Cabelas has the Ruger No. 1 on sale for $800. I've always liked the thought of this rifle, but a little quick googling leaves me wondering if it's going to be an expensive project to get it to shoot well.

What do y'all know about these?

I've owned and sold two single shot Rugers. One was a No. 3 chambered in .22 Hornet. It shot well, not great. Someone wanted it worse than I and paid handsome, so it found a new home.

The other was a No. 1 chambered in 30-06. Again it shot ok. The factory trigger was less than desirable. But it looked elegant and the action was smooth. I'm sure with a trigger job she would have really come together. But I just never loved it.

Had one in .30-06. Used it to harvest deer for years, all (except one) were one shot kills. Let my son at age 15 harvest his first deer with it 20 years ago. I gave it to him several years ago.
Not the most accurate but with handloads did OK.

PC

Well thats a great price to start. A used one?
Which barrel/caliber though? Heavy varmint, or 1A light sporter, or 1B medium sporter?
They are regarded as finicky, and highly dependent on forearm pressure impinging on the barrel.

Some are great, some are meh.
I'd say jump on it at that price and run a full range of loads through it to get a feel how its going to work for you.
Rugers barrels of late are not bad at all.
A simple bedding fix may turn it into a tackdriver if its lacking now.

What are you hoping for in terms of performance? Minute of Swamp deer at 40 yds or ground squirrels at 300yds?
Poke around on the Ruger forum....

These are new rifles on sale at Cabelas:

http://www.cabelas.com/product...7&rid=12&WT.tsrc=AFF

I like the looks of the No 1, but don't think I could tolerate a poor shooter, and don't think I want a project gun. I was thinking about the 7mm-08, kind of just because. Practical use would be an occasional deer hunt.

What is the likelihood that it will need a trigger job and/or stock work to make it a 1 moa shooter? Any other recommended caliber? .450/400 nitro? Not so practical for me, but I don't have anything like that yet.

I REALLY wanted a .450/400 but talked myself out of it.

I have two, an RSI in .243 that was my high school graduation present 30 years ago, and a .475 Linebaugh that I bought (instead of the .450/400) a couple years ago.

The 475 wears irons, the 243 a scope. For years I didn't think my .243 shot very well (though plenty well enough for hunting). At some point I full length bedded the fore stock to see if that helped. It did a little.

A few years ago I decided to lose the 3x9 scope and replace it with a 1x4 with a lighted reticle. What I learned, 25 years in, is that my rifle was fine, it was that stupid 3x9 scope.

I checked the zero on sunday and fired three fairly quick rounds, a smidgen over 1". For a mostly random handload, not having shot ANY rifles in nearly a year, not having shot that rifle in a couple years, with a 4x scope in the rain, I think that group is pretty dang good. Certainly good enough for any shots I'm going to take at a deer.


(oooh I shouldn't have looked at that link. That's a dang nice price. .450/400 is very expensive to feed though. But if it were a month later, or a month sooner, I'd probably be buying it)

I have four Ruger No. 1s. Mine are chambered in 204 Ruger, 280 Rem, 30-06, and a 458 Lott. All mine have shot decently out of the box, but they don't shoot sub moa. However, I find them charming. I absolutely love how short they are. They are great to pack around, and there's just something about getting it done with one shot.

I will say this, though. A No.1 will take bad recoil and make it worse. Ten shots from my 458 Lott, and you need to go have your retinas reattached. Not that recoil would be a problem with a pipsqueak like 7mm-08.

Side thought about the 450/400 chambering. I would avoid that particular 40 caliber, and jump straight to a 45 caliber. You should be able to easily find a 458 Win Mag, have better performance, and much cheaper ammo than a 450/400. With modern powders the 458WM can do everything my Lott can, and I see used No.1s in 458 all the time. Having a 458, in Lott or Win Mag, also gives you access to a large spectrum of bullets, from the 45-70 bullets for light loads, up to the 550 grain pachyderm thumpers, if you're a hand loader. Not nearly so many bullets available in the .405 bore.

Bottom line for me. What the No.1 gives up in accuracy, it gains in charm, while being accurate enough for most hunting chores.

Edit to add:
Crap, I just realized I have five. I totally forgot about the 375 Ruger. Apparently, I'm a forgetful fan of the Ruger No 1. My 204 and my 375 are both stainless on laminate stocks. Too bad those are discontinued. I get that Ruger wants to keep the No 1 traditional to its Farquharson roots, but I find the stainless "K" series has its own unique charm. And durability in bad weather.

Had a Number 3 in .223 for years. Don't recall the scope it had but it would do right around 1 inch at 100 yard with just about any ammo I used.
Like an idiot I sold it.

Ref: .450/400... yes, I want to say that's not the round for everybody, but it's really not the round for most anybody. It's not something most reloaders/handloaders would even want to mess with.

If you're looking for a tack driver to shoot matches with, it's the wrong rifle. If you're looking for the classiest, handsomest deer killer in camp, it is absolutely the rifle.

