Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots No.1 257

I have a No.1 in a 257 Bob that i bought off a friend that didn't shoot it much. i had, and currently have other No.1's but cannot get this one to shoot as well as the others. I do reload, but have not found that right recipe yet. My groups are about the size of a baseball. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated. Thanks, Paul

bed the forearm 3 inches in back, float the front of it ?

Thanks pete, i will give it a shot!!!

I would add that once the fore end is bedded to the hanger, make sure there is no contact with the receiver too. It should only be contacting the hanger. You can see if it will work by shooting it with the fore end off of the gun and rest the receiver on the front bag. It approximates the above treatment.

I’ve had some work this way and some that needed a pressure point between the hanger and barrel. Also, do the usual things like check the crown, ring tightness, etc.

Old70

Is there a logical order to try in the fore end treatment? A pressure point would be easiest to do and undo then the bedding. Any other in between steps?

Bed the hanger and bearing steps on the back of the forend while maintaining business card clearance on the barrel, then bed the bottom curve of the forend/receiver and create and few thou clearance between the receiver and forend sides. Maintaining the same clearances, create a pressure point of glass about 2 1/2" forward of the hanger screw. Bed the stock if there is any hint of movement. Instal a thin rubber washer between the trigger spring and hanger. lThen go shoot!!!

All good information guys, i appreciate it. Thanks, Paul

I had a 1A in 7x57 that responded fairly well to the bed/float regimen, but I decided to try something I read about. I drilled and tapped a small hole in the hanger and installed a set screw and pressure pad, and created an adjustable pressure point, similar to the Hicks accurizer. After some playing with tension, the gun shot very small groups as long as the barrel was cool. Might be worth a try if the bedding doesn’t work.

Old70

Thanks Old70, That makes sense. I will give it a tr as well.

One might check the throating of the factory barrel.

The O-ring fitted over the forearm screw between the forearm and hanger is an easy to try thing.

Relieve the wood from touching the action.
Bed the front of the fore arm.
Put a plastic wedge tight between the barrel and the hanger.
Works for me on #1s and #3s.

I gonna share my experience with a Number One B in 257 Roberts. It's a decent looking rifle but nothing special. Took it out for the first time-no good. My go to bullet is the 87gr. Sierra. Bad beyond words. Started simple. The screw up came from shooting cartridges made up for another rifle. The throat on this rifle is near a free bore. Picked up some 100gr. Sierra. Problem gone. Excellent accuracy. The rifle shot well with 4350, Varget and RE-17 . I will not touch that forend...ever.

i also have a 257 roberts in a Ruger #1 it shoots wonderful and i never have had to do anything with this rifle,but it might be because the 257 roberts does not have the pressure or the recoil like a 257 weatherby mag. does ? thats why i had to bed the back of the forearm 3 inches and float the rest of the forearm on my 257 weatherby mag which made a difference in my group size and accuracy too. another thought in gun gack 2 book that Mule Deer wrote he mention some factory barrels shoot flat base bullets better , some barrels shoot boat tails better and some shoot both great ,Mule Deer even explains maybe why that is kinda ? those 2 books Gun Gack 1 & 2 are a real good reads that may help you with your rifle . good luck with your rifle

Admin100,

I have a No. 1-A in 257 Roberts, that shot patterns, not groups. I finally quit trying to solve the problem by reloading.
I bought a Hicks accurizer, glass bedded it and the forend, free floated the forend and relieved the wood contact at the receiver.
All of this provided an improvement in accuracy, and then I tried Barnes 80 gr. TSX bullets. Bingo, sub- MOA accuracy.

Number 1s in 257 Roberts usually have excessively long/deep throats. They work better when rechambered to 25-06.

Ok I am in the process of fitting a semi-inletted forearm to a #3.
I am worried about getting the wood tight up against the receiver. Should I leave a slight gap there? The vertical section as well as the radius at the bottom?

Should I go ahead and bed it from the get go? Bed it before finishing the wood or before?

When you bed the hanger, are you filling the area between it and the barrel with clay or taping it off somehow? I have bedded actions before, but when I look at that forearm, I am scratching my head trying to figure out how to actually bed it.

