Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Ruger #1 accuracy expectations?

I've heard for a long time that the accuracy/precision of a Ruger #1 can be iffy. I'd like to hear from you guys about how your #1 rifles shoot. Post pics if need be. Thanks!!

The No. 1s made before 1990 were iffy, partly because of the barrels Ruger primarily used before they started hammer-forging their own barrels. The very early No. 1s featured Douglas barrels, and usually grouped well--but then Ruger switched to another barrel company where quality varied widely.

The was partly due to the often very long throats Ruger rifles often had back then--and not just in No. 1s but the 77 bolt rifles. My first No. 1 was a 7x57 with a throat so long that lead-cored 160-grain bullets had to be seated so long to come close to the rifling that they were barely held in the case.

But after 1990 the barrels not only improved considerably, but the chambering reamers had more normal throats. Since then I've owned a bunch of 'em that shot well out of the box--or if not, when I epoxy-bedded the tip of the forend.

Thanks for the info JB. Funny thing regarding the Ruger #1. A guy I know back in Oregon asked if I knew anything about accurizing a Ruger #1. I told him I never had one and he asked if I’ve heard of John Barsness. I said sure, and he went on about some of your accurizing tips regarding the #1. I told him you generally know your schidt, yet he struggled with his 25-06. One day he’d come to the shop waving a piece of paper in his hand with a 1” 5 shot group on it, saying I think I finally got this thing figured out. Then the next day he’d look like you kicked his dog. He’d show me some 3” groups from his temperamental 25-06. Now that I own one, I wonder if maybe his shooting style was a direct reflection of his group size? IE: put too much pressure on the forend and maybe it will string shots? Maybe the trigger was a little too heavy? I’m not overly happy about a 4.5 pound pull on my new rifle, but it’s pretty crisp, so I’m leaving well enough alone. I’m wondering if a Ruger #1 that shoots 1” 5 shot groups consistently at 100 yards, if that is average, or better than average with these rifles? Thanks

I’ve owned five #1s, and sold all of them. Yes slow learner. One of those I would call a 1” gun, the other four not even close to 1”. Two were 22ppc heavy varmint barreled guns.
I spent a lot on forend floating, pressure schemes and triggers, to no avail.

Thanks for your post dale. It’s because of reports like this that caused me to be overly cautious about buying a Ruger #1. Now the next guy is going to say he’s had 5 that all shot under an inch. One reason I started this thread. The Ruger #1 has an alluring side though. Probably why you kept buying them.

1973 Ruger #1 in 270 Winchester




130gr Nosler BT and IMR 4320 (4 shots on the left) at 100 yards




140gr Hornady SST and IMR 4350 at 100 yards




i killed quite a few deer with it, including 12 feet to 365+/- yards. it is just a plain rifle and it shoots great. i bought it at a gun show used for $300 (2007 or 08).

Very nice! Thanks for sharing. You did quite well. A great investment for sure. Now probably worth 4 times what you paid for it!! Looks like it shoots quite well too.

Not a lot of contributors to this thread. Thought there were more guys that loved these things. Here are the preliminary results of the new to me Ruger #1 that I started a thread on before I bought it. I had some questions regarding the rifle and you guys were very helpful. Much appreciated!! I wanted to thank you for helping me with this rifle. It turned out that the barrel had been replaced. Thus, as some of you guys suggested it may be even better than a factory barreled Ruger #1. From what I can garner from it's first couple range sessions, it is very consistent shooting. I'm running/loading a now discontinued Hornady bullet because that is all I could find locally. Besides some very light (80gr) TTSX. While it's not a 1/2 moa rifle, it's showing some very good promise with the small amount of load work up I've done so far:

I didn't adjust the scope. As you can see, the poi is pretty consistent. I'll take it:





Those first groups were shot on the 11th. I then retested a few of the best loads from that bunch yesterday and zeroed the scope. This was the last group fired yesterday, after zeroing the scope:


I'll keep working on loads, as soon as I find some different bullets. I think it's a keeper though.

Man, I can't see anything wrong with how it's printing those 120's at all.

