If you could only have one gun for the end of the world, would it be a single shot shotgun for the 1970's? We make a case for it in this video. Could this single shot shotgun be the ultimate survival shotgun?
My first gun was a H&R 20 gauge single shot. I still have it. It was a great first gun. You learn to hit what you are aiming at when you only have one chance to get it right.
In Fallout New Vegas, there is a break-action single-shot shotgun much like this. It's bottom tier and you replace it with an over-under double-barrel first chance you get, but personally I feel that tactically, in a situation where ammunition is scarce and ultimately limited unless you somehow get a source of powder, primers and whatnot, having something that encourages low-consumption is utmost.
On my survival shotgun I drilled the stock out to hold a rifled 10 inch long 9 mm adapter and 4- 9mm shells. Then added a side shell holder. Then put a 9mm magazine pouch on my sling to carry more 9mm shells in a pistol mag. Also left out one of the butt stock screws so the butt plate can swing to open for access to the barrel adapter. It's a small package. Almost forgot, there is a styker and small compass in the stock too!
Chris Rock told the future when he did his stand up routine... How to stop drive bys Raise the price of bullets. Homies be like you lucky I only got 3 bullets imma catch up with you when I get paid next week.
Ted Williams played for the Boston Red Sox. Now it was said he was an avid hunter and he would shoot pigeons in Fenway Park. Now this was back in 1940s. Also Williams was the last player to hit over 400 in a season
A friend of mine had a 20 mm all metal frame emergency marine flare handgun. He had a tiny and larger insert for it and was his oh dear im lost in the middle of nowhere gun or if his river boat gave out way back in the tutchodi lakes area he could shoot 12 guage , 22, and 45 with it depending on the insert was a neat idea and great survival gun too.
We had in 20 ml metal flare gun on the fishing boat that I fished on and we bore out 1/4 of an inch so if we could shoot 12 gauge out of it at seagulls and other offshore marine pests
@@dawae9920 me too, and .2 or .25 or gheaver bbs at 400 fps on full auto will put a hole in a metal chair so u copuld still blin d some one, and u can get a full auto metal bb gun with co2 and on full auto, im thinking that could put some one down potentially
I learned on one of these when I was 6 years old...it taught me to wait, wait, wait, until the right moment and then fire...because you usually have only one chance...
My problem with the uk law is it should be legal for normal decent people to be able to defend themselves and their loved ones from the soulless demons that are allowed in this country to mutilate men, women and children ! Being allowed to carry pepper spray, would of saved some people in certain situations. But no i don’t think uk citizens should be allowed to carry firearms. And anyone who thinks CS gas or pepper spray is a firearm is delusional.do good and be safe.👍
When The SHTF, you won’t have your choice of what ammo you can find, wherever you can find it, so having multiple inserts for a gun like this is an awesome idea! Wish I had one!
It would be interesting if this gun was incorporated into one of the many post apocalyptic survival games. It seems like it would be ideal in such a situation, if you could manage to not lose the different adapters.
That style of old Stevens, and Savage shotguns goes back to the 40's and 50's as far as I can remember. Cheap Sears mail order guns that worked well, and lasted as long as you cared for them.
I owned one of these in the 1980s. Loaned it to a friend,,,he came back without it,,said he lost it...was a Steven's brand..from Britain...16 Guage.. full choke 32 inch barrel...
Winchester make great shotguns. I have a mod. 1200 pump in 12 gauge I bought in Johannesburg RSA 50 years ago. It still shoots perfectly and looks new.
I picked up an H&R 20 gauge that was modified to take screw in Rem chokes. Great light gun that does not kick as hard as the 12. I have 22lr, 9mm and 357 adapters. The adapters will also fit my Stoeger 20 coach gun. Heavier but doubles give you 2 very fast shots. Both good choices for SHTF.
