Forrest Halley
AH legend
....after having drooled over it since I was a kid and catalogs were folded pieces of paper. I used to memorize the leaflets for the various manufacturers and one which always stuck out in my mind was the Ruger catalog with the No. 1 Tropical. Something about the large calibers just got me excited and made my imagination run wild. It was always too much or too late or something similar getting in the way. So earlier this year I caught a bug and limped into the safari calibers in the cheap seats. I purchased a T/C Encore Pro Hunter in .375 H&H. I figured since I know the gun well it would be a great way to play with the caliber without overly committing. So I did the normal adding weight to the stock tricks and using a scope with big eye relief, but it just never took hold. The trigger was heavy and the recoil was, while not painful, very fast and lively. I just am not a fan of something so light for caliber that requires an agressive hold and flawless technique to avoid the scope eliminating all eye relief.
So fast forward a few months and I found a used with character Ruger No.1 in .375 H&H. This is not so easy to do anymore thanks to the introduction of the .375 Johnny Come Lately. Anyhow, I saw this old girl and just had to have her. She has a beautiful stock with a few dings and dents. There was some rust to brush off. There was even a dead bug in the breach. The perfect rifle! So now I don't have to worry about messing it up, just focus on shooting and respecting it. I tore it completely down and scrubbed it clean.
The last owner left me with a very light trigger and the ejector turned off. I turned the ejector way up and left the trigger light. I changed the safety to a Legacy Arms Works aftermarket safety. It is very nice and doesn't hang up empties. It still wears the tired red pad. I have not gotten a chance to change it yet.
I skipped the iron sights completely. That rear sight is unappealing and can stay folded down. I used Warne Permanently Attached rings and mounted a 30mm Leupold VX-R Firedot 2-7x33. I am happy so far with this set up although it took a lot of torque to get the scope rings to stay in place on the quarter rail. Much more the 25 in/lbs.
Figuring that the red recoil pad was going to eat my lunch. I cautiously loaded a PPU 300gr soft point and braced for the storm. Uber light trigger broke and rifle roared. I was still standing and my eye was not bludgeoned. Levered the empty out and took note of where I hit the target. Rinsed, repeated, and survived again. Two shots next to each other. Dialed in some corrections and sent the third round. Got it dialed in roughly, but the shoulder began to tenderize after the fourth shot. By the fifth and sixth I was weary and the barrel was hot so I gave it a rest. Off hand 30-35 yards. I am very excited to be custodian of this lovely lady for a while and easing out of the cheap seats into a real rifle.
So fast forward a few months and I found a used with character Ruger No.1 in .375 H&H. This is not so easy to do anymore thanks to the introduction of the .375 Johnny Come Lately. Anyhow, I saw this old girl and just had to have her. She has a beautiful stock with a few dings and dents. There was some rust to brush off. There was even a dead bug in the breach. The perfect rifle! So now I don't have to worry about messing it up, just focus on shooting and respecting it. I tore it completely down and scrubbed it clean.
The last owner left me with a very light trigger and the ejector turned off. I turned the ejector way up and left the trigger light. I changed the safety to a Legacy Arms Works aftermarket safety. It is very nice and doesn't hang up empties. It still wears the tired red pad. I have not gotten a chance to change it yet.
I skipped the iron sights completely. That rear sight is unappealing and can stay folded down. I used Warne Permanently Attached rings and mounted a 30mm Leupold VX-R Firedot 2-7x33. I am happy so far with this set up although it took a lot of torque to get the scope rings to stay in place on the quarter rail. Much more the 25 in/lbs.
Figuring that the red recoil pad was going to eat my lunch. I cautiously loaded a PPU 300gr soft point and braced for the storm. Uber light trigger broke and rifle roared. I was still standing and my eye was not bludgeoned. Levered the empty out and took note of where I hit the target. Rinsed, repeated, and survived again. Two shots next to each other. Dialed in some corrections and sent the third round. Got it dialed in roughly, but the shoulder began to tenderize after the fourth shot. By the fifth and sixth I was weary and the barrel was hot so I gave it a rest. Off hand 30-35 yards. I am very excited to be custodian of this lovely lady for a while and easing out of the cheap seats into a real rifle.
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