Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Ruger #1 lever slop?

Hoping for suggestions I have a ruger #1 that has some slop or play on the lever latch, not much but enough to bother me it can move when closed and can make noise.
Any suggestions short of welding it up and refitting?

Thanks Chris

For what it's worth, my new 1V is a little sloppy too, but doesn't rattle unless touched. My late brother's 200th Anniverary .270 did the same thing. He glued a little piece of plastic in the slot. It might be possible to bend the spring a bit to increase the tension.

Interesting, apparently this is a flaw that has crept into a lot of production rifles. I recently bought a No. 1S .30-06 and it does the same thing, the tab that holds the lever shut isn't tight so you can jiggle the lever ever so slightly up and down.

I might have to call Ruger to see what their suggestion is.

My guess is they'll say it's "within spec", the catch-all phrase that's all the rage with gunmakers these days. My brother's trick worked well and was invisible. A fussier person could use metal and solder it in I suppose (he was fussy enough to have a pristine Kimber of Oregon .22 and a couple of nice double guns rust-blued, but whatever). As long as it doesn't rattle just from movement, I don't much care, but it's another, albeit minor reason I somewhat prefer the 1885s to the Rugers, even though I own both.

Ruger is one of the best companies to work with on issue with their products.
Call them.

My stainless .45-70 is the same. I put a small square of electrical tape on the lever just ahead of the latch where it contacts the trigger guard. Problem solved, no "click" when the lever is bumped.

I have seen a few No.1's where the lever latch did not engage the trigger guard surface well enough. It appeared kinda loose and would allow the lever to disengage the guard with a bump on the lever itself. The lever latch surface in front of the little screw is the surface that controls how much movement(bite) the lever latch has into the slot on the guard. I tried prior to this, a new spring in the area, but to no avail. I had to change the range of movement of the lever latch for more purchase into the guard.

FWIW

My 70's vintage #1A 7x57 had the same issue, and I used the same cure. Had to replace the tape after a couple of years but it solves the problem.

Redz06. I was thinking about that but I can already see day light between the lock and the lever in the middle. Maybe I will mark it to see how much I can change it without it coming out of its groove.

My instance was not that much. My hook was not engaging the guard very well, a bump would push the lever down. Only took a little off that one surface and cured my particular instance.

I have not seen a gap like you described, but thought it would have latched up tight before that gap showed up. Never a surprise in the gun stuff huh?

I am sure you have studied the interface of the guard and the lever lock until the cows came home. Wonder if a new lock piece from Ruger would help? Hope you get the issue settled out.

Probably a different issue but I saw one that the client wanted noiseless for stalking. The smith added two Teflon washers to the lever hinge pin and it took the play and any noise out.

Yours a new latch and spring might be in order.

On Number Ones I have had and on the one I have now, the issue has been twofold. First, the lever was loose and rattled. Second, the breech block did not rise up enough and the firing pin struck low. My cure was to drill a 1/8 inch hole on each side of the top surface of the lever, right under the block. I then inserted a pin into each hole and silver soldered them in place. Then it was a simple matter to file them to the appropriate height so that they just lifted the block up the extra .015" it had to go. This got the firing pin striking center and took all of the play out of the lever when it was closed up. No rattle. GD

Hmmmm, that sounds like a pretty good idea....

I have a 300H&H that has a simular issue.

I think I might have to try that.

Thx,
Todd