Ruger No. 1 Accuracy?

N

Nightcrawler

New member
On my long term list of guns I want (LOOONG term) is a Ruger No. 1 single shot. Haven't decided on the cartridge yet, I'm looking at .338, mabye.

What kind of accuracy can you get out of these? I've heard the Ruger No. 1s are real solidly built tack drivers...
 
When my roomie sighted in her No.1 International in .243, the rifle yielded 1/2 MOA at 100 yards. I'd say they're pretty accurate.
 
my grandfather had a beautiful Ruger No.1V with a AAA grade burl walnut in .25-06 that shot very well at 100 yds with factory loads. they are pretty accurate rifles out of the box, but the one thing that can throw off the accuracy a little bit is the forearm, and you can get a gunsmith to glass bed it for you for not a whole lot of cash. the good thing about the No.1 is that it is a falling block action which means that you can have a long barrel and the overall length will still be fairly short. the action is very strong, and if you get tired of the .338, you can always change the barrel and the extractor out, and you're set. you won't be disappointed if you buy one.
 
Ah, the venerable Ruger No. 1. One of the best-looking hunting rifles around as well as a faithful representation of the hunting ethos - one shot, one kill. If you buy one, you will get a lot of favorable looks at the range.

Now, as far as accuracy goes, I'll tell you, I bought one about two years ago and did a LOT of research on that thing. Basically, the concensus on them was that they are inherently LESS accurate than the same caliber in a bolt-action, mainly due to the 2-piece stock, which introduces some instability to the gun. This makes sense - you would think that a one-piece stock would provide a better platform for unifrom support. That having been said, several folks mentioned that their No. 1's were very accurate right out of the box, while several others had terrible accuracy. As an interesting aside, the caliber most noted for good accuracy in that gun was the .243, which incidentally I have and lendringser's roommate has also. For those that did not have a tackdriver out of the box, a common solution was to place one or two small rubber o-rings under the foreend hanger screw, thus free-floating the barrel. I did this immediately upon receiving my rifle, so I don't know if it truly made a difference or not, but I do get 1/2 MOA.

BTW, mine is a 1B model.
 
A few years ago, I tried to make a varmint rifle out of a Ruger No. 1 in 6 mm Remington. Didn't work. The rifle shot just fair . . . was a decent deer rifle, but just wouldn't shoot any better than about 2 moa. And this was with a Leupold 12x scope that I still have on another rifle.

Sent the rifle to Ruger with a detailed note about my problems. They kept it about a month, recrowned the barrel, and finally returned it with a 100 yard target that showed a 3-shot group measuring just less than two inches and a note that the rifle shot within their specifications for accuracy. :rolleyes: :confused: I sold the rifle to a friend who hunts only deer and he was happy with the accuracy level. But, it just would not do for varmint hunting where you gotta' be working with about one moa as opposed to twice that.

I have since gone the bolt action route, primarily Model 700 or 40X actions and am well satisfied. :)
 
been shooting the #1 for many years and have 6 in my gun room.

6mmPPC shoots 1/2MOA

243 shoots MOA (1 inch @ 100yds)

25/06 shoots 2" @ 100 yds

223 shoots 1/2MOA

270 shoots MOA

custom 338/06 shoots MOA

I did have a 223 that was terrible, shot 3" gps at 100 yds, couldn't change it so I peddled it.
 
