Ruger Number One at 300 yds

[Paper boy]

Ya, silly me... Over the years I bought and sold several great Number One rifles, including one Varminter in 25-06 that steadily shot 100 gr Sierras into .2's and .3's at 100 yards and over 3,300 fps... Why did I sell that rifle? I dunno.

And I've got a 375 H&H "Tropical" that has become known as "Dad's bear rifle" after three black bear from 15 feet to 306 yards. It's a good one.

Guy

15 FEET! ??

 

[memtb]

I've always thought that the #1 was the prettiest factory rifle produced....with a Winchester Model 70 "Featherweight" coming in 2nd place. In 1985, I had a chance to buy a new #1 in 7 Mag at a gun store in Ogden, Utah for $175.00. I didn't buy it as money was "tight", not a 7 Mag fan, and didn't "need " it.....I've regretted that "non-purchase" for 35 years! memtb

 

[memtb]

Ya, silly me... Over the years I bought and sold several great Number One rifles, including one Varminter in 25-06 that steadily shot 100 gr Sierras into .2's and .3's at 100 yards and over 3,300 fps... Why did I sell that rifle? I dunno.

And I've got a 375 H&H "Tropical" that has become known as "Dad's bear rifle" after three black bear from 15 feet to 306 yards. It's a good one.

Guy

We've got a couple of those in the family! My first cousin and his son, each have one! memtb

 

[BullElk54]

I have liked the looks of the #1 from the day I first saw it. Wanted my own -- had to have one, so finally found one in a Montana gun shop about 45 years ago in .22-250 and laid my money down.

It is still a beautiful looking rifle, but I have never been able to get it to shoot less than about 1.5", so it stays in the back of the safe. Knowing what I now know about reloading for accuracy, I should pull it out and see if I can tighten the groups.

I had a similar experience as you. Purchased a mint Ruger # 1 in a 22-250 with an excellent rifling, throat and bore.
I could never get it to shoot well. Experimented with different factory loads and hand loads, the best was 2" at 100 yards. Installed the Hicks Accurizer with only minor improvement. Traded it within a year of purchasing. Love the look of the Ruger # 1.

 

[epoletna]

Bull Elk 54 said: "Traded it within a year of purchasing. Love the look of the Ruger # 1."

No reason NOT to buy a rifle that you love the looks of. I'm a sucker for pre-64 Model 70s and Oberndorf Mausers. And close second place is the Ruger #1.

Savage, on the other hand, not so much. But I acquired a Savage Tactical in .308 Win a number of years ago and discovered that it shot cheap ammo (including milsurp) sub MOA. Dang! Why won't my Winchesters or Mausers do that? It does not tickle my senses, but it sure shoots!

 

[nicholasjohn]

I have liked the looks of the #1 from the day I first saw it. Wanted my own -- had to have one, so finally found one in a Montana gun shop about 45 years ago in .22-250 and laid my money down.

It is still a beautiful looking rifle, but I have never been able to get it to shoot less than about 1.5", so it stays in the back of the safe. Knowing what I now know about reloading for accuracy, I should pull it out and see if I can tighten the groups.

I've read that there are a few tricks for accuracy tuning #1's. You might want to look into that before you start picking the fly-specks out of the pepper at the reloading bench. John Barsness wrote about this years ago, and an internet search with Ruger #1 and his name might unearth the article I read. It was a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure he was the author. I also think that it had to do with the fore-end hanger, and something to do with the screw that holds the fore-end to it. Getting that taken care of first could save you a lot of headaches, as well as a ton of reloading components.

 

[zb338]

I have a varmint weight in .223 caliber. It didn't shoot very well about that 1.5".
I took it to my local gunsmith; he did the trigger and some magic with the bedding.
I didn't like the trigger so I asked him to do it again. Now on a good day it will shoot
better than an inch. It doesn't sound like much but it's O.K. with me.
Zeke

 

[Quintus]

Recently put a lightly used 3.5-10x Leupold on Brandy, the 20 year old Ruger 1-S Medium Sporter I purchased last winter. Also had some 160 grain handloads to try at the range.

Dog and I put the rifle in the Jeep and headed to the gun club for some shooting! Sighted the rifle in at 25 yards, then switched to the 300 yard gong. At 300 yards the first shot was low, so I dialed in a fair bit of elevation. Second shot looked decent for elevation, but was left, so I did some twisting on the windage knob. Then three shots into 1.5" at 300 yards from the bench.