It is currently 223, but I plan on getting a 257AI barrel for it.

As others have suggested, the bullet can make an amazing difference. We read this all the time it seems, then one day we (me) find out for ourselves! My experience: I fit a 257 caliber barrel blank to a Ruger 77 Mark II action. Chamber it to 250 Savage Ackley Improved. Load 20 cases with a book load of H414, 10 cases with Speer 100 grain JHPs, and 10 with 100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. Set up at the bench all excited to see what a quality Shilen barrel is gonna do! 5 rounds of the Speer JHPs at 100 yards print a 2.5” group. What a disappointment.... Then put 5 of the BTs in a group. All one ragged 1/2” hole. What a difference a bullet makes! The BTs repeat their accuracy at a 200 yard target (1/2 moa). Try a few different bullets before micro adjusting powder selection. I always start with Nosler Ballistic Tips because of accuracy they’ve given in other rounds/calibers, too. They show me what’s possible accuracy wise. Doesn’t mean you have to use a BT if you need a heavier constructed game bullet, but they happen to work great on medium size Georgia whitetail deer, and let me know the capability of a barrel.

I have a few Ruger #1s in various configurations. Some shot good right off the bat and some, well to be kind were trying to imitate shotguns and not quite making it. The #1B in .257 Bob came with five boxes of Norma ammo and when I took the rifle to the range to try it out, the first five shots grouped slightly under an inch. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Too bad Norma doesn't make ammo for the .257 anymore.
One #1A I got into cheap was in .270 Win. Baseball sized groups at best. The original owner had free floated the barrel in hopes of better accuracy and messed things up. I made a shim from a credit card and placed it at the tip of the forearm. Instant 1.25" groups. Good enough for hunting.
One thing I've noticed is most Ruger #1s have fairly deep throats and seem to prefer the heavier for caliber bullets. I have three #1's in .300 Win. Mag., one B and two S models, one of which is a 200th year of American Liberty. I haven't shot hat one yet but the other two are tack drivers with the 200 gr. Speer Hot Core. I'm kind of sorry Nosler dropped their 200 gr. round nose partition as that was the real winner shooting .25 to .50" groups in the #1B. Velocity for the 200's was pushing 2900 FPS.
One thing I learned the hard way is Ruger does not seal the internal wood on their rifles. That goes for the #1 and M77 as well. I once got caught in a heavy rainstorm on a hunt in Oregon. A few days layer I got a shot at a coyote and nobody could see where my bullets were hitting. Got home and took the rifle to the range and the bullets were hitting at the top of the berm, almost 6 feet above point of aim. The stock and forearm were noticeably swollen. I placed the rifle out in my shed and took it out about once a year to see where it shot. It took a bit over 6 years to have it shoot to POA once more. I now consider Ruger rifles to be strictly fair weather guns. YMMV.
Paul B.

my Ruger #1 that i hunt deer ,antelope,other small animals with in a 257 Weatherby Mag. is S.S. laminated wood, i did take this no.1 apart right away and seal all the wood as i do with all wood rifles i hunt with. my Ruger #1 S.S. laminated wood stock 257 W, Mag.has never failed me out west or Minnesota snow,rain,wind or below zero weather in 15 years in accuracy and this #1 has always killed plenty game for me at distances out to 700 yards and as close as 40 feet with my handloads,Nightforce scope,a harris bi-pod ,either 100 gr, Nosler partitions or Swift a-frame bullets. this #1 lays in my truck cab all fall every fall in cloth zipper case or on the floor standing up butt stock down -barrel up to save a my target crown.my son has the same Ruger #1s.s. laminated stock 257 W. Mag. too, son has had no problem either in 10 years he has used this # 1, my thought was my only son who loves to hunt deserved a great rifle too so i built him a Ruger #1 same as mine ,we hunt together same rifle,same ammo makes it much easier for the both of us ,i even have a spare 257 W.Mag. for our spare rifle. we have both seen some very nasty wet, cold, snowy ,below zero weather and my go to rifle is this old Ruger #1 -257 W.Mag. always, this old #1 shoots 3/4 inch at 100 yards ,1 inch a 200 yards seems to shoot better farther away,might be because of the speed -not sure ? Pete53