Ruger No 1 ??

T

tlo

Guest
I have a Ruger 1V in .223 that I would like to group better, I guess I have several that I wish shot better, this one is the one I'm gonna fool with. I went thru my collection of "Precision Shooting" and came up with two articles. First article was in the Nov/94 issue "Special Edition No. 2", it was by Merrill Martin. Second article was in the Nov/95 "Special Edition No. 3" by, a shadetree mechanic(his title not mine), John F. Herold. Now both guys more or less concentrate on the forearm, but Mr. Martin goes into bedding the buttstock to. I quite haven't decided yet which one I'm gonna try, maybe I'll flip a coin. But I figured I'd try posting on here first before I get the Dremel and Marine Tex out in the hope that maybe there's something else out there, somebody else has some info.

Thanks, Tom

It's a winter project.
 
If there was one gun left in the world and it was a Ruger #1 and I had to make a shot........ I'd take the forend OFF and put a Gene Begg's style plate on the barrel and have at 'er.......

you can spend your whole life dinking with that forend to get a half-minute rifle.

opinionsby






al
 
drill and tap the forearm hanger

is a method that Mr. DeHass describes in his book "Mr. Single Shots Gunsmithing - Idea Book. I have experience with an unaltered #3 that was a 30-40 which would shoot 1/2-3/4 consistently with 4x scope and not a lot of load development. I later rebuild this gun and chambered if for 338-06 AI. I tapped the forearm hanger and in this chambering it will also group 1/2-5/8 with the right loads. It does not go to sleep until near max loads are reached.
Mr DeHass came to the conclusion that the most consistent results came with some tension on the forearm hanger. Excellent book, he goes into great deatail in his experiments and methods.
Take care. Red
 
alinwa said:
If there was one gun left in the world and it was a Ruger #1 and I had to make a shot........ I'd take the forend OFF and put a Gene Begg's style plate on the barrel and have at 'er.......

you can spend your whole life dinking with that forend to get a half-minute rifle.

opinionsby

al
Click to expand...

Al is completely correct.

It's a red herring.

I messed with a 1V in 25-06 forearm for months and never got it to shoot.

A friend has an old style 30-06 that shoots 1/2", but it is out of the norm for #1's

I say the bbl is no good on the 25-06.

Ben
 
I had a No. 1 varmint in .223 and I agree the forearm is a buggar. Mine shot best with very little forarm pressure but the biggest improvement was replacing the hammer and tuning the trigger. I put a 300 grain hammer and spring kit in it and it started shooting 3/8th to 1/2 inch at 100 yards. Good luck with it.
 
Adding a spacer/washer between the forearm and the hanger to get the forearm floated will work. When you do this you might want to add a tiny bit of bedding compound to the action/forearm fit because when you added the spacer under the forearm you gapped the fit at the back.

Experiment and dry fit a half-moon shaped washer under the forearm. When you find the right thickness you can epoxy it in place.

You might also experiment with cardstock shims or even a tiny o-ring to get the wood free of the barrel metal. This can give you a hint to see if you're headed in the right direction without spending any money or a lot of time.

Also experiment with where you place the rifle on the bags. Moving the front rest back near the action can improve results.

I don't think there is any need or benefit to bedding the butt stock unless the fit there is awful. Just tighten the through-bolt really well.

The other thing that can cause problems with the No.1s is the fit to the scope mount rib. If it bears against the action face it might cause you problems. But fixing this is a bigger deal so leave it for last. If you have the version with the two separate mount blocks this is not an issue.
 
Tom,

Many moons ago, I had a #1 .220 Swift with a heavy barrel that shot for rubbish. Vertical on the order of two inches was the norm. I firelapped it with a NECO kit, and while it was easier to clean, I don't remember accuracy improving. I then bedded the forearm per Merril Martin's instructions, and added a Kepplinger set trigger. It then shot nice, round 5 shot groups in the 1/2 to 3/4 inch range. Obviously, the groups were not eye blinkers, but they were a damn sight better than before. I was shooting 40 grain Ballistic Tips and had them moving right along. It made for a serviceable ground squirrel gun.

I did not mess with, or bed the buttstock.

As an aside, when I firelapped the barrel, it moved my leade forward. I don't remember the exact distance, but I want to say it was .040.

Justin
 
Well, I think I'm gonna go with Merrill Martin way and see what happens. It's really mind boggling when you Google it and see all the stuff that comes up. One guy likes the Hicks Accurizer and the next guy says it doesn't work. One guy isolates the forearm from the barrel and the next guy basically mounts the forearm on the barrel with no touching of the action.

