Allure of the Ruger No1

[odonata]

Hate that the Great State of Mississippi would discriminate against a good ole rifle like the No 1….

I have a lot of opportunities to hunt in AR, LA & MS so I do try to keep my griping to a minimum because I actually have it pretty good. But when I'm reading the regulations, it is difficult not to do a hard eye roll sometimes.

The requirement that I have to have a hammer in LA & MS means the Ruger No. 1, Blaser K95, Merkel K5, TCR 83 Aristocrat, Chapuis Oural, Krieghoff Hubertus & a bunch of other kipplauf rifles are all on the no-no list.

In AR, I can use my Ruger No. 1's but they have to have a straight-wall chambering of at least 30 caliber. My 303 British & 9.3x74r both have a taper.

On the bright side, I can hunt AR deer with my Ruger 77 MkII chambered in the straight-walled 458 Win Mag. That makes so much more sense than letting me hunt with my Ruger No. 1A in 303 British.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

@odonata you have a very nice collection of No1s. The Redfield 2-7x33 looks really nice in proportion to you No 1 RSI in 275 Rigby. Very classy looking!

 

[odonata]

@odonata you have a very nice collection of No1s. The Redfield 2-7x33 looks really nice in proportion to you No 1 RSI in 275 Rigby. Very classy looking!

Thanks for the kind words! I'm sure I'm not the only hunter who has done this, but a lot of my scopes got put on rifles based on when they were acquired or when a great sale came along. A few months ago, I did a rethink of all of my various pairings and reassigned the best scope / gun combinations I could.

That Redfield 2-7x33 originally arrived on my Ruger No. 1A in 303 British. That rifle wore a Leupold 6x42mm for a while and the RSI had a Leupold 3x20mm Big Bore.

After the big swap, the nicest 42mm scopes went to my left-handed Sako 85 and Steyr CLII. The Leupold Big Bore went on a 458 Win Mag. I found that I really like to have smaller objective scopes on my Ruger No. 1's.

So the RSI has the Redfield 2-7x33, the 303 British has a Meopta Meostar R2 1-6x24 RD & the 9.3x74r has a Minox ZA5 1.5-8x32. The 6.5x55 Swede is still a work in progress.

But I agree with your assessment: The Redfield will stay on the RSI for as long as it continues to hold zero. It's the best rifle for it to be on.

 

[Tintin]

You may find that the short barrel won't really be best for black powder loads - fun to shoot at night though!
I had a 458 Lott No.1 which I used as a mule for all sorts of loads. Black powder - cast & paper patched up to modern smokeless loads.
I also used it for testing my swaged bullets.
All good fun and 100% reliable.

@Huvius Thanks Ben - barrel is 24" - we'll see how it goes. It's my first foray into BP.

 

[Tintin]

A mate and I shot some BP loads in the No. 1 450 Nitro today.

A lot of fun

 

[F. Vaccaro]

Did you have a timer on the camera? Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing.

 

[Tintin]

Did you have a timer on the camera? Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing.

Thanks. I just got lucky with that fireball image. It is a still frame taken from video I took with my 6 year old iPhone XR. Didn't use the timer - just a quick hand held 'point and shoot'.

Might have to try to replicate that image at night - that would make a cool picture.

 

[Prewar]

I finally got to use my no1 .375 that I bought about 7 years ago. Got drawn for a bull moose in east central Alberta. Got a 50” bull at about 80m using factory federal 300gr SP. Was a pass thru broadside behind the shoulders and went down fast. Very happy with this hunt and the trophy taken on the 10th day. Can’t wait to be hanging the euro mount in the house…

 

[Altitude sickness]

That is a very nice Canadian bull. Nice shape, points and color. Congrats

 

[alby]

They need to make these with the quarter rib integral to the barrel. Other wise one of my favorite rifles!

I don’t like the rear site or rib setup on the No 1.s. Had some work done to my .303.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Abby, Who did the lettering and engraving

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

@alby that is very nice work done on your No.1! What caliber? I noticed a 300 and 400 yard leaf. That's way beyond my "iron sights range."

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

@Prewar Outstanding moose, congratulations!

I'm reminded of the saying, "Moose hunting is a lot of fun, unless you get one."

 

[Goopy]

Ruger No 1 goodness on opening morning in Illinois:

...and a short time later:

Ruger No 1 chambered in .45-70 topped with vintage Weaver K2.5-1 glass, shooting Hornady Leverevolution 325 grain FTX. Full pass thru at 87 yards, doe dropped where she stood with no meat destruction.
Boy, I sure do love these rifles!

 

[ThreeJacks]

My No. 1A in 250 Savage, 24” barrel.

 

[cajunchefray]

As a right-handed person who prefers to shoot left because of my less-than-perfect right eye, I'm a big fan of the Ruger No. 1 simply because I can shoot it equally well off of either shoulder. I like its simplicity & its ambidextrous design.

View attachment 642751
9.3x74r with a Swarovski z5 2.4-12x50 & a 303 British with a Leupold 6x42

View attachment 642752
6.5x55 with a Schmidt & Bender 1.5-8x42 Stratos

View attachment 642753
275 Rigby with a Redfield 2-7x33

Ruger No 1 goodness on opening morning in Illinois:
View attachment 649581
...and a short time later:
View attachment 649582
Ruger No 1 chambered in .45-70 topped with vintage Weaver K2.5-1 glass, shooting Hornady Leverevolution 325 grain FTX. Full pass thru at 87 yards, doe dropped where she stood with no meat destruction.
Boy, I sure do love these rifles!

Great opening day for deer!
Classic rifle and scope. Weaver K3 just fits right on the Ruger #1.

 

[cajunchefray]

I don’t like the rear site or rib setup on the No 1.s. Had some work done to my .303.Classic sight modification to your Ruger #1. What is the 4 leaf express sight origin?

 

[cajunchefray]

Previous comment was not clear.

What 4 leaf express sight is that on your Ruger #1 .303 British?
Reminiscent of a WJ Jeffery or Westley Richards.
Just Classic.

 

[Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy]

My 450/400 NE and I connected on a South Texas nilgai this spring. 400g Swift A-frame hit him hard. Still loving my No.1! A joy to carry and hits with authority. I haven't found the recoil to be unpleasant even in the light gun.

 

[WAB]

My 450/400 NE and I connected on a South Texas nilgai this spring. 400g Swift A-frame hit him hard. Still loving my No.1! A joy to carry and hits with authority. I haven't found the recoil to be unpleasant even in the light gun.

View attachment 649651

It looks
Like
You have it stocked
Properly