A decent pump is not a whole lot more than a single shot. You can get a Remington 870 Express or a Mossberg Model 500 for less than 300 bucks at Wal-mart. You can probably find a used one even cheaper at a pawn shop or from an individual if you keep a check on the Penny Pincher type papers.

If you decide hunting's not your thing, you still have a decent home defense gun, or you can resell it and get most (probably all if you buy used) of your money back. If you do decide to sell it later, a pump will be much easier to resell than a single shot.

 

Have you considered using a knife for the purpose of a mercy "shot"....

 

I was raised using a single barrel shotgun.. my son's first firearm was a 12 ga. single barrel. (he still has it). Inexpensive, simple, reliable, and accurate. With a little practice, you can reload very quickly. You also learn to make every shot count.
When my dad & uncles went hunting (late 1940s, early 1950s), the had very few shells between them to put game on the table. They made 'em count.
Times are different and boxes of shells on the shelf are no longer a problem. But I still enjoy a single barrel. No reason that a hunt should sound like a WWll battle. lol
Can you borrow one and try it out in the field?
Keep us posted!

... this is close to what I bought for my son... it only cost about $150 at D1ck's Sporting Goods some years back. His isn't a slug gun.

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=105680

 

Yea I agree with WSierra. I was started on a single shot 20 gauge. Think I shot that gun better than almost any shotgun since. Blows me away to see some people "sport" shooting with semi auto's taken 4-5 shoots at a bird. Ammo manufacturers have to love it. Nothing wrong with a single shot for hunting, it will make you a better hunter in the end.

 

I generally hunt rabbit and squirrel with a Winchester 1200 20g.
It is down with some manner of trigger issue so I used a Marlin Papoose (.22LR) this year and did very well. I also hunted one day with a single shot 20g, and it did just fine.

My deer rifle this year is a Thompson Center Encore Pro Hunter in 30-06. It is a very nice and supremely accurate rifle. Single shots are fine as long as you can hit where you aim.

 

I know side by sides, pumps, and semis are some of the better choices for hunting. I feel though that is mostly for ethical killing.

Not really, it's more for multiple shots on coveys of birds, or follow-up shots on deer or other large game. Small game like rabbits and squirrels take one shot to kill with a 20 gauge, period.

Now as far as the single-shot goes, go for it. A 20 will kill anything in Indiana if you do your part and learn its ins and outs (shot patterns at different distances, which slugs it's the most accurate with for deer, etc...)_.

 

So now here is my question... does anyone know if someone makes a single shot with interchangable chokes and if not what is a good fixed choke to get??? full, mod, or open?

 

I can't think of a single company making inexpensive single shots with choke tubes, but a modified would be a great general purpose choke.

 

Everybody who hunts in my family has always been given their own single shot 20 Gauge when they turned 12. I have a feeling this is why I use a Ruger No. 1 as my primary hunting rifle now

 

I have my great grandfathers single shot 12. I still use it sometimes for nostalgia and it kills things just as dead. I never had more than single shots till I got in the Marines and never complained.

If we all bought single shots, there wouldn't be any growth in the economy I guess...

 

DP665, i noticed on your other thread, that shot shell was a low priority item for you. i do commend you for wanting to make good clean kills. just remember that first (and 90% of the time the only one) shot is the most important. placement is of utmost importance, even with a shotgun. So, the main thing is to practice, practice ,and then practice. most ranges have courses and instructors, and there are a lot of individuals that are willing to help new shooters. you might want to check around and see if there are some clubs that are wiling to help you. but, you will have to burn through some target ammo. good news is this type of ammo is relatively cheap.

BTW, A single shot could possibly be a good barter item. since they could be cheap to buy and is less likely to be used against you , if you have a superior weapon

 

DP665, i noticed on your other thread, that shot shell was a low priority item for you.

