy dance*


The guys in a bay close by had been trying to dial in their new-looking hunting rifles for the upcoming seasons, and came over to see how I was already done and ringing steel with this crappy-looking levergun while they were still chasing their own tails.
One of them asked what "that cowboy gun" was.
I answered, "It's basically a Marlin 336, built from hand-fitted spare parts, using a barrel that was free because it was slightly screwed up while being reamed from .30-30 to .307 Winchester."

After some discussion about the rifle and what .307 Winchester was, one of them quipped, "He's got a Tasco strapped to $50 worth of used parts, and you can't hit a target with a $1,200 scope on a brand new rifle!"

:D


(At the time of testing, it actually had more tape on it, as well as a beat-to-hell Tasco Pronghorn 4x from the '70s or '80s.)
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Yep, there I am shooting registered trap with a BT-99 single shot trap gun costing in the LOW four digits, and I don't wear a shooting vest or red tinted shooting glasses with horse-blinders on them either. That's like playing golf in blue jeans instead of wearing clothes that would embarrass a Las Vegas pimp.

However, I learned early on in this sport, especially at some of the big zone shoots, you better get used to being beaten by girls shooting semi-autos.:D
 
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dang Frank,,,that is a nice rifle you put together out of the junk pile,,,,lol

i wish my junk pile had such parts

ocharry
 
I decided to order one in .410 with the 22 inch barrel. Neat little single shot under 5 pounds that's easy to take down. Should have it at my ffl in a few days.
 
dang Frank,,,that is a nice rifle you put together out of the junk pile,,,,lol

i wish my junk pile had such parts
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Thanks.
If you collect and fix or improve enough examples of other peoples' "junk" (especially if much of it is in the same model "family"), you end up with a rather generous parts box.
A little from this one. Another part that one. A few parts from the one that couldn't be saved. More here. More there.
Then, one day, the realization comes: "Hey, I think I can assemble a complete rifle from that..."
 
g.willikers worte:
Not all that much joy to shoot, but great for carrying all day.
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Several years ago, I visited my father and noticed he had a single shot 12 gauge hanging above the garage door. He bought it when one of the local hardware stores went out of business. I had occasion to shoot an armadillo with it once. And yes, like you said, not much joy to shoot.
 
I was just at the local sportsman's club participating in a casual clay shoot. I started with my NEF 20g single. Out of the 1st box of 25 shells, I missed 3 times. Switched to my Maverick 88 20g pump. Another box of 25 shells, but this time I only hit about 10. Switched back to the single shot for the last box and hit another 19 out of 25. By the 3rd box I was fatigued a bit and was definitely feeling it in my shoulder. Moral of the story, hitting targets is fun therefore shooting the single shot is indeed fun.
 
2 or 3 boxes

2 or three boxes in a lightweight single shot? I would be flinching by that third box, maybe the 2nd.

Weight is your friend in a target shotgun. Pretty easy to add weight to the cheapie single shot guns.

I shoot a 1940's model 12 trap. I went over the top with weight....oops 10.5 lbs. guess I have to dump some of the shot out of the buttstock. I was shooting for 9.5 lbs. got a little carried away. It's too butt heavy anyhow.

I use good quality empty hulls for weight in the front. Fill em up with #8 crimp em and then add a little epoxy to make sure they stay closed. I check em once a year when I do a deep clean, they seem to last a couple years of heavy shooting.
I like a pump for the ability to easily tweak the weight and balance, gotta work on doubles with it next.
 
I bought a H&R single shot 12 gauge after watching this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES59LtA7XE8

Shot it a few times in the winter wearing a heavy Carhartt jacket. Shot it a few times in the summer wearing a T-Shirt. Haven't shot it since.

Got a steal of a deal on a H&R .410 - that one is fun to shoot.
 
75 rounds was not enough to give me a flinch, but I was feeling in the shoulder a little. Not so much while shooting, but after for sure. Today my shoulder is a little tender.

I was wearing a 2 light cotton shirts.
 
Fwiw, at my pawn shop. I've had a couple single shots sit on the wall for months. $85 and $95 in fine shape. One an old Springfield and one new nef or similar.
 
Fwiw, at my pawn shop. I've had a couple single shots sit on the wall for months. $85 and $95 in fine shape. One an old Springfield and one new nef or similar.
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I had two old but nice single shot shotguns and got no takers at $75 each. Sold both of them for $50 each to a local friend who makes his living trading different things. He still has them after several months.
 
I was just curious since pump actions are available now for $150-$200. Both of my shotguns are 20g. The single is an NEF I got for Christmas when I was 12. The other is a Mav88 I bought for my birthday last year. No idea what the singles cost, but the Mav was $188. I figured the singles would be cheaper....around $100.
 
Impportant to remember the international market affects these production decisions also. THere are a lot of countries with restrictions on ownership where these types of firearms are allowed, or at least tolerated, in rural areas and continue to be extremely common. They also see a ton of abuse so are not of heirloom quality.
 
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