|
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,559
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,559 |
Does anyone know a good reputable gunsmith who specializes in accurizing No. 1's? I'm not talking about rebarreling, that'll be a last resort. I'm talking about guys who specialize in doing all the little tricks to tune these things and get the most out of them.
Yes I know there are all sorts of things I can do myself including handloading. Just trying to find out if I can send mine to anyone who actually specializes in doing these things. Seems to me I heard of a couple that do but that was many years ago. If there are any close to southern NM that would be a bonus...
Thanks,
George
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 11,833 Likes: 3
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 11,833 Likes: 3 |
I don’t have any advice for you. My experience was not successful. I had four #1s . Three were heavy barrel varmints. Two gunsmiths that are quite competent worked on them, not on the same rifle. I was not successful in getting sub 1” accuracy.. I do reload and I spent a boat load trying to get them to shoot accurately.
NRA Patron
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,051
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,051 |
I had a Varmint stainless in 22-250. The smith I used did great trigger work but everything else about him was smoke and mirror. Broadcreek I believe. I gave up since my rifle was never consistent. The scope position was a bitch and never liked the look of offset rings. Love the look but it just wasn't accurate enough for me.
NRA LIfe Member, Colt, Sig, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armorer, NYBIN , NYPD Firearms Examiner, Serial Number Restoration, Cerakote, Gunkote, and Duracoat finishes
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,126 Likes: 1
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,126 Likes: 1 |
I am betting that if you:
-relieve the fore end wood from touching the action and sides of the barrel -remove a little wood at the fore end tip and add a dab of bedding material -put a snug fitting piece of stiff plastic between the barrel and hanger -and then do a little hand loading
You will get to 1 moa or less and will have a repeatable poi from session to session. A trigger job after that would depend on last results and personal desires of performance.
Just my experience and opinions. BUT I am not a specialist. Just done a few for myself. Tim
Last edited by michiganroadkill; 12/10/17.
"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." Albert Einstein
At Khe Sanh a sign read "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected never knew".
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 12,440 Likes: 5
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 12,440 Likes: 5 |
I am betting that if you:
-relieve the fore end wood from touching the action and sides of the barrel -remove a little wood at the fore end tip and add a dab of bedding material -put a snug fitting piece of stiff plastic between the barrel and hanger -and then do a little hand loading
You will get to 1 moa or less and will have a repeatable poi from session to session. A trigger job after that would depend on last results and personal desires of performance.
Just my experience and opinions. BUT I am not a specialist. Just done a few for myself. Tim You left out one thing. The rib that the scope rings mount on can be a problem. Check the rib at the rear and see if there is some space between it and the receiver, If it makes contact with the receiver, as the barrel heats up and expands regardless of how slight, it can and will affect accuracy. Sometimes happens right after the first shot. It's a first class bitch removing it to remove a slight amount but sometimes it has to be done. Paul B.
Our forefathers did not politely protest the British.They did not vote them out of office, nor did they impeach the king,march on the capitol or ask permission for their rights. ----------------They just shot them. MOLON LABE
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,559
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,559 |
I'm surprised. I would've thought someone would know of a good smith out there who specializes on these things.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 8,723 Likes: 6
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 8,723 Likes: 6 |
McGowen used to work on them, they still advertise Hi and Lo walls, rolling blocks, but not No. 1’s. After that you may check with the people over at assra.com or the Ruger forums. Years back I had a smith install a hicks device, bed the forearm and float it. Even at that time it was tough to find a smith that wanted to work on them. Good luck.
Swifty
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,256 Likes: 38
Campfire Kahuna
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,256 Likes: 38 |
There are probably several reasons not many gunsmiths work on No. 1's:
1) Demand and hence production of No. 1's has dropped considerably. 2) The barrels and chambers on the No. 1's made since the early 1990's (when Ruger started hammer-forging their own barrels) are far more consistent, so "accurizing" often isn't necessary--and when it is, not much needs to be done. 3) Not many gunsmiths really understood them in the first place.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,563
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,563 |
I have never tried to install a Hicks Device, but bedding a No. 1 is easy enough. Start by bedding the three points of contact between the hanger and forend. Then remove enough wood from the rear of the forend to allow it not to contact the receiver. Finally open up the barrel channel so that the forend does not contact the barrel. My No.1V in .22-250 was a consistent 5/8 inch shooter with five shot groups, even with a huge jump to the rifling. It was obviously one of the Wilson barrels. My No.3 in .223 was a consistent 3/4 inch shooter for five shots. I got the bedding and floating how to from a Jon Sundra article from the late '70s or early '80s.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,126 Likes: 1
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,126 Likes: 1 |
"You left out one thing. The rib...."
