Single Shot

A single-shot rifle asks you to make the first round count, which is exactly why some shooters prefer them. Break-action and falling-block designs are simpler, shorter for a given barrel length because there is no action to accommodate, and often strikingly accurate for what they cost.

They also fill two practical roles. Single shots are frequently the only rifles permitted in restricted hunting seasons and in jurisdictions with tight rules on repeating firearms. And a single-shot .22 is genuinely the best way to teach a new shooter, because loading one round at a time enforces deliberate handling in a way no lecture achieves.