I have a stoeger .22 lr luger and a polymer 80 Glock 19 9mm I also have a an advantage arms that converts it into a .40 cal need to get some rifles and shotguns
Gun reminds me of my youth and the fact that I need to get my old single shots out for some fun. We called them poly chokes although I don't remember them being so good, but when your out with friends squirrel hunting it was still fun. I have a friend that still carries a single shot 90 percent of the time when we are hunting
I am an single shot H&R/NEF believer..My '67 20 GA H&R is cut to an overall 33 1/2" -- 18 1/2" barrel-- cut the stock, inserted dowels to hold it in place, when removed the gun is 29" overall for backpacking. My 12 GA early 90's NEF is stock. I've got 3" rifled adapters for both just for the stated reasons...A 1 man army that can take down anything in North America. 12 GA adapters- .22 LR, 9mm, .38/.357 (1970 S&W Mod 27-2 .357 6" barrel from Pops is my side arm) & a 12 to 20 GA adapter. 20 GA adapters - 9mm, .38/.357 only. One gun and a fanny pack of various loads made more sense to me than buying all the things....one shot, one kill becomes the goal...once you get the practice in...the adapters are quite accurate. Great video, thanks guys.
When your buddy starts bragging about all of the guns that he has, and you just have a single shot with one of these kits: "Let me think... I have a 12 guage, a 44 mag, a 357, a 9mm...."
@@danielmahon1589 you can put .50 BMG in a 12 guage, but the bullet is smaller than the casing so it will be less powerful. Like .45ACP range instead of .50 BMG.
Deno, your comment makes me wonder about something. as a kid did you have to grow into that 20 gauge, or does it have a shortened butt stock like a youth model that find awkward as an adult? i'm asking because my brother just gifted me a maverick 88 youth model 20 gauge and the only issue i have with it is i.m a big dude and when i go to aim it the thumb on my shooting hand is right against my eye socket. i need ta lengthen the stock of get a big recoil pad
My dad got me a .30 cal carbine in 1959 when I was 6 years old. We shot at the rifle range every other weekend. He had an M-1 Garand and won a lot of bets when I shot it at 100 yards and put all 8 in the black. WWII and Korean War vets were astounded. I traded my carbine for a Hodaka Ace 90 dirt bike in the 1960's and regretted that for the last 50 years.
The backstory and basic design (apart from the adapters) reminds me of the .410 Bridge Gun Company Green Bug "store gun" that's been in my family since my father acquired it in the 1930s. My older brother regularly used it for rabbit hunting in the 50s & 60s. It passed into my hands a few years back, and is still in good condition, despite its age. I havn't hunted in years, but it's fun at the local shotgun range. Having seen this video, I'm now slightly envious and wishing it was of a larger, adapter-capable caliber.
Yep I have collected so far .22LR .22Mag .38Spec. 9mm .45Colt .410 ga. 20 ga. and the muzzle loader adapter as well as the normal 12 ga. so not bad being able to shoot 9 different calibers from one gun really makes it the MOST versatile gun in the world and I wouldn't trade my H&R Topper Model 58 12 ga. single shot shotgun for nothing !!!!
@@jeffreyelliott622 if u think about it... It’s almost a ghost gun. I mean u could kill someone shooting say 45 colt for ex and then get get rid of the adapter. Then ur just a guy with a shotgun 😉
@@astragreen My sheriff declared the ATF illegitimate and doesn't care what you do so long as you don't shoot someone. Any attempt to get anyone here would result in dead agents, just like last time they tried pulling shit.
Neat Weapon, but I'm wondering if an extractor tool ( picture a cap puller for muzzleloaders but slightly different ) originally came with those adapters ,or if one could be purchased .
Don't shoot lead slugs with the screw choke set on "Full"--it will expand the choke and mess it up. Always set the choke on "Open" bore setting. I know this because I messed up my shogun choke shooting slugs with it set on Full choke..
I have one for my s/shot 410 that holds my 38 Specials. about 25 years ago I got real luck and bought a .223 barrel for my H&R single shot. Both are great barrels, adapter, and complete my armory. Don’t need a dozen guns of a dozen calibers, to have to hunt for a dozen ammos.
