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Single-shot
In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have no moving parts other than the trigger, hammer/firing pin or frizzen, and therefore do not need a sizable receiver behind the barrel to accommodate a moving action, making them far less complex and more robust than revolvers or magazine/belt-fed firearms, but also with much slower rates of fire.
The history of firearms began with muzzleloading single-shot firearms such as the hand cannon and arquebus, then multi-barreled designs such as the derringer appeared, and eventually many centuries passed before breechloading repeating firearms became commonplace. Although largely disappeared from military usage due to insufficient firepower, single-shot firearms are still produced by many manufacturers in both muzzleloading and cartridge-firing varieties, from zip guns and ultra-concealable pocket pistols to the highest-quality hunting and match rifles.
The vast majority of firearms before the introduction of metallic cartridges from the 1860s onwards were single shot muzzleloaders . However, multi-barrel, breechloading, revolving, and other multi-shot firearms had been experimented with for centuries. Notable pre-cartridge era single-shot firearms included matchlock, wheellock, snaplock, doglock, miquelet lock, flintlock, and percussion cap firearms. Muzzleloaders included the Brown Bess, Charleville and Springfield Model 1861 muskets, the Kentucky and Mississippi rifles, and the duelling pistol. There were also early breech-loading single-shot rifles, such as those manufactured by Hall, Ferguson, and Sharps.
Almost all of the early cartridge-fed rifles were single-shot designs, taking advantage of the strength and simplicity of single-shot actions. A good example is the "trapdoor" or Allin action used in early cartridge conversions of 1863 Springfield muzzleloading rifles. The conversion consisted of filing out (or later milling out) the rear of the barrel, and attaching a folding bolt, the "trapdoor", that flipped up and forwards to allow the cartridge to be loaded in the breech. Once loaded, the bolt was closed and latched in place, holding the round securely in place. The bolt contained a firing pin that used the existing percussion hammer, so no changes were required to the lock. After firing, the act of opening the bolt would partially extract the fired case from the chamber, allowing it to be removed. In 1866, the United States standardized on the Springfield Model 1866 rifle and .50-70 cartridge, chambered in trapdoor conversions of rifled muskets that had been used in the American Civil War. The trapdoor mechanism continued usage in 1873 with the adoption of the Springfield Model 1873 rifle and .45-70 cartridge. The Springfield Model 1873 rifle stayed in service until 1892 when it was replaced by the Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifle from 1892 until 1903.
Another muzzleloader conversion similar in concept to the Allin action was the British Snider–Enfield, also introduced in 1866, which hinged to the side rather than forward. Unlike the US Army, which kept its trapdoors for decades, the British soon moved beyond the Snider to the more sophisticated dropping-block Martini action derived from the Peabody action. Martini–Henrys were the standard British rifles of the late Victorian era, and Martini–Enfield conversions continued in second-line service until the Second World War.
Single-shot rifles were the preferred tools of big-game hunters in the late 19th century. The buffalo hunters of the American West used Sharps, Remington, and Springfield single-shots; ivory and trophy hunters in Africa and Asia used Martini and break-action "express rifles" and "elephant guns." These rifles were designed for very large black-powder cartridges, from military-issue .45-70 on up to the enormous .50-140 Sharps and .500 Express; early repeating actions were not capable of handling rounds of this power and physical size. The single-shot big-game rifle would only be displaced by bolt-action repeaters firing high-velocity smokeless-powder cartridges in the early 20th century.
After the advent of high-powered repeating rifles, single-shot rifles were primarily used for target shooting matches, with the first official match shooting event, opening at Creedmoor, Long Island in 1872. From about 1872 until the U.S. entry into World War I in 1917, target shooting with single-shot rifles was nearly as popular in America as golf is today. During that golden age of match shooting, the most popular target rifles were made by Bullard, Stevens, Remington, Maynard, Ballard, Farrow, and Winchester. Calibers used by some of these rifles during matches ranged from the .25-20 Winchester, .32-40 Winchester, .33 Winchester, .35 Winchester, .38-55 Winchester, .40-50 Winchester, .40-70 Winchester, .44-105 Winchester, etc. for over 600 yd (550 m) shooting at Creedmoor. However, two calibers maintained consistency throughout their tenure during the single-shot era: the .32-40 and the .38-55 calibers. The minimum standard in the beginning of the sport had been 200 yd (180 m) firing from the standing position (off-hand position). No rifle scopes, no bench rests, no prone (lying down on the front) positions, but shooting, as famed rifle barrel maker, Harry Melville Pope (1861–1950), once stated, "standing on his hind legs and shooting like a man." The .32-40 and .38-55 were able to buck the wind better at 200 yd (180 m), and not wear the rifleman out by heavy recoil, all while sustaining great accuracy. In the end, though, it was the .32-40 single-shot rifle that became the dean of match shooters, as the recoil from the .38-55 took its toll after hundreds of rounds had been fired during a match.
In 1878, John Moses Browning patented arguably the greatest single-shot rifle ever produced: after Browning sold his design to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company it was brought out as the Winchester Model 1885 Rifle. Although fewer than 200,000 Model 1885 Single Shots were built, they remained in production from 1885 to 1920.
