Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Dumb Question about a Ruger #1

I've never been around one at the range. When pulling down the lever to unload is:

1. spent shell ejected or must it removed manually;
2. if ejected, where? To the right, left, straight back?

Thanks.

It has an ejecter,however it has a spring that can be taken out and it acts as an extracter.The case comes straight back.Hope this helps. Huntz

Actually, you can adjust the tension on the screw which activates the extractor. That allows it to snap with as much or as little force as you prefer, little even including none. Empty cases often strike the forward flange of the safety, however, so even cases kicked out with considerable force are often left in the groove. As with anything the #1 requires some learning and practice for practical field use. Often this includes a quick tip to the side to clear a case that has been stopped by the safety.

Absolutely correct. Sometimes the case when elected will strike the safety and bounce back into the trough and sometimes even back into the chamber. Not much of a big deal while at the range other than some slight aggravation. However, one a hunt it is a real problem should a quick second shot become necessary in order to prevent a wounded animal from getting away. The easiest solution is to tilt the rifle to the right as you operation the lever to extract the fired round. With a little practice, it becomes second nature.
One can practice rapid reloads using a couple of dummy cartridges. It doesn't take too awfully long to get your speed up with a little daily practice.
Paul B.

The guys above are correct about the safety/ejector conflict. A reason that some serious #1 rifle loonies have a flush safety machined into the tang....absolutely drool worthy

I never did understand why the folks at Ruger set up the safety they way they did. If they put an ejector on the rifle then they should have it eject without hitting anything.

Not every No. 1's safety interferes with the ejection port.

Since some don't interfere, why not make them so all don't interfere? I just don't get it. I do realize that some single shots have a device you can set either to eject the case cleanly or have it hit a stop, but there is no similar adjustment on my #1.

Don't know and don't care. It's not much of an issue to me and apparently in the 42 years that the No. 1 has been in production, it hasn't been much of an issue period.

Gee, I didn't realize this was such a big deal.

I set the ejector spring on my No. 1's depending on what I want from the the rifle. On my .22 Hornet, for instance, I set it so that the case comes out just hard enough to hit stay in the trough in front of the safety, so that I don't have to go chasing around in the prickly pear for cases when shooting prairie dogs.

With other rounds I may set it to just extract, or set it really high and file down the top of the safety a little to allow the case to zing free. Or maybe just tilt the rifle a little while ejecting the case, as Klik described.

Since I have hunted a lot with single-shot rifles, however, that even an extractor-only SS can be shot pretty damn fast with some practice and motivation!

I have not missed game with my #1 because of the safety in the 29 years I have hunted with it, so I suppose it is not a really big deal, but I have always been curious why they designed it that way.

I figure mine aren't used for DGR purposes, so I'm not going to worry. If it was an issue, I'd either get Ruger to correct it for me or take the Milli Vanilli route and let one of the talented No. 1 gunsmiths take a crack at it. (Check out the recessed safety button on the 9.3x74R in the Single Shots section.) Even so, my 1A in 7x57 completely clears the safety button and the ejector is set to launch well into the next county.

My 1A in 7/57 does not. I wonder why they are different?

As a reloader, I like having the brass at my fingertips instead of flying who knows where. The safety is easily modified if a person wants brass to fly clear. I adjusted the tension of the ejector spring to kick the brass lightly against the safety for easy pick up.

I have thirty one of #1s. The .375 H&H and the .405 Winchester are the only ones -- longer cases with wider mouths ?-- that hang up on the safety nob. With them, I do a quick flip to the right, and reload with almost no hitch.

1B