In 20 gauge, would be an xlnt first gun for a 12 year old as well. My 1st gun was a bolt action 20 gauge. It taught me to be accurate as he'll because I couldn't squeeze off 3 shots in a row. And my dad bought it for me on my 12th bd for $30!!!! I became deadly accurate on the dove/quail!!!
Nice, I picked up a single shot Rossi that shoots 45 Colt/410 it has a rifled barrel and sights, been reloading and shooting 45 Colt, it's a blast and saving my 9mm stash
Very cool! Love the old singles, especially Stevens. I'll have to see if I can find one in 20 gauge. (My shoulder doesn't like 12 any more; avascular necrosis.) Got a little 410 double that would be fun to have those adapters for.
I had a old stevens over and under chambered for the 234 and 3 inch and 22 sl and lr. My buddy a gunsmith figures was 40s or 50s era . The barrel had enough meat that he bored it out to accept 22 mag which my bud makes little 22 mag snake rounds for me too . My granpa said he had a factory one years ago and that same 2 rounds fed their family in some awfully lean years. He said he shot 2 deer with it and as the 22 mag was subsonic often the deer would flick its hide ...maybe lift his head and look around then resume eating. They would bring a few rolled smokes and have a smoke after the shot and usually the deer would just lie down and theyd share another and that would be it . Having been lung shot they bled out never knowing they were shot and likely werent even suffereing all that much as they seemed really quite calm. His was not able to take the full 3 inch shot/slugs in 410 but the smaller it did and again he took a deer or two with those as well. One can surmise that the nearly half inch chunk of metal from the 410 isnt much to sniff at so to me this makes this tiny ultra light and fairly short over under the ultimate all round gun and although mine aint pretty and is showing its age its acurate and i cant recal a year it hasnt surprised me . Id reach for the stevens if all hell cut loose and id have to pack something and provide or defend. Also in a house to house the 410 is awesome as you kill the bad guy/s not the badguys, your 2 kids, the neighboor , etc. Awesome home defence weapon compared to defender everyone thinks is best ..ill take the stevens again.
I carry a 410 for survival purposes, the moment it dawned on me that 100 shells of 12 gauge or 20 gauge = 10 pounds. I can carry 250 rounds of 410 for the same weight. One can send off for a few adapters for the 410(such as 9mm), but not as many as one can for a 12 or a 20. Trade offs....
@@chris15252 yup wished I would have gotten one when they were there but always had my eye on something else ☺️. Definitely can't go wrong for less than a Benjamin.
My first long gun was a Savage 24C. It was an over-under with a 20guage bottom barrel and a 22LR top barrel. It came apart easily into two pieces, the longest only 24inches; short enough to fit in a backpack. I loved that gun. A few years later I came across a used slightly rusted Savage 24V at a yardsale for $20. It was .357 magnum over 20gauge. From Shotgun News I bought a couple of barrel sleeves, one short one chambered for .45Long, the other 20 inches long for 30-06. That one had a tiny removable chamber bushing that converted the 30-06 to 7.62 Nato. With those 2 rifles I could fire all the 22 ammo, and .38, .357, 45ACP, 45Long, 30-06 and 7.62 Nato, as well as all the 20gauge shotgun rounds. I had a Colt Mk IV Government Model and an HK 91 for self defense. These days, I don't own any guns.
When my wife took my old H&R single shot out deer hunting I told her she only needed one shot, make it count. She came back with a 12 point buck. I love my single shot so much that I sold my 12 gauge pump. It's just fun to break down (and eject the shell) reload and go again. So much more fun than a pump. I just got done restoring my old H&R, re-blued the barrel and refinished the stock and forearm with a red mahogany stain and a satin finish polyurethane, she looks great. I think I'll keep it another 40 years. Now I'm looking for more single shots to restore, but only 20 gauges and 410's, I've had enough 12 gauges. a 20 will do all I want to do.
