Indulge me...Ruger no 1 thoughts

[Beck]

Im certain this topic has been covered before but my search skills didn't yield a result.

I only recently bought a .375 H&H in a bolt action. Of course, because this sickness spreads quickly and it's symptoms are predictable, I'm already thinking about another rifle.

And the more I look at Ruger No 1's the more I am getting smitten. What has happened? Brief, lustful crush or is a Ruger No 1 a thoughtful add to the safe? Thinking .416 RM or either of the .458's. I know there are some die hard fans on here. Why do you love them? What makes them different for you? Any different technique to shooting that action? Thoughts, funny limericks and, of course, pictures and info are appreciated.

And what makes the Tropical version different?

Thanks all. You are mostly fine folks, but I fear you are all a bad influence.

I've never shot one, but everyone who owns one seems to love it....Maybe I need one? God damn it the disease is spreading!

 

[Beck]

I have two No. 1s a 30-06 and a 416 Ribgy and I love them both.

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Jesus, look at the size of that buffalo, and the beautiful wood stock on that gun. I think the disease has gone airborne now.

 

[Beck]

I fell in love with the simplicity of the Ruger No. 1 and now own four. It's my favorite rifle to hunt with & while sitting in a stand, I have taken deer with them ambidextrously off both shoulders depending on which way I had to turn. I have a 6.5x55, 275 Rigby, 303 British & a 9.3x74r which are all excellent choices for hunting in the southeastern woods of the USA. I have two Winchester 1885's with long octagon barrels in 375 H&H and 405 Win but these rifles are not nearly as compact & nimble as my Rugers even if they are both fun to shoot.

While all of my single-shot falling-blocks are nice, I really like the ones chambered for a rimmed cartridge a lot. The rim makes it easy to grab the end of the bullet especially when wearing gloves or pulling it out of a cartridge holder. Loading the rifle with a scope over the breech is easy with a long cartridge so my No. 1S chambered in 9.3x74r is particular favorite. Ruger No. 1's can be a bit of a challenge to scope properly since you need more eye relief but my Minox ZA5 1.5-8x32 is an excellent choice on that rifle.

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My 9.3x74r ammo makes the 6.5x55 look tiny

Personally I like smaller scopes on these rifles so options similar to the Meopta R2 1-6x24 RD I have on my 303 British are a good choice to consider. I had a larger S&B Klassik on my 6.5 Swede for a while & to my eye it looked disproportionately big for the size of the compact rifle.

I briefly considered getting a larger bore Ruger No. 1 Tropical at one point. Because of my aforementioned penchant for rimmed cartridges, I was looking hard at the 450/400 as an option. I briefly got dragged into a bidding war on a rare 404 Jeffery because I love classic chamberings but the other guy was loonier than me so he prevailed. Eventually I settled on a left-handed bolt action 458 Win Mag in case I ever go up against anything big & dangerous. That doesn't mean I won't eventually own a larger Ruger No. 1 one day. Acquiring them can be addictive.

How does the Meopta glass compare to the Schmidt and Bender?

 

[PARA45]

I'll have to say that the No.1s are elegant and sexy.

 

[odonata]

How does the Meopta glass compare to the Schmidt and Bender?

One of my favorite hobbies growing up was photography so I've always had an appreciation for good optics & generally don't mind paying extra for a really nice scope. To be totally honest, I don't make really tough demands on my rifle scopes since most of my hunting is done at moderate distances in the woods. That's why I often favor the lower magnification ranges. I have three S&B and Leupolds, two Swaro, Minox & Meopta and one each of Zeiss, Nikon & Redfield. For my particular usage, I'm glad to say there's really not a bad one in the bunch.

With my glasses & defective eyesight, the main feature that I prize is generous eye relief and a forgiving eye box. Single shot falling blocks have a reputation for being a bit harder for getting scopes setup on and all of my scopes do a pretty good job of that.

But if I was going to be really critical, then I would have to give the nod to my S&B 1.5-8x42 Stratos, S&B 1.1-4x24 Zenith & the Swarovski Z6 1.7-10x42 as having the superior glass. There is a clarity & a quality to them that I do like a lot.

The two Meopta's I have are the R2 1-6x24 RD & the MeoStar R1 8x56 RD fixed. I like them both and the quality to my eye is on par with my Leupold, Nikon or Minox. My only complaint (and it's a minor one) is that the reticle on my 1-6x24 is on the thin side. But I got a good price on it so it was a compromise I was willing to make. I would have no reservations about buying another Meopta but having said that, I do tend to buy from the higher-priced end of their product line and that's all I have experience with. So I can't comment on their more affordable scopes.

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

Big fan of modern single shots here. I fell for a No. 1, 26" barrel, .25-06, at a gun show in the late '80s in Palmer, Alaska. Apparently, the No. 1 wasn't a popular rifle back then in AK, and she looked like she was getting lonesome, so the owner gave me a good deal--$425.

Smitten, I added to my harem over the years and now own five more: a .22-250, .257 Roberts Sporter, .300 WM, .405 Win stainless, and a .45-70.

Also acquired a couple of exotic ladies, a Dakota Model 10 in .280 AI and a Luxus Model 11 (take-down switch-barrel) in .30-06 and 7-08.

Comparing them as if they were cars, I'd say the Rugers are pickup trucks, the Luxus a Lexus, and the Dakota a Porsche. And yes, a pickup carries more of a load than a Porshe.

 

[leslie hetrick]

maybe not the best, but not the worst by a long shot. these are extras right now, looking for good rifles to mount them on.

 

[tarbe]

I bought my first No 1, a 45-70, in June 1975 at the ripe old age of 17.

My first load entry in June of '75 was 300gr Hornady HP and 48gr of IMR 3031 with a CCI 200 primer in a Remington case.

Second entry was 500gr Hornady RN, with ladder loads of 3031 from 50 to 53 grains. Per my records the 53gr load had 0.0015" case expansion but easy extraction. I did not get a chronograph until 1978...so could not measure velocity. Same case and primer as the 300gr load.

Recoil was brisk in the 7.25 lb rifle!!

I currently own two No 1, a Boddington Kudu in 300 H&H which has taken quite a few head of game in RSA (by both myself and Bullthrower338) and a 375 Flanged Magnum that has not yet been hunted.