Years ago I had a #1 rebarreled by a company called Virgin Valley(now defunct) and they cut two dovetails in the barrel and mounted a piece of square stock and the forearm mounted tight to it and was basically hanging there all by itself. I don't know.

I do have a #1 SS Varmint in .204 Ruger and it has nothing done to it and it puts 39 Sierras using N-133 into really nice small groups. And it has a short throat to boot!

Tom
 
Ruger #1

when my 'smith re-barreled my Ruger #1B with a Shilen 1-9, 223, he put a small pressure pad at the end of the forend, saying most of his re-builds did best with the pad. i tried it and groups always climbed vertically by about 3" at 200 yds. Removed the forend took a hardwood dowell with 80 grit paper and removed all the wood contact with the barrel, back to the receiver. It is completely floated. Now will hold consistant moa with 5 shot groups at 200 yd, IF I do not let the barrel heat up: fire 5 shots, and set it aside for a while, etc. Some are reporting great success with the Hicks Accurizer.
 
John Kielly said:
What would I know but....

http://varminthuntinginternational.com/accurizingnoruger.html

http://www.rvbprecision.com/shooting/accuracy-tips-for-the-ruger-1.html

Actually, try this google yourself. There's maybe something worthwhile there for you:

bedding ruger #1
Click to expand...

I tried the first technique with a .223 #1 standard with 26" barrel, 32X Burris
It shot worse.
I took the wedge out, and it shot at best 0.5" 5 shots at 100y.
That would make it more like the second technique.
I put in a Kepplinger set trigger.
The trigger was allot better, even without even using the "set" feature. That taught me that a guy could make his own #1 trigger.

I lost that first rifle to a car burglary.
Then I got a used .223 #1 V 24" on an on line auction. I put a 25X Leupold on it.
It shoots at best 0.46" 5 shots at 100 yards.
I have not changed anything on the second .223 #1.
Why did someone sell that rifle?
It sure seems like a keeper to me.
 
Zebra13 said:
Tom,

Many moons ago, I had a #1 .220 Swift with a heavy barrel that shot for rubbish. Vertical on the order of two inches was the norm. I firelapped it with a NECO kit, and while it was easier to clean, I don't remember accuracy improving. I then bedded the forearm per Merril Martin's instructions, and added a Kepplinger set trigger. It then shot nice, round 5 shot groups in the 1/2 to 3/4 inch range. Obviously, the groups were not eye blinkers, but they were a damn sight better than before. I was shooting 40 grain Ballistic Tips and had them moving right along. It made for a serviceable ground squirrel gun.

I did not mess with, or bed the buttstock.

As an aside, when I firelapped the barrel, it moved my leade forward. I don't remember the exact distance, but I want to say it was .040.

Justin
Click to expand...
Justin,
I currently have a No. 1 in 220 Swift with a heavy barrel. I am experimenting with load development and using the Lyman Reloading Handbook (49th Edition) as a guide. I have purchased four different powders and four different bullets to mix and match. Since purchasing 40, 55 (two types) and 62 grain bullets, I have been told by other more experienced shooters that I should not use the 40 grain bullets because they are barrel burners and I should not use the 62 grain bullets because they will not stabilize properly with a 14 twist barrel.

So far, I have only tried Speer 55 grain FMJ with 38 grains of IMR 4064, with medeocre results. Not any better than I get with Winchester 50 Grain Soft Point commercial ammunition.

You say you got good results by bedding the forearm and replacing the trigger. Did you experiment much with loads? What about the stuff about 40 grain bullets and 62 grain bullets being wrong for the rifle???

I am disabled and find falling block actions the easiest kind for me to operate. I also like the slow deliberate pace of loading and firing a single shot rifle, so I would like to get the best accuracy out of my Ruger No. 1 that I can. Regularly shooting .5" 100 yard groups would satisfy my need just fine. What I really want to do is fire 1" groups at 200 yards.

Any advice based on your experience would be greatly appreciated.

Don
 
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Don,

I bedded the forearm on the #1 per Merril Martin's method as detailed in Precision Shooting about 15 years ago. It's been 10 plus years since I did this so my memory is a little hazy, but it involves sanding the back of the fore end so you have clearance between it and the action face, making a bedding pad for the hanger to rest on, and putting a dab of silicone in the barrel channel at the tip of the fore end. Again...this is from memory. I'd have to find the article to get the exact particulars.

The trigger I put on was a Kepplinger purchased through Brownell's.

