Allure of the Ruger No1

[375 Ruger Fan]

Let's try to find good Bloke Kevin a good shotgun??

In keeping with the theme of Ruger No 1s

 

[Red Leg]

This is one of the most elegant rifles I have ever seen. Do I recall correctly that it is milled for Talley rings?

Yes they are, and with perfect eye relief. The case colored Talley rings matched the receiver perfectly.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Another elegant upgrade from the No. 1 is a Bailey Bradshaw "Rising Block" in a traditional chambering. This is mine in 7x65R. It is long, lean, elegant, and extraordinarily accurate. It has been my favorite whitetail rifle for a while.
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Bradshaw's shop is a little over an hour away from me. I should call or email him and set up a time that he'd let me come over to his place and drool over some of his creations.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

The local machinist who opened my Mauser bolt face for 404 gave me an interesting piece of history. It's a Westley Richards 45 cal single shot made for the Transval, probably between the first and second Boer Wars. Well, it's the remains of the rifle. Only the barrel (totally shot) and receiver (badly scarred). The only thing usable at present is the rear sight. I would love to find enough parts to make this action work again and maybe rebarrel it in a varmint caliber. I have a gun trading buddy on the hunt for parts.

 

[Rafiki]

Really? So you're telling me you can open the chamber with one hand, then reach for a shell, and put it in the chamber, then close it with that hand (all without looking at the gun) ....

This is anecdotal but yes it is possible with practice. During a full on buffalo charge my PH yelled "RELOAD!", I already had and shot it between the horns. Was that faster than a bolt?; who knows but it is a fallacy to say that a No 1 cannot be reloaded very quickly.

 

[mikesheree]

What good is that? Will this guy guide clients in the bush with cartridges stitched to his sleeve? Of course not. He shouldn't be allowed to qualify with anything less than what he'll be using at work. Anyway, all things being equal (same amount of practice time and no specialized adaptations) I find it hard to believe anyone could fire a No. 1 more efficiently than a quality bolt action, especially one with detachable magazine. Would seem to defy the laws of physics.

If people can learn to play the piano with their feet, they can sure as heck learn to very quickly reload a #1.

 

[Warbeast]

The no1 just points well and looks great.
Used one in 45/70 a lot in crop stalking on wild boar.

 

[mikesheree]

The no1 just points well and looks great.
Used one in 45/70 a lot in crop stalking on wild boar.

I believe it is more than a “looker”. I’ve had several, even in uncommon caliber like .454 Casull (custom job), 9.3x74, .416 and they all shot wonderfully. Many hogs are now in hog heaven due to it. And I state this in comparison to the Blaser K95 for which i have .243, 270, .308 and 9.3 barrels. The Blaser is prettier (hard to do against a #1) but doesn’t shoot materially better. The Blaser proprietary scope mount system is a distinct advantage though, not to mention the barrel modularity. But, reloads are a heck of a lot faster with the #1. With the K95, you KNOW you’ve only got one shot ( unless you can play piano with your feet).

 

[Sideshow]

Ask the boys from Rooks drift. Lol they reloaded pretty fast. The only issue they had was that once the Henry heated up they needed to pry the cases out with a bayonet.
It did also pay to have the keys to the ammo box handy

 

[Warbeast]

I believe it is more than a “looker”. I’ve had several, even in uncommon caliber like .454 Casull (custom job), 9.3x74, .416 and they all shot wonderfully. Many hogs are now in hog heaven due to it. And I state this in comparison to the Blaser K95 for which i have .243, 270, .308 and 9.3 barrels. The Blaser is prettier (hard to do against a #1) but doesn’t shoot materially better. The Blaser proprietary scope mount system is a distinct advantage though, not to mention the barrel modularity. But, reloads are a heck of a lot faster with the #1. With the K95, you KNOW you’ve only got one shot ( unless you can play piano with your feet).

Hm.
Hard to believe their on par with a K95.
Even my 9.3x74r K95 shot bughole groups.
Dont get me wrong. The no 1 shot nice enough, but not that good.

In terms of usable accuracy for hunting, their on par for me

 

[Nevada Mike]

There are so many great guns on the market in the UK right now. I’m not sure what complexities Kevin would face getting one to Zim. On the Thomas Bland I recently purchased, I received the US import permit in 24 hours and the UK export permit in 3 weeks. Its not nearly the challenge many would have you believe

Classic SxS guns seem to be falling ot of favor in the UK. Most UK shooters seem to be shooting O/Us. That and the impending changeover to non tox shot have brought prices down significantly. I have bought and imported two Henry Atkin SLEs (12b and 20b), and a John Robertson 20b BLE over the past couple of years.

