Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Ruger No. 1 Question....

This may be wrong forum to post this but I my guess is perhaps I'll get some less emotional answers here. What is it that drives people to obsess on these guns? I can see the reasoning behind a bolt action, a semi auto, or a bull barrel single shot target rifle but why a single shot configured like a No. 1?

For hunting purposes, putting meat in the freezer with as rapid and humane as possible dispatch of the animal (imho) I see a single shot as a handicap and for target shooting very generally speaking a heavier barrel will give you better overall results.

I understand there are some advantages, less action stretch, than in other designs. Is this the big deal and is action stretch something I need to add to my list of things to be OCD about? Do people just like the way they look? I can see that because they do look pretty cool but cool has limited value in the trenches.

Bottom line is I've seen a few over the last few months on the classifieds and I want to understand more about their appeal.

Thanks,
ned

I'm a carefull hunter that waits for the right shot and never have had a problem with a single shot.( no Texas heart shots for me) This question confuses me when you ask why does somebody like one type of gun. Some folks like a bolt action they paid 3K for and the next guy like a $150 H&R single shot or maybe a Remington semi auto with a 10 round mag. or a black powder rifle.I have accepted this a long time ago.I don't own a cell phone.Maybe thats the reason I like single shots.Honest question.

Fair enough. Perhaps I worded my question poorly. I'm 100% behind whatever floats your boat and if this is the compelling reason then that's great. I just wonder if there was something I was not factoring into it.

I too choose my shots carefully and the only time I've pulled the trigger more than once is when a piggy stuck around to keep the one I just shot company. But for me anyway a couple in reserve is a warm fuzzy...

They are elegant guns and I may soon need to have one, or two...

Ned,

I think, perhaps, that you may have just answered your own question...

I choose one of my #1's mostly because I just love the rifle or the chambering... I endeavor to make myself profiecent enough that I have the confidence to make ONE well placed shot. I suppose it may be a matter of pride. But I would ten times rather take a small antlered meat buck with a sgl shot than make an 800 yd shot at a trophy. (And NO, I have no disdain for the long range hunter...) We merely do things differently...

GH

Ned,

The Farquharson and its children are elegant, and have been since the 19th C...jim

I killed 3 deer in 2010 with a Ruger #1 in 7mmRemMag.

This one would have been an easy shot with a bi-pod at 380 yards, it were standing still. But it was moving, and the other guys there [hunting with bolt guns] said it sounded like a machine gun, I fired 3 shots so fast.

You can see there are only 2 rounds left in the ammo belt on the stock.

One shot is plenty...they are good looking rifles and shoot pretty well when they are tuned up right.

I guess it goes with confidence. Even when packing a bolt action, I typically have one in the chamber and nothing in the mag. Same with shooting ground squirrels. The mag will hold ten, but I load and shoot single shot.

There is zero advantage to a #1 in any situation. Had one, and hated it...

Here are ~ 50 articles about the #1:
http://www.classicsportingarms.com/?page_id=189

For an engineer - gun nut, this book is a dream come true. I hate gun writers, but I love de Haas.


From page 318:
".. One of the major design and construction features of the Ruger action is the breech block and firing pin arrangement. To make this one of the strongest and safest single shot actions ever produced, Ruger insisted that the rear of the breech block exposed above the receiver be solid an closed. Previously in circumstances like this, other gunmakers merely made the firing pin tip integral with the hammer nose, as witness some of the German made single shot actions. Ruger, however, intended his action to be the best ever, regardless of cost, and this called for a solid rear breech block wall and a separate and easily replaceable spring retracted firing pin in a straight line, or nearly so, with the bore. How he achieved this is seen clearly in the sectional view drawing."

I like to load hot, and the #1 is the safest action for that I have found.

The aesthetics, the inherent strength, compactness and light weight of the design compelled me to buy one. The trigger, moving point of impact and money spent attempting to make it shoot acceptably insured that I'd never buy another one.

if it is a new gun, send it back to ruger detailing your accuracy problems. they have a good reputation for making it right. if the trigger pull is out of specs they will fix that too, unless you want a light trigger which they won't do.

This happened back in the early 90's, and I was told by the factory that everything (grouping, trigger pull) was within their tolerances. I haven't been inspired to try another of their products.

Is there a classier rifle out there?

ned,
For hunting purposes most of the time the first shot is when the animal is stationary and unaware of your existence, and you normally have plenty of time.
If that shot misses the second and third are hurried and the animal is heading out for the next county!
Tell me again about the disadvantage of a single shot rifle, I must have missed it.
I like the extractor, and the ejector, and the breechblock,
and the fact that gas can't come back and blind me in the event of an overloaded cartridge.
I like the fact that they don't have a cheesy pot metal floor plate. No feeding problems! Most of all they look good to me.
YMMV
whelennut

As a 14 year old I drooled over that rifle and I have owned 1/2 dozen since . Logic and emotion don't readily mix. Quite simply there are very few single shots that are elegant like this one is.

I bought a used Ruger #1V 223 on an on line auction.

This is the first target after I sighted in.

Who would have sold this rifle?

You do realize that a bolt gun can be loaded one at a time too... and they offer a place to hold extra ammo, offering quicker follow up shots. Bolt guns also eject to the side, not to the rear.

Because-

There's no accounting for taste!

I love my Ruger #1V .220 Swift so much it is almost sinful.
I can only remember one time when I needed to shoot twice, when I hit one across the bridge of his nose. Other than that one time, one shot is all I need.
whelennut