Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Ruger No 1S, 7mm Rem Mag

I'd been seeking a smaller bore Ruger hunting rifle to compliment my 375 H&H No 1 Tropical. Came upon a nice example, of a 20 year old rifle which had been shot very little, then cleaned and put away. Price was right, cartridge was known to me and quite acceptable for my hunting. Soon it was in my gun tinkering, handloading & fly tying room. Beautiful condition! Wood isn't fancy, but it's just fine. My 1970's 3-9x Leupold wasn't doing anything important, so was popped atop the Ruger.


Took it to the range, with a box of 140 gr Remington factory ammo, which averaged 3145 fps, and shot right around one moa. Got the rifle dialed in nicely at 200 yards and did a little practice to 300 yards.




Most of my past experience with the 7mm Rem Mag has been with 160-175 grain bullets, and I had some on hand, but this season's big hunting effort will be in Wyoming, for pronghorn and mule deer. I am more interested in lighter bullets at this point, so the handloading commenced with 140 gr Nosler Accubonds, and an old favorite, RL-22. Things have gone quite well. The rifle is still right around one moa, and velocity of the handloads is just shy of 3200 fps, with room for more. Noticed, not surprisingly, that the groups got better and the SD shrank as heavier powder charges were used.



Some things might change. I might tweak the load a bit. I might replace the 1974 vintage Leupold with something newer. Or... I might just do a bit more practice with things the way they are, and call it good. The rifle is tight, feels great, and shoots just fine. I'm a happy man at this point, just hoping to draw the appropriate tags and make the trip to Wyoming once again. Have had excellent success there in the past.

Regards, Guy