I'd bet with a little seating depth adjusting you may do a little better, but if it's keeping 5 shots around MOA I'd hunt it all.

Great lookin rifle!

I have never had any accuracy issues with the #1. One I foolishly let go was a #1AB in 7X57 when I was having a 7X57AI built. My stable of #1's range from a 250 Savage to a 450/400 NE.
Try some 110gr Accubonds if you can find them.

I judge the accuracy of any rifle on how repeatably the groups are over time.

This was a Prairie Dog killer right out of the box and it's repeatable accuracy has been shown in the P dog towns

I would call all of the #1's I owned 1.2-2" guns. I had on old 06 that would usually shoot 1" but some days a bit more. Also a 7x57 that I could get some 1" groups. My expectations in general would be most loads will shoot 1.5-2" but you can tinker with loads to reduce that a bit.

It varies wildly. Roughly in the order I kinda sorta remember owning them ...

#1H .375 H&H blued 3 moa.

#1B .25-06 2-3 moa

#1V .300 Win Mag (bought used) .. would shoot near quarter MOA for a group of cold bore first shots, similar for second shots, similar for third shots, etc, however that group of second shots would be 2 MOA above the group of first shots, the group of third shots 1.5 moa higher yet, and so on 'til when it was hot, it would settle in and shoot quarter to half inch groups which were about 12 MOA above the cold bore point of impact. Let it cool completely and it would return to original point of impact.

#1V .220 Swift .. MOA. I had to do a lot of work to get it there. Pushing patches or cleaning rod down the barrel, there was a loose spot about 2 inches long mid-barrel where stuff would jump with almost no resistance.

Somewhere in there I had a brief "encounter" with a #3 in .45-70. It was minute of watermellon, no better, no matter what I fed it.

The last one was a stainless / laminated .375 H&H. After doing the fore-end hanger tension screw trick it stopped stringing vertically and because a very reliable 3/4 inch shooter with 260 grain accubonds and RL 15.

I don't care how good a rifle looks, it has to shoot accurately. MOA is about my break point .. ok on a game rifle, not good enough on a varmint rig. 3/4 MOA makes me pretty happy.

I don't have any #1s at the moment.

Thanks TOM and others. Very informative post TOM, I appreciate it! As for MicinColo, your post of you "judge the accuracy of any rifle on how repeatably the groups are over time.", that works well, but generally I can take a rifle out a couple times and know if it's a keeper. Group dispersion is not hard to read, nor is consistency. I look at POI as closely as I do group size. The cold bore group tells me a lot about a rifle, as does the first shot. If that first shot is out of the group by any discernable amount, I'm suspect of the true accuracy of the rifle. Generally there is a mechanical issue going on. Most times that can be corrected, but sometimes it can not.
Also group dispersion will tell you if your OAL is good. Like beretzs said, a little tweaking of that, may render better/smaller groups. On the targets I posted, the 54gr charge that I'm going with, shows a pretty round group with minimal 3 in 2 out, so I may not even mess with OAL.
Regarding POI: When you can lay a target over another one and the group covers the last one, that is a good sign. This new rifle is showing very promising results. Nothing wonky going on that I can see. Also, anytime you can take a new rifle out and it prints multiple 5 shot groups into less than an inch, that is a keeper in my book. The other day I shot 8 groups. I'll walk down to the target after each group, to help the barrel cool a little bit. Even on a 93 degree day, it helps just slightly. Doing this, it also tells me how the rifle/barrel reacts to heating up.
I'm glad guys like TOM and JB and others gave their input on these #1's because I've read some of JB's stuff regarding the #1. That was quite a while ago though, and like I said, I've heard many reports like TOM's to make me a little nervous about buying my first #1. It's funny because I've always admired the looks of the #1, as it seems many of you do as well.

