They can't make a good single barrel to compete with the junk pumps they sell for $99-$129. Here in US they haved made quality singles since the 60s. They continued making them but cheapened them up. One reciever size wheather 10g or 410g. Still can pick up good older models for $100-$150.

 

I've long believed a single barrel sidelock Paradox gun would be a utilitarian yet elegant tool for both fur and feather. I even made the suggestion to Holland & Holland but it fell on deaf ears.

 

Should have come to me. We used to manufacture firearms in Birmingham, and I did much with H&H. Even used their shooting school in Ruislip a fair bit way back when. Drm50 got it with the price issue. Now days its so cheap to make them elsewhere, its just not cost effective to make working everyday guns here. The high end guns are still made in the UK, shotguns and rifles but they cost a fortune.

On the plus side, many good quality older singles are available and cheap. I have seen them in auctions five to the lot. So few want them now you see.

 

Are you a dinosaur? Many of us here are considered to be so. Like dinosaurs, our footprints will be present on this planet a million years from now.

AC

 

Henry USA makes quality singles.
I’ve always wanted a 20 gauge with a 24” rifled barrel and 3” chamber for use in shotgun-only areas for deer and wild hogs.
Who makes one of those?

 

Try the TC Encore

 

Not my foot print just my name in a few trees on Avery Island, thinking I would go back and see what they looked like now that I'm almost a dinosaur! I sold the only single shot 12 gauge I did buy and the 410 I loaned my dad was nothing but a rusty stick! He was wanting to shoot the hawks after his chickens, but left it out in the open up against a tree.
So many pumps and auto shotguns in pawn shops and LGS it's unreal!

ca'jun56

 

Also, the NEF/H&R single barrel guns were built very good , although not fancy.

 

Just viewed a gun auction, not an hour ago. Took a look at a Greener Police Gun, single barrel, full length wood with a nose cap and bayonet lug. A little too rough, even for me.

If anyone is curious, Southams of Bedford, UK. Sale is tomorrow and lots online.

 

Griffin,
H&R USH is the closest you will get to a 24" single shot rifled barrel slug gun. I don't think they are made anymore, but used ones are around, but coveted. Probably selling for double what they originally sold for. They are very accurate. I have friends doing head shots at 100 yards with them.

I have an old Model 37 in 410. I use it for squirrel in places i am not allowed to use a 22.
V

 

If you need to sell them - rural gun shops and pawn shops right before the beginning of hunting season.
If you want to buy one - same... Rural gun shops and pawn shops...

The thing I see now is "Magazine hunting"... Or rather Hunting Magazines ..... You read the monthly articles talking about this or that and you forget some key points:

1. Advertisers drive the editorial choices of magazines.
2. Know your local terrain and hunting conditions. How far are the shots likely to he? How much cover is there?
3. Three shots fired during a big game hunt either means a very good hunt or a bad one...
4. Hunting rifles are carried a lot. Weight is a real consideration.

So for example - here "back east". Shots are almost always under 50 yards. The woods are thick. There are still leaves on the trees through November. I shot my deer this year inside 20 yards. My brother got his at about 30 yards. From these ranges - you need a LESS powerful gun rather than more. 7mm mags, 300 win mags, and full power 45/70's blow up game so badly. Even a 30-06 blows them up. And while I love my scope - it's more of a hinderance at these ranges. At these ranges - a shotgun slug is much less likely to blow up an animal.

Then - you haul a gun around for 3 days in and out of the woods... Up and down trees into stands... So weight is definitely a concern. Moreso with upland bird hunting and rabbit where you carry a gun for miles while the dog does his thing. No way do I want a big heavy lump like a Mossberg pump in this situation... Absolutely not! Those things are heavy bulky pigs. Give me a nice light double or single barrel all day long.

 

Saiga.