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Single-shot
In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have no moving parts other than the trigger, hammer/firing pin or frizzen, and therefore do not need a sizable receiver behind the barrel to accommodate a moving action, making them far less complex and more robust than revolvers or magazine/belt-fed firearms, but also with much slower rates of fire.
The history of firearms began with muzzleloading single-shot firearms such as the hand cannon and arquebus, then multi-barreled designs such as the derringer appeared, and eventually many centuries passed before breechloading repeating firearms became commonplace. Although largely disappeared from military usage due to insufficient firepower, single-shot firearms are still produced by many manufacturers in both muzzleloading and cartridge-firing varieties, from zip guns and ultra-concealable pocket pistols to the highest-quality hunting and match rifles.
The vast majority of firearms before the introduction of metallic cartridges from the 1860s onwards were single shot muzzleloaders . However, multi-barrel, breechloading, revolving, and other multi-shot firearms had been experimented with for centuries. Notable pre-cartridge era single-shot firearms included matchlock, wheellock, snaplock, doglock, miquelet lock, flintlock, and percussion cap firearms. Muzzleloaders included the Brown Bess, Charleville and Springfield Model 1861 muskets, the Kentucky and Mississippi rifles, and the duelling pistol. There were also early breech-loading single-shot rifles, such as those manufactured by Hall, Ferguson, and Sharps.
Almost all of the early cartridge-fed rifles were single-shot designs, taking advantage of the strength and simplicity of single-shot actions. A good example is the "trapdoor" or Allin action used in early cartridge conversions of 1863 Springfield muzzleloading rifles. The conversion consisted of filing out (or later milling out) the rear of the barrel, and attaching a folding bolt, the "trapdoor", that flipped up and forwards to allow the cartridge to be loaded in the breech. Once loaded, the bolt was closed and latched in place, holding the round securely in place. The bolt contained a firing pin that used the existing percussion hammer, so no changes were required to the lock. After firing, the act of opening the bolt would partially extract the fired case from the chamber, allowing it to be removed. In 1866, the United States standardized on the Springfield Model 1866 rifle and .50-70 cartridge, chambered in trapdoor conversions of rifled muskets that had been used in the American Civil War. The trapdoor mechanism continued usage in 1873 with the adoption of the Springfield Model 1873 rifle and .45-70 cartridge. The Springfield Model 1873 rifle stayed in service until 1892 when it was replaced by the Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifle from 1892 until 1903.
Another muzzleloader conversion similar in concept to the Allin action was the British Snider–Enfield, also introduced in 1866, which hinged to the side rather than forward. Unlike the US Army, which kept its trapdoors for decades, the British soon moved beyond the Snider to the more sophisticated dropping-block Martini action derived from the Peabody action. Martini–Henrys were the standard British rifles of the late Victorian era, and Martini–Enfield conversions continued in second-line service until the Second World War.
Single-shot rifles were the preferred tools of big-game hunters in the late 19th century. The buffalo hunters of the American West used Sharps, Remington, and Springfield single-shots; ivory and trophy hunters in Africa and Asia used Martini and break-action "express rifles" and "elephant guns." These rifles were designed for very large black-powder cartridges, from military-issue .45-70 on up to the enormous .50-140 Sharps and .500 Express; early repeating actions were not capable of handling rounds of this power and physical size. The single-shot big-game rifle would only be displaced by bolt-action repeaters firing high-velocity smokeless-powder cartridges in the early 20th century.
After the advent of high-powered repeating rifles, single-shot rifles were primarily used for target shooting matches, with the first official match shooting event, opening at Creedmoor, Long Island in 1872. From about 1872 until the U.S. entry into World War I in 1917, target shooting with single-shot rifles was nearly as popular in America as golf is today. During that golden age of match shooting, the most popular target rifles were made by Bullard, Stevens, Remington, Maynard, Ballard, Farrow, and Winchester. Calibers used by some of these rifles during matches ranged from the .25-20 Winchester, .32-40 Winchester, .33 Winchester, .35 Winchester, .38-55 Winchester, .40-50 Winchester, .40-70 Winchester, .44-105 Winchester, etc. for over 600 yd (550 m) shooting at Creedmoor. However, two calibers maintained consistency throughout their tenure during the single-shot era: the .32-40 and the .38-55 calibers. The minimum standard in the beginning of the sport had been 200 yd (180 m) firing from the standing position (off-hand position). No rifle scopes, no bench rests, no prone (lying down on the front) positions, but shooting, as famed rifle barrel maker, Harry Melville Pope (1861–1950), once stated, "standing on his hind legs and shooting like a man." The .32-40 and .38-55 were able to buck the wind better at 200 yd (180 m), and not wear the rifleman out by heavy recoil, all while sustaining great accuracy. In the end, though, it was the .32-40 single-shot rifle that became the dean of match shooters, as the recoil from the .38-55 took its toll after hundreds of rounds had been fired during a match.
In 1878, John Moses Browning patented arguably the greatest single-shot rifle ever produced: after Browning sold his design to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company it was brought out as the Winchester Model 1885 Rifle. Although fewer than 200,000 Model 1885 Single Shots were built, they remained in production from 1885 to 1920.