Hunting guns

[yamoon]

It is too cold to shoot, so being bored, I?ll ask a question I?ve wanted to know for some time. Why so many more break open singleshot?s than falling blocks such as System Ideal. Less expensive to manufacture or is there another reason.
Thanks Mike

[mike ford]

Mike,
I think it is a combination of tradition, personal preference, and cost. Tradition seems to favor falling block/ swinging block/ Martini type for the Schuetzen rifles as being more rigid, therefore more accurate. Small frame rifles in calibers up to 9.3x72R, were used as hunting/ schonzeitgewehr(off season rifle)/hunter's target shooting were made in breakopen form in such numbers "for the trade" that they became traditional and less costly than other forms. These little rifles were/are light and handy and many came to prefer them for that reason as well as cost. The cartridges used for these purposes were handled quite well by the breakopen rifles, so the stronger, heavier/ more expensive falling block riffles were not required. These are only my thoughts and I would expect that others may disagree or have other thoughts that are just as valid, or more so. This is just to keep the conversation going.
Mike

[Axel E]

First, reread what I wrote about break ? open single shots in Der Waffenschmied Nr. 49, the Sauer & Sohn issue. Additionally, tradition: Germans did not have the tradition of American Sharps or British Farquarson falling block hunting rifles, just as they did not use lever- or pump action repeaters. To most German hunters a proper hunting arm was a break ? open. All break ? open guns, except the cheapest ones, are natural take ? downs without the crutches of additional hardware. This facilitated packing and travelling by rail. Few Germans had automobiles before WW2. Lastly, break open single shots appear to be more slim and elegant than any falling, rolling or tilting block action. Measured at the breech end of the barrel, my Ideal action is 2.6 inch top to belly, while my Sauer & Sohn model 36 is 2.1 inch and my Tell clone is 1.9.

[yamoon]

Thanks Mike, Axel
When I was a boy, I hunted small game with an old 20 gauge double barrel that was so loose it rattled when you walked. I am probably lucky it didn?t blow up. That is the reason I prefer falling blocks. I am sure if I owned a high quality break open with a greener cross bolt or other secure lock up, my opinion would change. Until then I?ll keep searching for a System Ideal in a deer sized cartridge. I have a very nice nitro proofed Kettner System Ideal, but it is 8.15x46.
Mike

[mike ford]

Mike,
The 8.15x46R is not ideal, but it will take a Whitetail at a reasonable range, with a careful shot, using a good load/ bullet combination. German law wouldn't allow it on Whitetail ( but would on Reh) , several states ( including Alabama) do allow it however.
Mike

[yamoon]

Mike
Kansas allows any center fire cartridge to hunt deer. This includes many woefully under powered ones such as 22 Hornet, 218 Bee. I did shoot a small white tail with this rifle using gas checked cast bullets. Had to walk up and dispatch the animal with a second shot. Now that I am retired I may try to work up a load using a .318 jacketed bullet. This is a 1932 proofed rifle so I have no concerns about action strength.
Mike

[mike ford]

Mike,
Let us know how it works out. If you could walk up to the whitetail you did shoot, it must have worked ok. I have friends that shot them with 270s and still lost them. It's not so much what you shoot them with as where you shoot them. Good luck.
Mike