It was but people made a good case for it, and after looking into reloading options the priceing was not to bad. I was just looking at it from it cost more and is somewhat not effected. but reloading it looked easy there cheap guns to begin with so i figured why not throw 300 bucks (100 for a reloader and 200 for a shotgun) and take the plunge. Wost case it gives me another gun.

 

if not what is a good fixed choke to get??? full, mod, or open?

Generally, Improved Cylinder is recommended for slugs, while modified is considered the in-between for small game and upland birds. Full choke is obviously the tightest of the 3; I'd personally go with IC or modified, but that's just me, and I don't waterfowl hunt, where full choke would be the most useful in theory.

 

I learned to hunt and shoot with a single shot 20ga when I was a kid. Come to think of it, I think I bagged more small game/birds with that shotgun than I have with any I have owned since...

 

I often hunt with a single shot, both 12- or 20-ga, and find it most enjoyable. I do have repeaters, but they are often heavy and cumbersome in some circumstances, and I really prefer the light weight and fast handling of the single shot, and like the mild recoil of the 20-ga.

 

My first gun was a single-shot .410, and I never did learn to hit anything with it. I think I killed maybe 3 or 4 squirrels with it. At about 12 dad bought me a single-shot 12 gauge. I killed more squirrels, but never could hit anything flying with it. Besides that it was light weight and kicked like hell. I always came home with a bruised shoulder. I got so I dreaded going hunting because I knew I was going to hurt for several days afterward.

It wasn't until I moved up to a pump that I actually liked shooting shotguns again, and began to truly learn to shoot. I killed more doves in a shoot the first time I used a pump than I did all the years I carried a single shot.

Yes, a lot of game has been taken with single shots, and there are tons of them out there. I just think there are much better options for not much more money.

 

The gun you choose is a personal choice.

Last year some of the guys I work with put together a dove hunt at a local game farm.The night before this outing I asked my wife if I could use her gun for the day.Her gun is a Remington Youth model 20 gage. My alternative was a Long barrelled 870, 12 gage magnum shotgun.
I told my wife i didn't want to throw that big gun around all day.We cleaned her gun and the next morning off I went with her self defence shotgun.
Her little gun was so much faster to bring to my shoulder and aim I was killing the majority of the birds and my buddies spirits as well.
I offered the gun to my bosses boss and he grabbed it up.This guy is huge 6'4 280 or so. The gun was so small in his arms we "almost" laughed.
The Remington Youth pump shotgun is a choice to keep in mind for home defence and hunting. Tough, Light and short this thing gets the job done.
Thanks

 

Your single shot runs 100-125 endless you find you a good used one.a new mavrick pump will be 200. My first gun was a single shot 20. Now i have pumps but i also use a rossi combo gun in a 20 and my 10yr old has a combo gun he uses in 20ge to. I just like having the extra round for bird hunting. Itll **** you off whe you jump a covy of quail and you get one shot at 30birds. But what you get is your choice im just happy more people are getting into hunting. :thumb:

 

i have ran around with 12ga single shots for a long time and when the original rossi trifecta 20ga/243/22 came out i bought it up quick as i could price was a little more then a typical single shot runs at ($230) only due to the multi barrels you get. you have to remove the front grip to change out the barrels which you have 3 to choose from but i have had this gun for years and it has never failed me once.

the gun does not see much of the 20ga or the 22 but the 243 is still my go to for hunting each year. i have a choice of many other guns and calibers including an ar-15 in .223/5.56, an AK in 7.62, an lever action 30-30 and a remintong 700 in 308. plus a few shotguns in everything from 410, 20, 12 and 10. i have just prefered my old rossi when i hunt.

if you can get a few go for it. worse case senario is you have a conversation piece to show off. or a first gun for your kids to use when they start hunting.or even better something you can always return to when that one part breaks on your primary hunting weapon so you can pull old failthful off the wall and head out for the afternoon hunt or give it too a freind to take out because he dropped his rifle and smashed the scope and is unable to use the iron sights because his gun does not have any....