Anyone have a Ruger No. 1?

S

Soilarch

Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
297
I don't want to buy it from you...


We (I) don't get to see many (or any) in the rural shops around here. I'm left-handed and have been staring at them for a long time. Besides the obvious reason, I also handload and would really like to have something with a solid action. (I'm aware that nowadays the list of "weak" actions is getting shorter and shorter...but still.)

I'm wondering how fast reloading can be. Better yet, how much of a hassle is it? I realize they call then single-shot for a reason. But is it any slower than working a RH scoped bolt offhand as a lefty? What about extraction issues when I find that the last set of loads are gonna be my MAX in this gun and the rest are going back? I know in bolts hard...REALLY hard extraction is the first sign you get sometimes. Been scared a few times I was gonna rip the case trying to get it out. Never have yet. Don't plan to any time soon either.

So what's Bladforums got to say? Any No. 1 owners?
 
I've owned quite a few No. 1's over the years. They can be good rifles, but some can be frustrating accuracy wise. Unless you like the nostalgia factor, I'd opt for a left hand bolt rifle. Being a southpaw can be a bear, I made the switch to true left hand bolts about 15 years ago and never looked back. Mine are mostly customs or semi customs. One good rifle will last a lifetime, I buy the best I can afford.

A lot of folks love the No.1, it's well suited for big bore cartridges. The action is more closely scaled for .375 and up.

Most rifles are individuals (chambers and barrels vary), but by the time extraction becomes sticky the pressures are probably much too high. The current accepted method of determining pressure (without using the Winchester or Speer lab) is a chronograph. You won't really exceed published velocities by much without going into the stratosphere pressure wise. John Barsness of Rifle and Handloader magazine recently published a great article on pressure testing. It opened my eyes :)
 
With a single shot you hold two rounds between the fingers of your support hand, sort of like holding 2 cigars, reloads can be made quite quickly this way. Works well for double rifles as well. Also they do make wrist bands that will hold 5 rounds thus keeping your reloads handy.
 
Absintheur said:
With a single shot you hold two rounds between the fingers of your support hand, sort of like holding 2 cigars, reloads can be made quite quickly this way. Works well for double rifles as well. Also they do make wrist bands that will hold 5 rounds thus keeping your reloads handy.
Click to expand...

thats the way to do it for sure.

a bud had a ruger #1 back in the '80s, in .458 win mag calibre with a pretty short bbl, i wanna say 16" or so, he got a great deal on it in a pawn shop, no scope just irons, anyway was a neat rifle albeit a bear to fire, lotsa lotsa muzzle blast and more than a little recoil lol, but not really as bad as expected, that muzzle blast though was something else, we used to just play around with it, he reloaded so ammo wasnt too bad, he always was threatening to go deer hunting with it but i dont think he ever did, its the only .458 i have ever shot for sure.
 
The Ruger #1 and my 1885 Browning are very strong actions .But why do you want to use MAX loads ?? Often the most accurate are slightly under max.If you need more velocity get a bigger cartridge ! Reloading ? I confused my friend once .Deer hunting I fired a rare second shot. He heard the first and he was sure it was a 45-70 but the second shot came so fast he thought it couldn't be me with my single shot ! The Ruger has a good extractor ,but again when you have extraction problems yoiu're already over max !
 
If you stay within the limits of the powder and bullet combos listed in the reloading manuals extraction shouldn't be a problem, and shouldn't ever be with factory ammo. I shot one a couple of years ago in 405 Winchester at our Annual Ernest Hemingway Memorial Shoot. (limited to rifles legal for dangerous game in Africa) Extraction and ejection was very brisk and flawless. We have had quite a few Number 1's shot at this competition over the years and I don't ever recall a failure to extract. One side note...a of our shooters thought his was malfunctioning as it would not eject the brass, just extract it. He had bought his Number 1 used and a previous owner has disabled the ejector, easy fix. I owned a Number 3 in 45/70 and never stuck a case despite some very brisk reloads.
 
I've killed a bunch of deer & antelope with a #1 in 7x57. It's been supurbly accurate & scope setting has held thru many climate & altitude changes. With practice reloadiing can be pretty quick but I've not found that to be an issue.
I've read that some #1's have a bedding problem with the forearm/mainspring hanger causing poor grouping but the problem is easily remedied by a good gunplumber
Uplander
 
I don't want to USE max loads. I'll be honest, I forgot the rifles generally don't like max loads anyways. (I reload, the most, for my 44 SBH. And they're either plinkers or full-house hunters. It behaves fine a little past the listed max. The exception and not the rule.)


Now that I've said that....Uplander's post has my ADD kicking in. Like the your 45-70, mete, what is the old 7x57 capable of in modern rifles since most manufacturers keep the pressure down for older guns. Or is this not any issue with the "older" mauser actions?
 
There is no reason why the old cartridges like the 6.5x55 or 7x57 can't be loaded in a modern rifle to match 308 Win pressures - ~50,000 PSI. In fact my old Norma info lists 7x57 loads of 50,000 !! They list this load of 160 gr bullet at 2700 fps. The 7x57 ,though originally a military cartridge has a very long and successful history as one of the finest hunting cartridges !!! The 7x57 and 6.5x55 today are handloaders cartridges since the factory loads are pitiful [for a modern rifle !] .Both perform beyond what is seen on paper.They do the job efficiently without high velocity, recoil, muzzle blast. This is one reason why the 7mm-08 has become so popular !
 
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