Were the older red pad rifles more inclined to be accurate or inaccurate? The other 1A I had was a late 80s rifle and shot about 1.5" without any load development.
The general consensus on INTERNET FORUMS is barrel quality and the resulting accuracy of Ruger No. 1s produced prior to 1993 is spotty. (Wilson was sourcing most of the barrels until Ruger began producing them in-house.) I believe most of this is patently exaggerated. (I like to call this BULLSHIT.) I do know you tend to see a lot of long throats on Wilson-barreled No. 1s, but then again, you were supposed to be able to handload for one of these without the confines of a magazine and in other cases (like 7x57mms) the prevailing factory loads for a time were very long-nosed bullets.
I would think unless your No. 1 has been assaulted with a cleaning rod, you'll be just fine.
