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.

View attachment 673435View attachment 673436

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.

View attachment 673479

View attachment 673480
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.

 

[Schüler Jumbo]

The Ruger No.1 has beautiful lines and the Falling Block Action is extremely strong akin to artillery engineering design. In skilled hands the No.1 is fast with follow-up shots.

 

[JohnCZ]

It's threads like these that keep me broke. I have zero need for a big bore currently and my 9.3x62 does every thing I currently need. Then a Ruger No.1 in 458WM comes along and here I am. What the hell do I need a No.1 or a 458 for? Or is this the first step on the path? Hmmmm.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

It's threads like these that keep me broke. I have zero need for a big bore currently and my 9.3x62 does every thing I currently need. Then a Ruger No.1 in 458WM comes along and here I am. What the hell do I need a No.1 or a 458 for? Or is this the first step on the path? Hmmmm.

Yes!

 

[Noah_McCoy]

I bought my first No.1 earlier this year boy it’s a hoot to shoot. It is a 22 hornet and very accurate, It’s shot one hole groups at 150 yards with my hand loads if I do my part at the bench. Crows and Groundhogs beware.

 

[allranch2025]

My two friends, 7 Rem mag and 338 Win mag, gone to good home

 

[BlackRhino]

I own a Ruger #1 in 9,3x74, a Browning in .45/70 and a Hagn in .30-06. All are great falling block rifles, they come in handy and shoot very well. Hagn is too notch. However, I was unable to improve a very inaccurate, good looking Ruger #1 RSI in .243. We separated!

 

[JohnCZ]

Itch scratched but not a Ruger No.1, relief came from a new Winchester M70 Safari Express in 375 H&H. Now awaiting the approval from the governing gods and I can pick her up.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

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.

 

[dogcat1]

In cold hard reality, the No. 1 is a gun from yesteryear or from the target crowd. They are simple and accurate.
Think this way - until the lever guns showed up after the American War Between the States, every long gun was a single shot. Wars were fought with single shots.

So, using one is not really a big deal other than you better be certain you can load, shoot and reload efficiently.

I have a few, love them, would never take one on a dangerous game hunt. I would never use a bow and arrow on anything that I want to kill cleanly and effiently. I would never use a pistol of any caliber on any animal over 75 yds away or that had sharp teeth, claws or a bad temper.

We have the luxury in 2025 of using a variety of toys/tools to hunt with. USE THE WEAPON THAT KILLS CLEANLY AND EFFICIENTLY. Leave the toys at home.

 

[Red Leg]

A No. 1 may be a lot of things, but a toy it is not.

I love single shots, and consider them to be in many ways the ideal "stalking rifle" for deer of any species - but particularly whitetail, red stag, and roe deer. I have never had a desire for a big bore version for dangerous game for all the reasons that @Scott CWO mentioned. And as others have noted, the recoil from a No. 1 in such a loading can be rather brisk.

As @rookhawk notes, more than any other production rifle of which I am aware, the basic No. 1 represents a canvas to create really unique firearms. I have posted these photos elsewhere, but these two No. 1's were purchased almost forty years apart.

The first started life as a .270 No. 1 B purchased through the Rod & Gun in Wertheim, Germany in 1975. I used it over the next five years to take a large count of roe deer, several red stag, and probably a dozen wild boar while stationed there. The engraving was done in Ferlach, and was a gift upon my departure to the States. A couple of years ago I had RJ Renner rework the forend and add sights and barrel band to give it a Germanic stalking rifle look that now far better matches the engraving.

The second is in .300 H&H that I found at Hendershots some years ago with an unfinished stock. A great stock man in Virginia finished it, and I then had color case and rust blue metal work done by Turnbull. I think the result is very turn of the last century English stalking rifle, and I think it would fit in very well with any Gibbs with which it shared a gunrack. I have hunted it quite a bit as well.

I would be remiss in not giving credit to what I believe is the finest single shot made today. My current favorite whitetail rifle is a 7x65R by Baily Bradshaw. It is long, elegant, and supremely accurate.

So yes. Do find a great single shot. I would simple suggest it be in a chambering that will get a lot of use.

 

[Throwback]

For nostalgia's sake my son and I just used my grandfather's (his great grandfather's obviously) Ruger No. 1 in 270 for a hunt right before Thanksgiving. We both shot it quite a bit at steel out to 300 yards and felt comfortable with it. Earlier this year I put a new Trijicon scope on it plus we used a bipod for this hunt but other than that it is as my grandfather used it for hunting.

My son dropped a blackbuck right at 250 yards with one shot. We were using Hammer bullets, 124 grain. Worked like a charm. He made it look easy.

When it came time to shoot my Iranian Red Sheep we could not get closer than about 360 yards. I have never shot an animal over about 250 yards. It was pouring rain that morning too with a about 8mph wind right to left btw. Well, I set up with the bipod, dialed in 350, checked my wind call, took my time coaching myself through the fundamentals, etc... and let a round fly. Dropped him right there on the trail he was on. We then ran up to a slightly closer vantage point and I put another round in him from 300 yards.

I really like the fact my son appreciates using my grandfather's rifles. His plan is to kill something with each one eventually. Funny thing is we have about half a dozen of em so this will get interesting! Cheers

 

[AZDAVE]

@Red Leg That 270 is nicely done however the 300H&H is stunning.

I didn't know you had a Bradshaw. I concur on the caliber and the just plain definition of what a stalking rifle should be.