 

Tranter, I have 2 single barrel 12b's, a Greener GP, a Russian Baikal under lever, a Hinton 16b hammer, Webley & Scott 410's, 9mm and .22 garden guns all bolt action. The single barrel Baikal is my foul weather gun, like the AK47 it is indestructible and are 2 a penny second hand. That said it gets the same TLC as my other guns in fact the stock and forend are due a refinish with a re-blue as the metal work is silver in many places at the end of the Pheasant season. Both the 12b's are full choke and are great to take out at the end of the season Wood Pigeon roost shooting, certainly makes a box of cartridge's last longer (you can only miss the once).Gar.

 

I would love to have a Greener GP, but have to settle for this H&R as my "bear swatter"

 

When I was a kid I got a few European singles. Austrian/ German made and had short barrels with sights and sling swivels. One had paradox barrel. I think they were all 16g and all Hammerless. At the time this kind of guns didn't interest me and I would trade them or sell them. This was early 60s and guys were trading war bring homes for guns they could use. I never had a English single, only SXSs. American singles were more or less working guns for people who couldn't afford repeaters and starting guns for kids. Compared to today's stuff they were custom grade. Before the depression there were a lot of small arms companies that made singles. They were cheap and the masses could afford them. I saw an article that credits the single barrel in America for just about wiping out some species of small game in some areas. People coming to the US from Europe had never had hunting opportunities unless they were rich.
The cheap single barrel gave everyone a chance to get into the game.

 

For a few years, I owned a Holland & Holland single barrel trap gun made for the US market. It was a wonderful gun built on a boxlock type action. The one thing I didn't like about it was that it had no safety. It was made exclusively for use on the trap range. I had a discussion with H&H about having the barrel cut off and replaced with a monoblocked Paradox barrel. They were receptive to the idea but I decided to scuttle the plan because of the safety issue. Instead, ordered a new, bespoke, H&H back-action sidelock Paradox. I do not regret the decision one bit.

I am a great fan of the Paradox guns. I have owned more than a few. I currently only own two. One is the above mentioned gun. The other is an 1887 hammer Paradox. It was originally a black powder gun but it was reproofed for nitro and I sent it back to the H&H factory for re-regulation to the current factory ammo.

Still, I have always believed a single barrel Paradox gun would be a wonderful thing to have. So, I purchased a second hand Zephyr Vandalia single barrel trap gun with the idea of having it converted. It has a 32 inch, thick walled, barrel and an extra tight choke. The rib is ventilated and soldered to the barrel but the last 3.5" of the rib are not ventilated, that last long portion is solid. I planned on cutting the barrel to 29". That would still leave an inch of solid rib at the end of the barrel. I imagined getting the choke cut with ratchet rifling and opening the bore to .7355"-.7360", making it suitable for H&H Paradox ammo and bullets cast from traditional Paradox bullet molds. If the bore was gently tapered into the choke the whole barrel would approximate that of a standard Paradox gun. The barrel is more than amply thick for this.

The Vandalia is a true sidelock. The lock work is on one side and a decorative plate is on the other side. It has a very "British" sliding safety on top of the grip. The forearm is wide and flat, and the stock shape a bit of a Euro/American mix. But it is better to have too much wood than too little. I found a gunsmith who can reshape both forearm and buttstock into a very British configuration. It all seemed like a very good project. The killer was that I can find nobody who can cut a Paradox type ratchet rifling.

I mention the gun now because you mentioned you used to be in the gun trade. The guns are not uncommon and they usually sell on the cheap. There is no reason one of these guns couldn't be cut down to a 29" barrel without removing the rib. Then the muzzle could be modified for screw-in choke tubes. Any stocker could lighten and reshape the stock into a British shape. The guns are chambered and proofed for 3" magnum shotshells. The end result would be a relatively low cost, sidelock, single barrel, game gun.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with these guns just as they are, especially if you are looking for a very robust, full choke gun for high volume shooting.