 

[mikesheree]

Hm.
Hard to believe their on par with a K95.
Even my 9.3x74r K95 shot bughole groups.
Dont get me wrong. The no 1 shot nice enough, but not that good.

In terms of usable accuracy for hunting, their on par for me

I agree- I did say MATERIALLY better. For virtually all hunting (not 300 yd bullseye shooting)
situations they are both great single shots.

 

[WAB]

Classic SxS guns seem to be falling ot of favor in the UK. Most UK shooters seem to be shooting O/Us. That and the impending changeover to non tox shot have brought prices down significantly. I have bought and imported two Henry Atkin SLEs (12b and 20b), and a John Robertson 20b BLE over the past couple of years.

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That’s a beautiful gun, well done!

 

[BC Tal]

Another elegant upgrade from the No. 1 is a Bailey Bradshaw "Rising Block"
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That is a beautiful rifle and an interesting design I haven’t seen before. I do like the kipplauf guns of Blaser, Heym, Merkel, etc.

 

[Rafiki]

Classic SxS guns seem to be falling ot of favor in the UK. Most UK shooters seem to be shooting O/Us. That and the impending changeover to non tox shot have brought prices down significantly. I have bought and imported two Henry Atkin SLEs (12b and 20b), and a John Robertson 20b BLE over the past couple of years.

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Nice shotgun but I'm at a loss as to what it has to do with "The allure of the Ruger No 1".

 

[Nevada Mike]

Nice shotgun but I'm at a loss as to what it has to do with "The allure of the Ruger No 1".

Apropos of nothing, I suppose, except the sub discussion of a shotgun for Kevin. But, hey, we're going on to 26 pages on this topic and it is ranging rather far from the topic at times.

 

[ET1775]

Never been attracted to them ... at all. I'm old enough to remember when they first came out. I was a kid working in a sporting goods store. Thought to myself, "These won't last. Just a flash in the pan novelty." But they did last. Ruger launched a clever ad campaign with the guy on the mountain about to shoot a full curl ram, etc. The rifle was pretty and it was unique. Who wants to be ordinary? They sold well and the novelty hasn't worn off.

I preferred to hunt hard in adverse conditions. Reloading a single shot in a snowstorm with gloves on did not appeal to me much. Also, if I have to make a follow up shot, especially at dangerous game, I DO NOT want to take my eyes off the animal to reload. Anyone can shuck another round into a Mauser or Springfield without looking at the gun. Heck, I can even load the magazine blindfolded. Can even an experienced shooter do that with a No. 1? Hmmm.

Yes, yes they can. I have loaded, unloaded and reloaded my No. 1 with gloves on, without gloves on, when my fingers were so cold and stiff I could barely move them, without watching the reload, etc. different strokes for different folks and all that but bolt guns are nice in that they keep a few rounds contained within the firearm and out of the weather with no risk of fumbling or dropping a round.

I liken hunting with a single shot to bowhunting with the benefit of range and permanent cavitation. If you approach it with the right mindset and discipline it is not a handicap. Would I prefer a double for dangerous game, absolutely! But if I had a double I would hunt squirrels, rabbits, deer and everything else with it too. Why? Because it would be challenging and fun.

 

[geoff rath]

The local machinist who opened my Mauser bolt face for 404 gave me an interesting piece of history. It's a Westley Richards 45 cal single shot made for the Transval, probably between the first and second Boer Wars. Well, it's the remains of the rifle. Only the barrel (totally shot) and receiver (badly scarred). The only thing usable at present is the rear sight. I would love to find enough parts to make this action work again and maybe rebarrel it in a varmint caliber. I have a gun trading buddy on the hunt for parts.
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That's history, right there. What a story it could tell ...

 

[Tintin]

Just got word from my friend who does my framing.

My Ruger No. 1 / Model 77 job is done.

Looks good.

I waxed and waned about whether to have both prints framed together or individually.

I now wonder should I have gone horiztonally - with the artist details in between?

Being AH, I'll sure there will be preferences either way .

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

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Just got word from my friend who does my framing.

My Ruger No. 1 / Model 77 job is done.

Looks good.

I waxed and waned about whether to have both prints framed together or individually.

Being AH, I'll sure there will be preferences either way .

Wonderful! I like it just the way it is.