Break Action Shotguns
Whether you call them single barrels, one-shots, break-action, or hinge-break, the single shot shotgun is a firearm legacy. Tucked in the back of your closet, peeking out somewhere, at least once in your life, you had a hinge break.
As you can see from this 1900’s advert, the basic design has remained the same for a century.
These simple and effective firearms came about just after the US Civil War. Originally, with Damascus barrels, they fired 2.5-inch paper hulled black powder shells. Over time, the shells became brass and then plastic while the barrels became steel. I got my first break action, a wood stocked, blue steel Stevens .410 in the early 1980s. With a sling made from an old leather belt and a pocketful of shells, I was invincible at age 9. As time marched on, I upgraded, and long ago got rid of that little single shot. However, it never really got rid of me.