Would like opinions as to what everyone thinks is the best single shot for the money. Thinking of getting one for my grandson, 14 yrs, and am looking for probably .223 or .22-250, maybe .243. Want something accurate, probably bull barrel. Does anyone know of any inexpensive falling or rolling block single center fires? Thanks

Best for the dollars spent? Don't think anything can touch the H&R single-shots, but they are a break-open.

Encore and Contender Carbines are more than the H&R, but probably a bit less than a Ruger, on average.

Price goes up from there. Probably Ruger if you want a falling block. Everything else (Dakota, etc.) gets expensive in a hurry, assuming you don't want to rebarrel an old Martini or rolling-block Remington that you already have or found cheap.

Remington was making some new rolling-blocks, but the prices I saw sure weren't cheap!!!!!

I agree with MikeG. I do really enjoy my Ruger No.1's, but they aren't inexpensive. Great rifle for the money, but it's still several hundred dollars more than the H&R or TC. The Browning 78 or 1885 is another, but they are a bit more expensive than the Ruger these days, still a fine rifle though.

I think after you get past the Ruger-Browning rifles, you are paying for something besides getting the bullet downrange accurately. Whether that constitutes a better rifle or foolishness of the buyer is for each to make up their own mind.

For the money, you can't go wrong with H&R. If you're looking to shoot a lot on a limited budget, get the .223 Ultra. It's a bull barrel, most of them are very accurate, and the ammo won't break the bank if you're not reloading. My only complaint with H&R's is they have relatively slow twist rates compared to other rifles, so you stick with the lighter bullets (up to 55gr or so in the .223).

I'd like to check out a Ruger #1 some day, but for now the .223, .17HMR, inexpensive scopes for each and a few small accessories cost less in total than the Ruger by itself.

Good luck!

I got an old Ruger #1B built in 1979. It's a 243 with the 26 inch bbl. It shoots into an inch or under at a hundred yards if I do my part. My son's heavy bbl Rem 700 243 will outshoot the dickens out of it, but it's nice to carry, nice to shoot and has some of the prettiest wood I've seen from the factory. Fondle facter is really high.

Got it from a retired speer exec who had Ruger make him a new one ever year. He had about 12 or 15 of them when he died. Sure wish I had enough to pick up a few more of them. Paid $350 for this one.

I can't say enough about the old one's with good adjustable triggers. I have done none of the improvements that you can to make them more accurate cause it shoots better than me now.

I normally shoot my 8mm Rem mag for deer, but I think I might try some 95 grainers this fall and see what they do. I've got a couple of nice bucks scoped out near where I live.

Good luck in your quest for a single shot. There is a lot of good advice in the above posts. The Little H&R also comes in 243 and would make a good deer gun too.

I just got back from the range today. It was my first time shooting paper with my NEF 22HORNET. I turned two groups with two different handloads, one was .526 the other was .626 and I have had similiar results from my NEF 223 with the bull barrel. I would recommend for you to go with the bull barrel 243, as it can be used for everything from varmit to deer, and the reciol is low enough not to be brutal on the young ones. I'm not saying these are the best guns around, the finish isn't all that great, nor is the trigger, but if you can turn close to 1/2" at 100yds for less than $200 it is going to be hard to come up with something that is a better deal.

If I had to start with such a small caliber as the 243 I would go with the TC cause later I could get a different caliber barrel to shoot heavier game other than varmits and deer. And the TC can really be trick-out with different stocks, barrels ect.

David

you can also get a new barrel for a NEF for about half what it cost for a TC. They go all the way up to 45-70 and 450 Marlin, and have all the old standby's such as 170, 180 and 30-06. the TC's are definately nice, but for the money, you'll have a hard time beating the NEF

I'd go for a TC Contender, or the new replacement to the Contender. If you keep your eyes open at gun shows or used gun stores, you can find a Contender for a great price. The barrel selection is much better than a H&R, and although they are a bit higher, you'll save that in fitting, and shipping. The TC barrels just install, with no hassles!
Used TC barrels can be found in the $100-$200 range easily, and occasionally I've bought them for as little as $50. When you get tired of a TC barrel, you can resell it to anyone with a TC, but an H&R barrel is fitted to your receiver. If you get tired of it, tuff luck, you're stuck with it.

I'd have to vote for the T/C contender or encore. The contender if you plan on using it as a pistol too, the encore if you will just stick to it as a rifle. I have had several encores now and they are extremely versatile.

I'm far from an expert on single shot rifles, but the NEF Ultra Varmint 223 I got last week seems like a good rifle. Very well built, solid, action locks up tight. The trigger is a bit heavy but that can be adjusted by a gunsmith or the factory.

I haven't had it long, but so far have no buyers remorse over it.

The trigger is a bit heavy but that can be adjusted by a gunsmith or the factory.

I haven't had it long, but so far have no buyers remorse over it.
John,
That trigger can also be adjusted by the owner, with a few punches, a wet stone, and some patience. I did my Ultra .223 and have the trigger breaking at a measured 1.5 LBS. If you travel over to Greybeards site, and page down to the H+R/NEF Centerfire Forum, they have a Faq section that will give you the trigger tuning instuctions. A fella by the handle of Perklo set up a nice instuction page. The first time will take a little while, but after the first they go easily.
Don

Thanks Don, I'll have to go look for that thread. If it's no worse than smoothing the trigger on a 1911 or GP100 I should be able to do it without messing things up to badly. :)

Would like opinions as to what everyone thinks is the best single shot for the money. Thinking of getting one for my grandson, 14 yrs, and am looking for probably .223 or .22-250, maybe .243. Want something accurate, probably bull barrel. Does anyone know of any inexpensive falling or rolling block single center fires? Thanks

Get him a first gun he'll keep. My first was a little 22 that looked and felt cheap even to a 12-year old. Guess where it is now? I don't know and don't care, hopefully buried somewhere because it was always mis-firing, resulting in anxious waiting before getting the cartridge out, then having it happen again a little later while my friends could shoot for hundreds of rounds without problems It was not worth fixing and therefore never got fixed, so just sat for many years in a closet.

I recommend a Ruger #1 because of the quality and wonderful accuracy out of the box. If you spend a few extra bucks now he'll still have it 20 years from now. If not, it'll be the first thing sold to get what he really wants later. There are good used Ruger #1s out there on there.

Best single for the money? Well, that's sort-of ambiguous, but I vote for the Ruger #1. Yes, the H&R is cheaper, but it is nowhere near as good looking. Someone with deeper pockets might say the best is a Dakota 10 or a Blaser. For a 14-year-old just starting out, the H&R is a fine rifle.

Live well