I was pleased. The 160 Sierra Gamekings are doing 3025 fps with the 65 grain charge, and shooting very nicely. I may still swap to 160 grain Nosler Partitions, but honestly I'm quite satisfied with the load. I've used this load, or loads very similar to it a lot in the past with other 7mm Rem Mag rifles. This rifle is likely to see use in Washington and Wyoming for mule deer, pronghorn and hopefully black bear.

I think Brandy is ready to hunt.

Oh, "Brandy" got her name because of what I was sipping when I found her on GunBroker last winter. A 20 year old Ruger that had one box of ammo put through it, then cleaned and was stashed in a gun safe for 20 years. I've never regretted the purchase.

Guy

Pretty awesome when a gun that looks like that shoots like that. Not very often you find em super hot AND rich! Most guns today you can say she ain't much to look at, but man can she cook.

 

[Charles Keethler]

What a good wife you would be, my wife was also my bar maid when I met her and we both love that old song.

 

[epoletna]

nicholasjohn: The article you referenced is locked so I couldn't read it, but I did order a fire lapping kit from Wheeler. We'll see what that does. I have heard good reports on fire lapping before.

 

[John Klingenberg]

I've always thought that the #1 was the prettiest factory rifle produced....with a Winchester Model 70 "Featherweight" coming in 2nd place. In 1985, I had a chance to buy a new #1 in 7 Mag at a gun store in Ogden, Utah for $175.00. I didn't buy it as money was "tight", not a 7 Mag fan, and didn't "need " it.....I've regretted that "non-purchase" for 35 years! memtb

I have a very similar story from 1990! Ron Peterson guns in Albuquerque had a hard worn #1 in 7mag someone had chopped to 18 or 20 inches for a song. That rifle sat on the rack for over a year. I went in one day and it was gone. I should've bought it and rebuild it. Still think about that rifle.

 

[Wv shooter]

I have owned 21 different Ruger no1s I love these rifles I have Accurize all of them and they all have shot sub MOA from 218 bee to 375 H and H I still have 9 of them and a great love affair with them

 

[greenejc]

Ya, silly me... Over the years I bought and sold several great Number One rifles, including one Varminter in 25-06 that steadily shot 100 gr Sierras into .2's and .3's at 100 yards and over 3,300 fps... Why did I sell that rifle? I dunno.

And I've got a 375 H&H "Tropical" that has become known as "Dad's bear rifle" after three black bear from 15 feet to 306 yards. It's a good one.

Guy

I love my Ruger No. 1. It is a 25-06 with a varmint barrel, and absolutely loves the 100 grain Speer boattail. It likes the Sierra 117gr and the Speer 120 grain bullets just fine, too. I regularly shoot prairie dogs with it out to around 400 yards, and can make it hit farther, but I need to put a higher magnification scope on it for 'dogs past 400yds. I haven't done that because I'm cheap.

 

[greenejc]

Recently put a lightly used 3.5-10x Leupold on Brandy, the 20 year old Ruger 1-S Medium Sporter I purchased last winter. Also had some 160 grain handloads to try at the range.

Dog and I put the rifle in the Jeep and headed to the gun club for some shooting! Sighted the rifle in at 25 yards, then switched to the 300 yard gong. At 300 yards the first shot was low, so I dialed in a fair bit of elevation. Second shot looked decent for elevation, but was left, so I did some twisting on the windage knob. Then three shots into 1.5" at 300 yards from the bench.

I was pleased. The 160 Sierra Gamekings are doing 3025 fps with the 65 grain charge, and shooting very nicely. I may still swap to 160 grain Nosler Partitions, but honestly I'm quite satisfied with the load. I've used this load, or loads very similar to it a lot in the past with other 7mm Rem Mag rifles. This rifle is likely to see use in Washington and Wyoming for mule deer, pronghorn and hopefully black bear.

I think Brandy is ready to hunt.

Oh, "Brandy" got her name because of what I was sipping when I found her on GunBroker last winter. A 20 year old Ruger that had one box of ammo put through it, then cleaned and was stashed in a gun safe for 20 years. I've never regretted the purchase.

Guy

I found a Ruger M77 with the Tang safety in 30-06 at a pawn shop the other day. They were selling it for $300, because it didn't have rings. I got it for $250 plus tax. I checked the barrel and I don't think it had had more than three boxes of ammo through it. It also has the original adjustable trigger. I bought a set of Leupold medium rings at $80 and put it into operation. I'm still working on loads, but loads for my Ruger M77MKII give around 1" or tighter already, and that was in the wind. Gotta love Ruger rifles.