"There is an outside chance that this rifle will accompany me to Newfoundland for moose this fall. Having knocked off a couple moose with synthetic stocked '06's, I can't see any reason why a 7-08 Number 1 with a decent bullet wouldn't seal the deal."
It would be a good idea to pull the wood on those rifles and seal the insides. Every Ruger #1 I own (20) has only shown stain sprayed on and nothing resembling a sealing job.
I've seen the same on my Ruger M77s which in my book makes them fair weather rifles.
Case in point, a Ruger #1B in .300 Win. Mag. I took as the main rifle on an elk hunt. A fast moving weather front came in and there was some of the heaviest rain I've ever seen. The rifle and I were soaked to the skin. As far as the hunt went, we saw no elk. On the way home we stopped at a ranch to overnight, then hunt a few pheasants and head on home. While hunting, we saw a coyote running off with a pheasant in his mouth and the only rifle in the truck was my #1. Three shots and I never toughed him and no one could tell where the bullets were hitting.
A couple of days after getting home, I took the rifle to the range and couldn't even touch the paper. The guy next to me helped out by looking for the bullet strikes and said they were hitting just below the top of the berm which placed those hits over 6 feet higher than where I was aiming. Wasn't even enough adjustment in the scope to compensate.
To make the this long sad story short, it took over 6 years in Tucson's very dry climate before that rifle could be used again. The stock on my rifle literally soaked up water like a sponge.
I hunt my #1's but when it gets wet, the McMillan stocked 30-06 comes out to play.
Paul B.
