Thread: Pros and Cons of Breakdown Single Shot's for a newb

I love my wee Rossi single shot, found it cheap, it's stainless, cut down near minimum length and suppressed.
As said above, very easy to switch out full loads for subsonics when you see a Hare or something.
I've carted mine broken down in my kayak, on a motorbike and in a backpack plenty of times.

But also a 16" 308 bolt action is a solid choice for packability

Originally Posted by Matty72

Thanks @ROKTOY and @gonetropo for the mention of the HOWA. I'll add them to my circle of awareness!

Plus one for bolt action for a first gun. On the range I have noticed plenty of problems with single shots not closing on reloads or even opening on firing. Standard advice is buy Howa or Tikka in 308 or7/08 and look for special use guns later.

I'm going to respectfully disagree. Cannot get a more simple design than a single shot break barrel. Not much to go wrong. What newbie uses reloads anyway?

While I accept Tedz observations at the range
I think that's more of an indictment of the owners of those break action rifles and perhaps their quality

At a rough count I have 10+ break action single shot rifles and have shot and hunted with them all and never had one open on firing

Re reloads.
All hunting reloads are individually tested for function in their respective rifles during reloading and prior to a hunt.
Yes primary extraction and clambering are certainly a limitation with this action type.
But a modern hunting rifle is not a high volume count shooter
So no great hardship to check your reloads

I've got a single shot bergara in 6.5 creed, 20" barrel. Very handy short gun even with the longer 20" barrel. Only downsides are slower cycle time on a follow up shot and they're not as light as I think they should/could be for the size. Awesome wee gun though

I currently have 4 308 single shots, will be passing on 2...(one currently for sale in here) in Bergara, Harrington and Richardson, Rossi. Rossi seems to be a copy of the H&R. Both H&R and Rossi shoot ok but are a bit agricultural. Not true takedowns, you have to undo a screw to take off the fore stock, but I have made up a thumbscrew on the H&R and it works fine. Bergara is definitively a step up but also heavier, be aware some of the older 2nd hand Scout models are not takedown versions. I have only got back in shooting/hunting in the last year or so, but have taken deer at my longest range (450m) with the H&R back in the early 2000's when I was hunting alot more, so being a single shot is certainly no limit on range. Lots of folks who see the Bergara (16" barrel) at the range think of it as a bush gun as its so short, but there are plenty of folks with bolt actions with 16" barrels shooting at longer ranges, and the single shot is no different, just about 3-4" shorter as there's no action.

Still currently my rifle of choice hunting, I have a bolt action 308 too but its only been used at the range!

You are welcome to come check them out if you like get an idea and feel for them.

Also in Bergara they do 2 versions, with 16.5" fast twist rate barrel and 20" conventional twist barrel. The faster twist rate is same as their 300 blackout rifle, so designed to stabilize heavy (i.e. long) slow projectiles at subsonic velocities. Still seems to shoot the lighter weight ones ok though. If you go down that route I would look at factory ammo with heavier projectiles, as my experience is the velocity loss with the shorter barrel is less with heavier projectiles than lighter ones. Doesn't matter if you are shooting within 200-300m, more for longer range stuff, so that may not apply to you yet anyway?

Cheers @akaroa1 that would be pretty helpful. I'm new here- how do we connect?

Thanks for the offer also @bjp - would be helpful to have a look at your set up- just working out how the DM's work on this platform. Cheers

Originally Posted by Matty72

Thanks for the offer also @bjp - would be helpful to have a look at your set up- just working out how the DM's work on this platform. Cheers

You probably need a few more posts before getting that privilege added

I’ve got a Bergara 308 16”, 1:8 rifle. Set up mainly for bush shooting with subs and wet weather hunting. Mainly use red dot sight but swap out for 2-7 mini Burris as an when required. Red dot is alright out to 300yds, scope to about 600yds when the operator does his bit. Sure it’s a bit weighty but carries in hand well. Slower than a bolt action, not by much though, to reload. Not a problem if you’re shooting for the pot. Great little rifle, should use it more but use my 223 most of the time.

Originally Posted by woods223

I’ve got a Bergara 308 16”, 1:8 rifle. Set up mainly for bush shooting with subs and wet weather hunting. Mainly use red dot sight but swap out for 2-7 mini Burris as an when required. Red dot is alright out to 300yds, scope to about 600yds when the operator does his bit. Sure it’s a bit weighty but carries in hand well. Slower than a bolt action, not by much though, to reload. Not a problem if you’re shooting for the pot. Great little rifle, should use it more but use my 223 most of the time.

I have the same rifle in 300BLK. It's my favourite!




Look at the length difference compared to a Tikka. The barrel on the Bergara is actually 0.5" longer than the Tikka.

Originally Posted by Matty72

Thanks for the offer also @bjp - would be helpful to have a look at your set up- just working out how the DM's work on this platform. Cheers

That's fine
There's no dignity in haste

It will happen when it happens

I was attracted to takedown single shots purely for the packability to fit in my pack when fishing.


Now I like them because of the simplicity, just bear in mind that they generally aren't as light as you'd expect.

Certainly the Bergara an Encore are pretty chunky and could be out on a diet.
A Baikal can be made a but lighter
The K95 is fairly light considering they are often in reasonably powerful cartridges
And a Contender and G2 can come in lightest of the lot, but do suffer from a limitation on chamber pressures and the 30-30 family as maximum sensible case size. So are really maxed at 250 to 300m.

The