One barrel is all you need

Using a single-barrelled shotgun focuses the mind and is the perfect firearm on a farm where con servation is key, says Simon Reinhold

- Simon Reinhold

Single-barrel, single-shot shotguns are not popular these days. They are looked down upon as somehow ‘less than’. When I began my shooting life under my father’s instruction, I was as excited as any 14-year-old could be. I had completed my three-year apprenticeship of various gun-, dog and bird-related tasks and my chance had come on the last drive of one of his small syndicate days.

I was confused and crestfallen when I was given only one 16-bore cartridge for my grandfather’s Belgian non-ejector. Without wishing to seem ungrateful, I felt I had to ask the question: “Why can’t I load both barrels?” My father’s response has stuck with me ever since: “Get it right with the first barrel and you won’t need the second.”

I still go back to this now when the wheels fall off in a pigeon hide or on a peg. This can be through fatigue in the case of the former or a lack of concentration in the latter. I take out one cartridge to focus my mind on the task in hand, not relying on the second barrel.

You may have come across the more common single-barrelled guns because they can be picked up for very little money. Working guns such as an AYA Cosmos or a Harrington & Richardson were built to last for farmsteads and pioneers. They have no finesse — finesse was not required on a frontier. Durability was the only thing that mattered.

Eccentric

There were also some genuinely eccentric guns, special orders that have no reason to exist other than on the whim of a wealthy patron.