I know that is the next step, but results have been acceptable to me without that. I did however try to remove one once, but gave up before I wrecked it.
"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." Albert Einstein
At Khe Sanh a sign read "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected never knew".
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 28,432 Likes: 9
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 28,432 Likes: 9 |
FWIW, those ribs will come off but you have to do so before mounting a scope, or a better way to say that is if you do mount a scope you can't crank down on the rear scope base.
The rearmost rib screw lies right between the rear scope mounting dovetails and if you crank down on the scope mounting screw it squeezes the rib around the screw, physically locking it in place. Plus, as far as I can tell those aren't super duper hardened screws so an allen wrench will strip out the head long before the rib releases the screw.
I found this out by removing the two rear screws to mount an XS sight, and with a quality allen wrench that fits well they came out fairly easily. Then I put them back in and mounted a scope, tightening down both bases as one would normally do. Then after some load development when I tried to remount the peep sight that rear screw wouldn't budge for love, money nor a plethora of cuss words, and the head stripped out with a ridiculously low amount of torque, I'd guess about 20 inch/pounds or so.
At least this was my experience with two recent No. 1's. From other reports over the years those screws have always been notoriously hard to remove so I was a bit surprised they came out readily enough on mine.
Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery. Hit the target, all else is twaddle!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,559
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,559 |
Thank you for all the advice guys. Like I said, I was already aware of most of this stuff but being inherently lazy and sorely lacking in skill, I was hoping there'd be someone whom I could just send it off to to get it done. By the way Mule Deer (John Barsness) I've been reading your stuff for a very long time. Longer than I care to remember . It's a pleasure to see out here on these forums actually contributing. Thank you...
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 10,928
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 10,928 |
http://www.eabco.com/I haven't used them but they appear to be worthy. They bought the Hicks Accurizer. I have one and it works on my 1980 257 Roberts #1.
Last edited by Stan V; 12/11/17.
All American
All the time
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,875
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,875 |
A rubber washer between the forearm and barrel turned my #1 257 Roberts into a sub MOA rifle.
Retired and Loving It!! ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 7,994
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 7,994 |
kk alaska
Alaska 7 months of winter then 5 months of tourists
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,256 Likes: 38
Campfire Kahuna
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,256 Likes: 38 |
Dryfly24,
Thanks for the kind words!
Except maybe "I've been reading your stuff for a very long time. Longer than I care to remember." Of course, I may have been writing stuff longer than I care to remember.... :-)
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,559
Campfire Tracker
|
OP
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 3,559 |
Dryfly24,
Thanks for the kind words!
Except maybe "I've been reading your stuff for a very long time. Longer than I care to remember." Of course, I may have been writing stuff longer than I care to remember.... :-) Lol, dang. Sorry John, that was my attempt at self-deprecating humor. Didn't think how it could cut both ways. . .
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 319
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 319 |
Try Steve Durren of Adrain, MI. He is a ACGG member and has helped me a lot on my Ruger No. 1 project.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 515
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 515 |
I tried many of the "tricks", and would get good accuracy, but not consistent POI. So I settled on putting hicks devices on my all my #1's except an RSI that needed nothing to shoot sub moa and maintain POI. Takes a little dremel work to the forend, but has worked every time.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,256 Likes: 38
Campfire Kahuna
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,256 Likes: 38 |
Yep, the Hicks will sure settle POI down--as will the trick of drilling and tapping the front end of the forend hanger for a small screw that does the same thing, putting a precise upward "pressure point" on the barrel.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
|
|
|
|
381 members (160user, 06hunter59, 1Longbow, 22kHornet, 2500HD, 1badf350, 32 invisible),
2,471
guests, and
1,084
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,194,783
Posts18,536,223
Members74,041
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|