Good call Jason! The ammo saving, versatile, hole blastin’ single shot. I grew up in Boston (before getting the hell out of there and movin’ up north) and my first firearm of any sort, was a Stevens single shot 12ga. You can back up over it with a tank and it’ll still run. No school, like the old school! Oohra Big Daddy 😁👍🏽🇺🇸
Yeah. H&R SINGLE, break open 12 gauge, with a 45 Colt insert. Shoots 3", 2 3/4" shotgun loads, and 45 Colt. Simple, reliable, and robust. I can take everything from rabbits, grouse and squirrel, to Blacktail Deer with it.
friend: hey i got a shutgon me: that aint a shotgun, thats a rifle friend: yes it is, here i’ll show you ( shoots) friend: see its a shotgun me: naah, still a rifle
Great way to conserve ammo too, you shoot that gold up much slower than with a semi auto and theirs just something fun about a single shot that no other gun has.
Sometimes single shots will throw a better pattern than semi`s or pumps. I had an H&R 12 gauge that would put 6-8 pellets in a squirrel at distance every time.
I traded for an old (50's?) 12 gauge Topper model H&R. Chopped the barrel to just over legal limit and fitted a new bead. You could pick up an old single from a gun shop for cheap. Ammo adapters aren't cheap but a few in common calibers would come in handy.
One of the wisest things a person can do is to learn how to handload. People that think they know how to shoot but do not handload are almost as incompetent as those that think they know how to drive but prefer an automatic transmission and don't know what to do in the event of an emergency. I learned how to control a vehicle on a motorcycle, which I believe is the best way.
My first gun. I have the 20 gauge New England Firearms version with a 38 special/357 magnum adapter. It’s from 1996 and was a gift for my 18th birthday in 1998. Unbelievably simple and reliable. So few moving parts. Less is more when we’re faced with the apocalypse.🙃
@@briangleason5597 Had it for 23 years now. It’s not going anywhere. Gonna oil it tonight. Doing some ammo inventory and gun cleaning over the next three nights, so I’ll give all of them some love
I have an NEF .410 ( 36 gauge ) and wished I had gotten an .243 barrel to go with that 36 gauge or a more common gauge like 12 or 20 . Although I do shoot slugs out of the 36 and might be hunting with it in the near future .
For a survival gun I would do a Kel-Tec PMR-30 and CMR-30 combo. The PMR-30 is a pistol with 30 round magazines that fire 22 magnum. Get the factory 5" barrel wit h the flame suppressor as the gun tends to make large fireballs otherwise. The CMR-30 uses the same magazines and ammo, but is a carbine with a 16" barrel and extendable stock making it very compact. You can add a cheap 22lr scope on it and do 3" groupings at 100 yards. The reason why I say it is good for survival is because they are so light. If you need to walk 30 miles with a pack of survival gear, weight is everything. You can do both guns with the 4 mags the come with loaded (2 each) and a box of 500 rounds of 40 grain hollow points for a total of 10 pounds. And trust me a good shot with a 22 magnum is going to drop a deer or hog or anything smaller without too much trouble. You might have to be more accurate, but in a survival situation you are hunting anything you see pretty much. 640 rounds of ammo will last a long time too. That gun just takes too long to reload, is too heavy (especially with the adaptors), the ammo is heavier, it does not have that good a range... not the best for survival.
Its a cool gun for sure, really heavy duty but I honestly have some equally as good options but with magazines and a decent caliber in 9mm luger. Shoots all 9mm luger ammunition including +p. Gives the same power as a .357 out of a nice long barrel but I wish the upper was made from steel over aluminum. Also, I wonder if you can use the butt end of another round to extract the spent cartridge. Will that work?
Another good survival rifle would be something like the Rossi Trifecta, it's a break-action, which means it's stupid-proof, any issues can probably be fixed with minimal shop tools. Interchangeable barrel means you can shoot 20 gauge for defense, .22lr for varmint, and .243 winchester which is the jack of all trades caliber for the gun
U guys should make a habit of using some hollowpoints in each video, but just to demonstrate destructive power against jugs of water and stuff. Everybody loves watching stuff pop.
Nice scooter. Can't beat a break action shotgun for simplicity, versatility and reliability. Always thought those inserts were clever, but have never seen them for sale anywhere.