I've had two, and still have one, a Liberty (1976) in .270 Win. Love it and it is plenty accurate to kill deer.

For that kind of money you could buy a very nice and very accurate Tikka. I know, apple's and oranges, but still.
A no. 1 is a handsome rifle though.

My Ruger #1's are my favorites, sometimes you have to fool with them a little bit, usually a little piece of paper in the barrel channel is all it takes for sub moa groups.

Bought a 6mm Rem Ruger #1 well used, the throat was completely filled with copper. Cleaned it for a while and now it is probably my most accurate #1.

I love them.

passed up an international in 7X57 years ago for $500. I'm often not too bright.

I’ve got one in 45-70. Not the most accurate rifle I own, but not the least either. With a load it likes, I can get 2-3” 5-shot groups at 100 yards. Mind you, I’m not the worlds best shooter, and most of what I’ve shot has been handloaded lead bullets of one sort or another. I don’t have any complaints about the trigger on mine, but I’m not a huge fan of how high up the scope sits. I keep meaning to switch to a peep sight, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. All in all, it’s an interesting gun and I’m pleased I bought it. Can’t say I really want another all that bad, but I’m happy with the one I have.

- Bret

Great rifles, love or hate relationship.....had a few, settled on a 270 1B and 7x57 1A. A 257 Rob 1A was nice but did not shoot well even with hand loads, 25-06 was a great shooter and accurate, 223 was dismal.

Tend to vertical string with groups as the barrel heats.

All have a pressure point at the receiver to forend point that needs relieved and the forend needs a micro washer for float.

Walking around you catch the lever and open the action.

Still would like to find a 30-06 1B.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RivahRat,

So I decided to get one of these from Cabelas, but I decided a day late and they are showing out of stock online. But persistence pays off. I was able to find the two stores that had one in 7mm-08 in stock (according to customer service), and I actually got them on the phone and bought it. $25 shipping to my FFL, hopefully going out today or tomorrow.

I say persistence, because it took about a dozen phone calls to customer service, local stores around the country, etc. Cabelas is a piece of work in this regard. Online, gun counter, and the gun library are all independent distribution channels with no guarantees of transferring inventory across channels. If anyone wants one of these, perhaps in a different caliber, let me know and I'll elaborate further as to the best way to go about it.

Now to decide on a scope. I'm thinking minimalist, like maybe a fixed 4 power. Most likely this will be used for deer, with a maximum of a 300 yard shot. Most likely shots will be closer, so I don't want to put something too bulky on it. I want something good, but that looks good as well. After all, this gun isn't going to do much that my Sako 30-06 won't, other than be styling.

Used to be good friends with a retired gold mine blacksmith, he had a Remington Hepburn 40-70 straight taper single shot. Cast his own bullets and the works.

Back in the 50's the old timers with the single shots were many times the best shots in the county, this was because many two piece stock single shots require you to be able to do everything the same every time to win matches or make great shots. He had worked his Hepburn over with supreme care, I never saw him loose a match. Off hand, sitting, prone, from a bench, he knew that rifle and shot it well. Little dings in the stock indicated where he was best to place his cheek on the rifle, he used the exact down pressure with his cheek and could vary the point of impact with a slight increase or decrease.

He knew distance through the performance of his bullets, sometime he would pace it off after the shot, but he knew where the bullet would strike from the thousands of rounds he had shot at various distances, it had become second nature to him.

The rifle club passed rules to keep him from participating in all relays because no one could beat him.

This is part of the legacy you follow with the Ruger #1, I love it!!

Now it seems customers want the factories to do it all for them, then check distance with a range finder, wind velocity with a little gadget and adjust a scope.

I wonder is this an improvement?

I use one in .223 for varmits, and my 30-06 has taken deer and elk. With handloads the 06 will shoot under an inch at 100 yds. I’m a fan. Trying to work a deal on a 7 mag currently. Get one. You’ll enjoy it.

I find the No. 1 International to be one of the most beautiful rifles.

I have longed for an 80's (red pad), chambered for .243.

I will continue to watch this thread, for the opinion of those who own them.

quote:

Originally posted by honestlou:
Now to decide on a scope. I'm thinking minimalist, like maybe a fixed 4 power. Most likely this will be used for deer, with a maximum of a 300 yard shot.

Since I have five of these, I have a variety of scopes on them. By far my favorite is a Leupold VX3i 2-7x33. The Leupold has great lines, and the smaller scope interferes less with the loading ramp. I have a 30-06 with a Zeiss, and the larger eye box on the Zeiss gets in the way more. I have to reach under the scope to load it.

I’ve toyed with the idea of putting a scout scope on a No.1 to get the scope fully off the feed ramp. With my No.1 in 458 Lott, I think I’ll put a 1.5-5x20 on it. I have that same scope on a 375 Safari, and absolutely love it. I’ve always been a bit of a minimalist when it comes to scopes.

Congrats on the 7mm-08. I have one in 280 Rem, and it's a fun shooter.