Single-barrel Shotguns!

G

Georgian

New member
Hey yall. This thread is just about nostalgia....the good ole
single-barrel shotgun. My first shotgun was a 20ga H&R Mod 58
that my grandad gave me. Still have it, and it is still, to this day
my favorite shotgun. Although it is overshadowed by my 870, 500, and Stoeger Coachgun (all 12ga), I have many found memories of that little single-shot. Even thinking about buying another! Anyways, this is for those who want to share their experience with single-barrels, and maybe pass along a few stories too. Any replies greatly appreciated!
 
My first was an H&R 58 in .410 bore. That has been well over 30 years ago and I still have it everyone that shoots it wants to buy it. It is one of the best squirrel guns I have ever owned and I have 20's 12's and a 16ga in all actions. I like the H&R so much I bought one yesterday in 28 ga.
 
I started with the H&R 16 that had been Pop's first shotgun. It had been given to him in the 1920s by HIS Grandad.That H&R fed the family during the last Depression in Pop's hands. It,in my hands, accounted for an amazing amount of meat and fun.

Pop gave me an 870 a year or two later, but I kept using that 16 for lots of stuff. Gone now,sadly.

When Son got all A's on his report card in the 9th grade, I bought him a H&R/NEF 12 gauge single. I cut the stock short and installed a good pad, a first gen Limbsaver, IIRC.

He's moved on to other things, so I've got a super light(5 lbs,9 oz),short stocked single that does well on Squirrels,etc, and serves as a loaner for small new shooters.

The 3/4 oz handloads I cobbled up keep the kick down for those last
 
As a Young boy, I started my hunting career, in the Backwoods of East Texas, hunting Squirrels, Rabbits, and Game Birds with an Old Champion Arms Single Barrel 20 Guage Shotgun, that belonged to my Grandmother.
I remember getting off the School Bus, in the Fall, Grabbing the Shotgun, and a leather pouch I made, to hold shotgun shells on my belt.
I would hunt till dark, and proudly bring home my small game.
Saturday mornings were majical, In the predawn hours, I would walk through the cow pastures, and into the bottoms, waiting for the sun to rise, and the woods to come to life.
I didint get to keep the Shotgun, but have very fond memories hunting with it. I never felt undergunned, and had many a fine hunt, with that old Shotgun. I hope to one day inherit it, but who knows what family member will end up with the old gun.
 
My first shotgun was a Savage 24J-DL in 20ga/22mag a birthday present from my folks when I turned 14. As a lad it felt like I was carrying around a ship's anchor walking through the fields hunting rabbits. The selector switch on the hammer keep breaking at the pivot point and I got tired of replacing it, so I traded it. In hind-sight I should have never traded that gun for anything. The gun that I replace it with (Remington 870 in 20 ga.) has long since gone down the road and only now after I lost my dad do I realize my error. I thought of trying to replace it but it wouldn't be the same. :(

I have since pickup a couple Savage Model 220s, mostly I look for 20 gauge. I currently own 2; 220A in 20 gauge, 1; 220A in 16 gauge and 220 in 12 gauge that someone shorten the barrel cutting out the choke. I decided to make it a deer gun seeing I'm getting tired of lugging around a pump and the 220 will be a much easier gun to carry around. Some of my buddies kid me that I'll be the only one that won't be getting a deer. But it only takes 1 shell if I do my part. So I shorten the barrel to 20" inches and plan to have a threaded rifle choke put in as well as Remington's rifle slug sights added, a barrel band swivel mount, matt the finish and it'll be good to go.

I don't know why I bought the 16 gauge? Probably cause I thought I could find another barrel in 20 gauge seeing that it's in really great shape. Maybe I thought to collect a set of the different gauges, but I can't remember now what entice me to make its purchase? :confused:


But it (16 ga.) will more then likely be going down the road here real soon so that I can add something else to the safe. :cool:
 
The first shotgun I ever owned, was a J.C. Higgins single 12, when I was 14. Strange as it might sound, sure wish I would have kept it but stepped up to a Savage 311 double at 16.


Be Safe !!!
 
My first, and sadly still my only shotgun is an Ithaca Model 66 12 ga. Super Single:cool:

I sure love it though. Great gun to have until I get my hands on a Rem 870
 
My 12 gauge belonged to Great Grandpa and it knocks the snot out of me. Alright with birdshot but slugs and buck are useless. Its not to bad if you stay with light loads like AA trap and skeet loads, bad news for a rabbit under 50'.

My 10 gauge H&R is deadly with everything except 00. It is also a pleasure to shoot as long as you are able to hold that heavy 36" barrel up in the air and on target. It's so much fun to shoot it should be illegal.
 
I have owned Mossbergs, Brownings, and numerous other brand name guns but my favorite old shotslinger is an Armsport single shot 12 guage duck gun. It has a 2.5ft spread at 35-40yrds and can handle up to a 3in mag shell. The barrel is 36" long and it is accurate beyond belief!( I must admit that I am a bit bias because it was my first shotgun.)I have no idea what choke is built in to it but with the long barrel and mag shells it will kick like the perverbial mule but the reach is worth it. I have let my friends shoot it and they say that either end is dangerous! As for ammo I prefer Hornady. Sad thing is that when I posted earlier I had not had this gun out in so long that I didn't even consider it! Glad I got it out this weekend and rekindled my love affair with the first and definitly the best long range shotgun I own. Just because it is older does not mean its less.
 
