Editing Single-shot (section)

====Rifles====
Almost all of the early cartridge-fed rifles were single-shot designs, taking advantage of the strength and simplicity of single-shot actions. A good example is the "trapdoor" or Allin action used in early cartridge conversions of 1863 Springfield muzzleloading rifles. The conversion consisted of [[File (tool)|filing out]] (or later [[milling machine|milling out]]) the rear of the barrel, and attaching a folding bolt, the "trapdoor", that flipped up and forwards to allow the cartridge to be loaded in the breech. Once loaded, the bolt was closed and latched in place, holding the round securely in place. The bolt contained a firing pin that used the existing percussion hammer, so no changes were required to the lock. After firing, the act of opening the bolt would partially extract the fired case from the chamber, allowing it to be removed. In 1866, the [[United States]] standardized on the [[Springfield Model 1866]] rifle and [[.50-70]] cartridge, chambered in trapdoor conversions of [[rifled musket]]s that had been used in the [[American Civil War]]. The trapdoor mechanism continued usage in 1873 with the adoption of the [[Springfield Model 1873]] rifle and [[.45-70]] cartridge. The Springfield Model 1873 rifle stayed in service until 1892 when it was replaced by the [[Krag–Jørgensen]] bolt-action rifle from 1892 until 1903.

Another muzzleloader conversion similar in concept to the Allin action was the British [[Snider–Enfield]], also introduced in 1866, which hinged to the side rather than forward. Unlike the US Army, which kept its trapdoors for decades, the British soon moved beyond the Snider to the more sophisticated dropping-block Martini action derived from the [[Peabody action]]. [[Martini–Henry]]s were the standard British rifles of the late Victorian era, and [[Martini–Enfield]] conversions continued in second-line service until the Second World War.

Single-shot rifles were the preferred tools of big-game hunters in the late 19th century. The buffalo hunters of the American West used Sharps, Remington, and Springfield single-shots; ivory and [[trophy hunter]]s in Africa and Asia used Martini and break-action "express rifles" and "elephant guns." These rifles were designed for very large black-powder cartridges, from military-issue [[.45-70]] on up to the enormous [[.50-140 Sharps]] and [[.500 Black Powder Express|.500 Express]]; early repeating actions were not capable of handling rounds of this power and physical size. The single-shot big-game rifle would only be displaced by bolt-action repeaters firing high-velocity smokeless-powder cartridges in the early 20th century.

After the advent of high-powered repeating rifles, single-shot rifles were primarily used for target shooting matches, with the first official match shooting event, opening at [[Long Island|Creedmoor, Long Island]] in 1872. From about 1872 until the U.S. entry into [[World War I]] in 1917, target shooting with single-shot rifles was nearly as popular in America as golf is today. During that golden age of match shooting, the most popular target rifles were made by [[Bullard (rifle)|Bullard]], [[Stevens Arms|Stevens]], [[Remington Arms|Remington]], [[Edward Maynard|Maynard]], Ballard, Farrow, and [[Winchester Repeating Arms Company|Winchester]]. Calibers used by some of these rifles during matches ranged from the [[.25-20 Winchester]], [[.32-40 Winchester]], [[.33 Winchester]], [[.35 Winchester]], [[.38-55 Winchester]], .40-50 Winchester, .40-70 Winchester, .44-105 Winchester, etc. for over {{convert|600|yd|m|abbr=on}} shooting at Creedmoor. However, two calibers maintained consistency throughout their tenure during the single-shot era: the .32-40 and the .38-55 calibers. The minimum standard in the beginning of the sport had been {{convert|200|yd|m|abbr=on}} firing from the standing position (off-hand position). No rifle scopes, no bench rests, no prone (lying down on the front) positions, but shooting, as famed rifle barrel maker, ''Harry Melville Pope'' (1861–1950), once stated, "standing on his hind legs and shooting like a man."<ref>Kelver/Roberts</ref> The .32-40 and .38-55 were able to buck the wind better at {{convert|200|yd|m|abbr=on}}, and not wear the rifleman out by heavy recoil, all while sustaining great accuracy. In the end, though, it was the .32-40 single-shot rifle that became the dean of match shooters, as the recoil from the .38-55 took its toll after hundreds of rounds had been fired during a match.

In 1878, [[John Moses Browning]] patented arguably the greatest single-shot rifle ever produced: after Browning sold his design to the [[Winchester Repeating Arms Company]] it was brought out as the [[Winchester Model 1885]] Rifle. Although fewer than 200,000 Model 1885 Single Shots were built, they remained in production from 1885 to 1920.

[[Remington Arms|Remington]], [[Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company|Sharps]], and [[Browning Arms Company|Browning]] all made single-shot rifles using different actions, such as the [[rolling block]] and [[Falling block action|falling block]]. These rifles were originally chambered in large [[Black powder|black-powder]] cartridges, such as the [[.50-110 Winchester]], and were used for hunting large game, often [[bison]]. Later production rifles would be in popular [[smokeless powder]] cartridges, such as the [[.30-40 Krag]].

Single-shot rifles co-existed for some time with the [[lever-action]] rifle, but they began to fade out of manufacture with the advent of reliable [[bolt-action]] rifles.