Now some of you folks are starting to scare me. I just ordered a 1-V in 22-250 and picked up a 6 to 24 power scope to put on it. If it wont do better than my AR im going to be peeved to say the least. I have heard that the quarter rib that some of the guns have can cause vertical stringing as the barrel heats but the V only has target scope blocks which I hope would help.
 
hutson_nos_pat_165_tgt2.JPG

Here is a target from a 338 #1 after a couple things have been done to it. Including the H.D. Ruger #1 accurizer
If the pictyre does not show,right click it and click on show picture. I dont know why, but I have to do that to see the picture

Celt
H.D. Rifles
 
I was just going to mention you Celt but I see you beat me to the punch. To you guys that don't know him, Celt knows rifles and he's a great smith. Check out his site and see. I know because I'm a very happy customer. Here's my recent 5 shot group from 100 yards from my rifle built by Celt. You always throw that last shot when you have a good group going ;)
 

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I own 10 Ruger #1 rifles and I'll be the first to admit, they can be touchy. (Classic understatement.) Ruger's accuracy standard for #1's is 2 inches at 50 yards. This is what I've heard. At this point, I only have one that's not a good shooter, a varmint model in .223 Rem., but I haven't had the time lately to tinker with it.
Yes, they are touchy rifles, but they would be the last ones I'd get rid of. A couple of examples; the .300 Win. Mag. 3/8 inch at 100 yards, .375 H&H, 1.25 inch, 7X57MM, .75 inch, .223, 2.5 inch. (I gotta play with that one some.):rolleyes:
Paul B.
 
never owned one but hane handled and drooled over serveral...when they were affordable i was too young and stupid to appreciate them, now that i'm old they are not that much more but i've got a bunch more bills :mad:

the forearm actually is attached to the receiver off a hanger extension. one of the best things you can do to insure stability is to free-float along the barrel and where the receiver meets the forearm, then glass-bed the attachment point of the forearm and trenon.

the varmit model is more accurate, over a string of shots, because it doesn't have the rib. the rib is alloy and expands at a different rate than the barrel as it heats up...affects vertical dispersion :eek:
 
Ruger #1s



My experience in a nutshell:

Mine shot erratically, so I took it to my gunsmith, an older gent, who has a great deal of experience with these rifles. He did a trigger job, a great improvement over the factory pull. Then he channelled the barrel and (correctly) bedded the foreend. I took it to the range and the groups improved markedly (i.e., just over 1 inch at 100 yds), but I wanted to try one other thing.

From Brownell's I ordered the Hick's accurizer unit for the Ruger #1.

When installed, a screw in the unit allows you to adjust the pressure against the bottom of the barrel (increasing pressure by turning the screw), and with testing you can find just the right amount of tension (the "sweet spot") for a given factory load or handload. You may have to play around a bit to find that spot. In effect, you're tuning the rifle to a given load, as opposed to the methodology of handloaders, who are trying to fine-tune a load to their rifle.

I had my gunsmith install the Hick's unit, and it worked. With the federal factory load I use (after finding the "sweet spot"), the rifle now groups under an inch at 100yds if I do my part. (Yeah, as always, the shooter is still part of the equation).

Hope this helps.
 
Just incase you guys didn't know it, Celt, who posted above, is Jeff Hicks, the maker of the Hicks Accurizer. Check out his site at the link below his name on his post.
 
Just so you know, the Ruger #1 's breech is a LOT closer to your face than a conventional bolt rifle.

What this means is in heavy calibers the reflection/concussion is impressive. I'm no wimp about recoil, but the .300 win mag i fired out of a Ruger #1 cleared my sinuses and gave me a headache after 4 shots, in a winchester model 70 it was no big deal to shoot.

Just some food for thought, while the #1 is an inexpensive way to get into "heavy" calibers, the CZ 550 magnum might be better, as far as being able to handle the heavies.

One of the neatest @1's I ever saw was a 7x57mm with a full stock, nicely figured wood.. almost looked like a custom. Very pretty.
 
Dr. Rob, I found a used #1H in .458 Win Mag and had it rechambered out to .460 Weatherby for $85. Very inexpensive way to get into a BIG bore. Of course firing an 8 Lb. .460 Weatherby is not for everyone. :o)
 
I guess the target does not show on the site so I will put it up as an attachment. this is the before groups with the same lot of factory ammo. the next post will be the after pict
 

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this is the after target.
This is an extreme example of what the Accurizer does, but it shows that it works.
 

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