My .410 was Great Grandma's. She told Great Grandpa that she thought she'd like to try to go hunting with him. So, he bought her a brand new gun and a pair of coveralls. They took a couple trips together, and although they enjoyed the time together, she decided the hunting wasn't for her. Somewhere along the line, one of the cousins got the barrel plugged with mud before he shot it. So, the barrel is at about 20-inches now, with a little bit of a swell right at the muzzle, and has no bead. Since I've taken custody of the old gun, it's probably had less than 25-rounds through it. Every now and then, I like to take it out and shoot it. It makes me smile. Someday, I'm sure my great grandkids will take it out and shoot it.
 
I have my grandfather's 12 gauge H&R Topper Model.

I don't really shoot it much. The light weight and hard plastic buttpad means it will smack you around pretty good with just ordinary field loads.

With buckshot, I bet it would do the same amount of damage out both ends :p.
 
Win M37 .410

My sole and current single bbl is a M37 .410. "Semi-hammerless" There is no serial number. It sits by the water heater near the back door. There's a small plastic tub on top of the heater that holds a handful of shot shells, bamaboy and bamawife are fully checked out on it.

I bought it twenty years ago. I was driving through our small town and an old gent had it leaned against a tree in his front yard, with a "for sale" sign on it, (so help me). You gotta love the South. Truth is, he was probably setting on the porch w/ a bigger gun. Anyhow, guy says, "I gotta have $50 for it"
Sold!

It is not a SD gun. It is a pest/varmint/snake gun. You may like poisonous snakes around your place, I do not. Off in the boonies, on their turf, they get a break. On my place, they get, as scripture says, "smited". It works good on rats, pidgeons, and other varmints too.

My favorite memories are w/ my Dad and rabbit hunting. We used .410's. Until he bought a .410 pump, he shot a M37 very similar to the one above.
 
My fun gun is an old Forehand Arms Co. single barrel 12 ga. shotgun manufactured sometime around the turn of the 20th century. One of those narrow stock, tiny forearm old guns that's mostly all barrel that you never see anymore except in old photographs. I bought it for a dollar many years ago when the manager of an ag coop offered it to me when it was just a bunch of rusty gun parts in a big paper bag. I'm sure it had been many years since it was last used.

I took it home, used some fine steel wool and oil on it and reassembled it. Had a gunsmith check it out and replaced its broken firing pin with a sheet metal screw. After fixing it, I fired it a couple of times with light loads then never used it again because the gunsmith said I should use only low powered handloads, and I didn't handload. Just propped it in front of the fireplace as decoration, along with an old 12 guage double bbl. rabbit ear gun on the other side.

Finally this year I bought some paper shotshells and a roll crimper, and some RMC brass shotshells and began handloading some blackpowder (actually Triple 7) loads. After owning this gun and not shooting it for many years I finally fired it again this year using the Triple 7 and have been shooting it ever since. I'm really enjoying cooking up my own loads. I've recently bought some Red Dot smokless powder and will be loading and roll crimping the paper shells with "vintage" smokeless recipes. This promises to be a great "fowling piece". I particularly like how lightweight this old gun is - more important now as I get older. I also enjoy like the attention this gun draws, especially when other shooters see me using brass shotshells in it. Great conversation piece.
 
I have getting more interested in shotguns lately especially after finding a magazine called "The Backwoodsman". The shotgun articles in the mag are all single shot basic guns which fits the back to basics theme of the magazine.

I have a couple of 20 guage guns and a 12 single shot I have recently bought. I also have a remington spartan 22/410. I bought the remington june before last and shot a few CBs out of it. A year later I took it shooting. Boy howdy what a fun gun it is. I fell in love with the 410 round. I ordered primed hulls, wads and a roll crimper from BPI and have been loading my own ever since. The loads cost me a little over $5 a box. I also bought a 410 mossberg bolt with a 2 shot fixed mag and am on the hunt for an H&R 410.

One of my 20 guages is an H&R Tamer that looks like the old snake charmer. I didn't like the buttstock that came on it so I ordered a full buttstock and now have a super cool nickle plated, 20" barreled lightweight shotgun that shoots like crazy. I reload for 20ga also and make several specialty loads for it.

The 12ga is made in Brazil and I don't remember the brand. You slide the trigger guard back to open it. Before I ever shot it I replaced the plastic plate with a thick rubber pad. I am glad I did. That thing really kicks. But its fun.

This is a good thread. Its nice to talk about guns for fun instead of which SG is the best for killing another person.
 
My first shotgun was a Mossberg Maverick (20 gauge field). But I soon got a New England Pardner in 12 gauge. I love them both. But ya a good ol single shot are always cool. Just wish I had the money for a side by side.
 
My first shotgun was also a 12 gauge H&R Topper Model. Hunted rabbits and squirrels, pheasants, ducks. I got to where I could get off a second shot pretty fast. If I was in the bush country of Canada or Alaska I think it would be on my short list as a gun to carry. With slugs- at close range- it ought to kill a moose, etc. Good work horse gun.
 
I must be missing something here. The op was commenting on single barreled shotguns. It seems most shotguns only have one barrel, it may be a self loader, bolt action repeater, pump action, ect. Maybe he meant to say single shot.
 
I must be missing something here. The op was commenting on single barreled shotguns. It seems most shotguns only have one barrel, it may be a self loader, bolt action repeater, pump action, ect. Maybe he meant to say single shot.
Click to expand...

Yea, but we know what he meant. The classic break open single shot shotgun with exposed manually cocked hammer. It was every farmer's second gun after the .22.
 
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