Rick, we indeed had a great hunt, but i must admit we didnt do much praticing at speed loading at all. in fact my son only fired that rifle a few times before the hunt, but we've both been hunting with single shots for years so we were familiar with the process. we carried 2 extra rounds between our fingers when closing on the buff. your idea sounds better though......seems less likely to drop em that way, and obviously you were able to cut loose on that beasty.

i would have liked to try some of those Woodlieghs on our hunt, but at the time i couldnt find any load data for 400 grain bullets. i've got some now for my 450/400 Searcy that i might try in the 405. i think they would work fine on buff at that velocity and the little 405 #1 is an easy carrying rifle........actually that's why i chose it over a 375 #1. i knew we'd be doing a lot more carrying than shooting and my son wasnt as strong as i was at the time so i thought the much lighter 405 would be a better choice for him.

i've never really felt at a disadvantage while hunting with sigle shots, of course i've only hunted DG once and i have a double now to hunt DG with. i dearly love the looks and balance of well made singles and doubles and that is why i hunt with them mostly.