40 grain bullets were/are probably not the best choice for the Swift, but as this was to be a ground squirrel gun where the ranges are relatively short, I was looking for a Kibbles and Bits load. Or, as Elmer Keith was purported to have said, "To hell with efficiency. I want performance". I wasn't too concerned with barrel life...

I was shooting 40 grain Moly V-Max's, not Ballistic Tips as I stated in my first post. Mea culpa.

I can't speak to 62 grain bullets as I have no experience with them.

My notes indicate that H380 was giving the best results. We're not supposed to give load recommendations on the site, but I will tell you they came from Nosler Reloading Manual #4.

I wish I could tell you more, but I didn't spend a bunch of time with the rifle...something shiny came along and the #1 became trade beads. At the time, I regarded it as more trouble than it was worth. Bolt guns were easier to deal with for me at the time. It might be fun to play with one now...

If you want a copy of Merril Martin's article, let me know. I will track it down and get you a copy.

Hope this helps,

Justin
 
A Simple Fix?

Having read about a simple way to improve the accuracy of a No. 1 recommended by none other than Elmer Keith, I decided to give it a try.

His suggestion was to make a spacer washer out of a piece of inner tube rubber and put it around the forearm takedown screw between the forearm and the forearm hanger. I made one yesterday and put it in place. I'll be at the range, this coming week and will see if it makes any difference.
 
I relieve the barrel so the wood does not touch it.
Sometimes I put some glass bedding around the screw.

I have bought (4) Ruger #1s used, and (3) shoot well.

The one that will not shoot is a 270, from my range report on the 270:
b) 0.86" 3 shot group @50 yards
c) 1.55" 3 shot group @100 yards
d) 1.88" 3 shot group @ 100 yards
Click to expand...

I am going to re barrel that one.
 
The DeHass method addresses the fact that the hanger flexes. Use his tap/setscrew process then bed the forend which works and will not bugger up the gun. Even if you float it you do not get around the hanger issue, been there and back.
 
tim said:
The DeHass method addresses the fact that the hanger flexes. Use his tap/setscrew process then bed the forend which works and will not bugger up the gun. Even if you float it you do not get around the hanger issue, been there and back.
Click to expand...

In "Mr. Single Shot's Gunsmithing -idea book" by De Haas on page 103 you see a chart of the (4) approaches he tried to improve the Ruger #1 fore arm:
#2 is free float the barrel.
#3 is drill and tap a set screw in the hanger and apply pressure to the barrel.

He compares group size and point of impact change with change in where the fore arm is placed in the rest.

I am big fan of De Haas, reading his books.

I am also a fan of Roy:
http://www.rvbprecision.com/shooting/accuracy-tips-for-the-ruger-1.html
Many articles have been written about drilling and taping the hanger for a set screw that bears upon the barrel. In effect causing the harmonics of the barrel to be adjustable and shift to some more favorable area. I've tried this on four of my Rugers and I have never witnessed an improvement over simply floating the barrel.
Click to expand...

What does it all mean?'
If the barrel is floated, it does not matter if the hanger flexes if it does not flex enough for the for arm to touch the barrel.
Just like in bolt actions, as long as nothing touches the barrel more than an inch and a half away from the receiver, then the for end of the rifle can flex, the position on the rest can change, and the zero stays the same and the groups stay small.
 
I bought a used 22-250 V that had a metal spacer under the forearm hanger when I got it and it shot in the 1/2-5/8" range. That as pretty impressive to me thirty years ago. Encouraged by that I bought a new #1 in 300 Wby that shot around 1-1/2". It's available velocity exceeded my 300 H&H by a meager 100 fps and the comb hit me in the cheek so hard that I'd have a headache in three shots. It went to another home before any accuracy dinking. More recently I acquired a #1 in 416 Rigby for much less than the value of the 5-3/4 boxes of Federal Ammo that came with it. To the extent that I've shot it off the bench with a 1 1/2-6X scope I'd have to say it drills. It's obviously a lot to manage off the bench but the really good news is that while it shoves me around pretty good it doesn't hurt like the Wby did. Must have to do with recoil velocity.

I can't generalize about #1s except to say that they are not target rifles, they are short and handy for their barrel length and they are beautiful to my eye.
 
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I always add a pressure pad at the end of the fore stock. Used to use half of a 12 gauge paper hull. Now use JB Weld. Then tune it with the hanger screw.

Typical group


9-7-082.jpg


Real world results at 1025 yards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm9SJ176GV8

In the video you can see that the wind has begun to blow hard. That is why I hunt at first light-- to avoid the wind
 
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