I will admit, that it looks like I got extremely lucky on this one. Also, for those of you that don't know, the reason the price went down to $600 on this one was because the shop that had it could not get the trigger to work. It was not cocking. The shop owner and I get along very well and he knows I work on my own guns. I told him I'd risk it and buy parts if need be. As it turned out, it was a very simple fix that did not require parts. All in all, a very good deal on what looks like a decent shooting rifle. When I first looked at the rifle, I thought it would shoot well, considering the bore looked perfect and the crown is perfectly machined. In my mind, there was no reason this rifle would not shoot well. Unless there was some other reason Ruger #1's were inherently inaccurate. Such is not the case, from what I can see. I'm thinking the iffy accuracy/precision issues may actually be the Ruger barrels used. Not the platform.

Others that know more about them, please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks!!

BSA, I forget what Ruger's stated accuracy guarantee is now but early on id was something like 2" at 50 or 100 yards. Sorry, I don't remember which. Of the many #1s I own, most will do one inch or slightly better A couple won't do better than 3.5" but I'll work on them when I find time. Except for the last few hunts I've done, all my hunts from 1975 to date were with a Ruger#1 in some shape or form. My last five elk hunts were on private ground and the ranch didn't allow single shot rifles. I got an elk on every one of those hunts with one shot from my custom Mausers, yet no one shooters allowed. They did cater to handicapped hunters for some hunts so I qualified there. Probably my favorite #1 is the "A" in 7x57 but there are 4 #1s chambered to the .300 Win. Mag. that shoot under a half inch with 200 gr. Speer Hot Core and stay near half inch with 200 gr. Nosler Partitions. Looks like your rifle is a decent shooter so I won't offer any suggestions other that what others have said about playing with the seating depth.

One thing I will say is remember that it basically a good weather rifle. Dunno how snow might affect the rifle but I got caught in a nasty rainstorm in Oregon on an elk hunt. I was hunting with my #1B in .300 Win. Mag. The rifle and I were thoroughly soaked and U had to take the rifle apart to dry out the insides. Never saw an elk. On the way home we stopped and a ranch up at King's River Nevada for some pheasant hunting before going on home to Tucson. While bird hunting we saw a coyote running off with a pheasant in it's mouth. I had a deer tag for the area so my .300 was in the truck. I shot several time, no hits and my buddies couldn't see where the bullets were hitting. Brother yote made a clean getaway. When I got home, the foreare was difficult to remove due to a lot of swelling. Took the rifle to the ranges and it was shooting at least six feet or more high. I removed the wood, tore the gun down again for another drying just in case and stared the wood in my shed. Get real hot in the simmer, roughly 120 and sometimes higher. Once a year I took that wood and put it back on the rifle, sighted in and checked things out. It took a bit over 6 years to get back to normal. This does lead me to wonder how changing humidity condition may affect Ruger rifles, especially in places with wide swings. Southern Arizona is pretty dry all year round and when I lived in Winnemucca humidity didn't seem to bother the two #1s I owned back then, a 30-06 and a .300 Win. mag. That .300 was the one caught in the storm.
PJ

I love the story buddy. Thanks!! If I were still in Oregon, I'd definitely not hunt this one during elk season. You know from experience that it gets wet there. Sometimes the elk even look miserable when they are soaked. I swear I ran into a group of cows one year and they were so drenched that they just looked at me as if to say put me out of my misery!!! That same year, I ended up shooting a spike and it looked like a wet dog.
Well, I have a story to share with you. I was just at the range. One of my favorite places to hang out:

That thing just looks sweet, doesn't it? I'm glad you appreciate Ruger #1's. Its probably been a long time since you were in Winnemucca, but here it is:

Rifle pointed at the 400 yard berm^^^

Got lucky today, as it felt too windy to be shooting. You know how it is here. But I managed a 1.5" group. Can't complain about this custom barreled #1!!!


That is a flat based hollow point interlock, which I have never seen before. My book says the bullet is "discontinued". Maybe it blew up on game or something??? They shoot pretty damn good for a flat base.. That was a lucky group though. The others I shot were more in the moa range:



Not the best scope for shooting at 400 yards, but it is what it is... Zeiss 3-9x42 with RZ6 reticle. I look forward to trying some more stream lined bullets in this thing.