 

For a few years, I owned a Holland & Holland single barrel trap gun made for the US market. It was a wonderful gun built on a boxlock type action. The one thing I didn't like about it was that it had no safety. It was made exclusively for use on the trap range. I had a discussion with H&H about having the barrel cut off and replaced with a monoblocked Paradox barrel. They were receptive to the idea but I decided to scuttle the plan because of the safety issue. Instead, ordered a new, bespoke, H&H back-action sidelock Paradox. I do not regret the decision one bit.

I am a great fan of the Paradox guns. I have owned more than a few. I currently only own two. One is the above mentioned gun. The other is an 1887 hammer Paradox. It was originally a black powder gun but it was reproofed for nitro and I sent it back to the H&H factory for re-regulation to the current factory ammo.

Still, I have always believed a single barrel Paradox gun would be a wonderful thing to have. So, I purchased a second hand Zephyr Vandalia single barrel trap gun with the idea of having it converted. It has a 32 inch, thick walled, barrel and an extra tight choke. The rib is ventilated and soldered to the barrel but the last 3.5" of the rib are not ventilated, that last long portion is solid. I planned on cutting the barrel to 29". That would still leave an inch of solid rib at the end of the barrel. I imagined getting the choke cut with ratchet rifling and opening the bore to .7355"-.7360", making it suitable for H&H Paradox ammo and bullets cast from traditional Paradox bullet molds. If the bore was gently tapered into the choke the whole barrel would approximate that of a standard Paradox gun. The barrel is more than amply thick for this.

The Vandalia is a true sidelock. The lock work is on one side and a decorative plate is on the other side. It has a very "British" sliding safety on top of the grip. The forearm is wide and flat, and the stock shape a bit of a Euro/American mix. But it is better to have too much wood than too little. I found a gunsmith who can reshape both forearm and buttstock into a very British configuration. It all seemed like a very good project. The killer was that I can find nobody who can cut a Paradox type ratchet rifling.

I mention the gun now because you mentioned you used to be in the gun trade. The guns are not uncommon and they usually sell on the cheap. There is no reason one of these guns couldn't be cut down to a 29" barrel without removing the rib. Then the muzzle could be modified for screw-in choke tubes. Any stocker could lighten and reshape the stock into a British shape. The guns are chambered and proofed for 3" magnum shotshells. The end result would be a relatively low cost, sidelock, single barrel, game gun.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with these guns just as they are, especially if you are looking for a very robust, full choke gun for high volume shooting.

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What a lovely single barrel shotgun. I do prefer the stock (or montecarlo cheekpiece) to be parellel to the rib. It would be a shame to cut this up I think.

 

Sportsman Guide: Sells a "Pointer" single barrel shotgun.

20 ga. 28 inch barrel

1 round capacity

price for non-member: $186.97

 

American singles started down the drain when they started with die cast recievers, plastic parts and hardwood stocks. Use of starred pins and basic crude trigger mechanism. If I rember right the last of these guns were H&R and sold for $80-$100. At this time most used singles were $40-$50, except 37 Win that had some collector following.

I'm not sure but I think the barrels were made of cheaper steel too. I've cut off several that had bulged barrels from barrel obstructions which would have bulged any barrel. The barrels were softer than older guns and the bore in relation to center was visable by eye. I have hammers in the junk box that Spurs broke off just from cocking on new guns. They got to the point they couldn't be made any cheaper at a profit and cheap pump guns took over.

 

My old 94C, 16 full, will be with me for a long time to come, I hope. as well as the same vintage 311 16.

 

I think the 94 Stevens and 220 Savage were the best of the single barrels. Mechanically and shooting there was little difference. I always like the rifle type stock vs the drop stocks on H&R and IJs. The Win 37 is a good gun but it's over rated just because it's Win.
I've got a 94 that my Dad gave me in 1956 that looks new. I've always wanted to find another barrel for mine to cut and fit with sights for slugs.

 

I got a single shot H&R 16 ga in the safe. It was my step grandfather’s gun. I took it squirrel hunting a few times and would like to see how it shoots slugs. There is a rear sight notched in the receiver.


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