Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Ruger No 1-H Tropical accuracy

I have one chambered in 375 H&H. Have a Jard trigger on order (factory pull was 4.75-5.25 lbs) and working up loads (mainly Speer and Barnes 235). Considering taking on a cow elk hunt with season ending in late January.

What's been folks' success on getting the #1 Tropical to shoot well?

If you can return the Jard, I'd start with that. Those things are HORRIBLE. I've had several that flat broke in pieces; you could see the voids inside the casting. Pure potmetal. Their CS was atrocious as well.

Shame, since they're fellow Iowegians.

I have a stock I-H in .405 WCF that puts Hornady factory 300 grain bullets into 1 1/2" at 100 yards. I haven't started reloading for it but I sure like it so far. It knocks the snot out of whitetails, too.

I got lucky. My 416 Rigby puts 3 of every bullet I've tried into an inch at 100 yards. Best group was a .56" with a 335gr cast LBT. Scope is a 1.5x4.5 Nikon.
Play around, most of the Tropicals I know of shoot very well.

I've had 2 #1s in .375/ The first was a blued gun back in the mid 80s. It was never particularly accurate. The second was a SS/laminated gun probably around 2005 ... ish. Initially it strung vertically. I had a local gunsmith install a set screw between forend hanger and barrel. He cleaned up the rather crusty trigger while he was in there. Stringing went away. It would put 3 260 grain accubonds into 3/4ths of an inch with a max load of RL15. I wish I still had that one.

Tom

Ive owned two, a 375 H&H and a 458 win, both with proper hand loads were consistent 1"-1.3" three shot group at 100 yards off a bench rest rifles
the 375 liked the 300 grain round nose hornady (no longer made) the 458 liked the 405 remingtons (hard to find)
both were damn good but heavy hunting rifles (youll appreciate the weight it reduces recoil)
I swapped to sako, remington, CZ and weatherby bolt guns in those calibers
and while I don,t regret swapping, to new rifles, in those calibers, I regret selling the ruger single shots as they were nice rifles.
these rifles in those calibers are rarely used at extreme ranges, and they are great hunting tools,
I found the speed you could get a second shot was not an issue as with practice it could be done very rapidly, but I seldom ever needed a second shot...
no Im not a superb shot but I can regularly hit a 3" circle at 100 yards from a sitting position with a sling with most shots well inside the target dot.
and nothing walking takes a well placed 300-400 grain bullet impact in the vitals and shrugs it off.

Well said.

I have a 405 in #1H stock from factory. I put a Leopold vx-2 2-7×33 on top.

It shoots factory 300s as well as handloads in 300. I think my best load is with 300 Barnes TSX
With pretty stif charges of Benchmark and H4895. Good accuracy with most groups under 1.25" at 100 yards.

Best group was two thru same hole with the third about an eighth inch away. My factory trigger is fine

I only have one Ruger #1 now, but I have owned several over the years.
The one I have now is a 9.3X74R I traded for. It is wonderfully accurate and shooting under MOA is easy with it. I have shot a lot of clover-leaf groups with my 9.3X74R at 100 yards.

I have had some that were so-so in the past and 4 that were MOA or sub-MOA capable. As a gunsmith,I have worked on a large number of them in the last 45 years or so. I have seen some that would not stay inside 6" that were made in the 70s.

The #1s made today are not as well fitted in their action parts as some I saw made in the 70s, but the new ones have more accurate barrels in them as a rule. Getting poor accuracy is now rare. 2 MOA is not usually a problem at all, and most will do 1.5 or 1.3 MOA with the loads they like. Now and then you see one that is REAL accurate, and when you do, it's a good idea to keep it.

But to reply to the OP, any 375 that can hit a chicken egg at 100 is going to be all the rifle you can ever ask for, ---- for killing elk. Elk are big. They are sometimes hard to find, but not hard to hit.

My 375 H&H with Boddington series wood shoots like this very consistantly with Varget and RE15.

I have a .475 Turnbull in a #1H, and it is amazingly accurate. No problem keeping 3 shots under an inch at 100 yards

I have a 450-400 3 inch that shoot factory 400gr bullets consistently at 1- 1.5 at 100 yards. I would ;like to find a reduced load with a bullet around 300 grains to make it more pleasurable to shoot and use it for deer hunting. I would think a 300gr slug around 2000-2200 FPS would be about perfect.

GPS, try Trail Boss and light weight cast bullets, lots of fun and very accurate in my 416 Rigby.

I'll look online for some cast bullets in the 300gr range. My 416 Taylor liked the Hawk 325gr. How many grains of Trail Boss would be a good starting point?

Here is an older post of yours that akjeff gave same data on - he liked 29 gr Trail Boss with 300's. I also have a No. 1 450/400 and have tried that load and agree - shoots well and is fun to shoot. Mule Deer also gave some guidelines on another of your 450/400 threads in working up reduced loads with 5744. I haven't done that yet with mine, but will eventually.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/10775344/Load_data#Post10775344

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...63/im-confused-on-load-info#Post12282663

JGray thank you so much for linking those old posts. My computer crashed and burned about a while ago and I needed a new one so the stuff I had saved was lost. Other projects have come up and the Ruger has been neglected. I'm no whiz on this thing and would have never even thought to look up older posts. Once again the good folks here come to the rescue and I thank you, I doubt the deer will be happy.

Glad to help - I have those threads bookmarked for my own reference so were easy to find!

I think the Tropicals (especially black pad models) usually shoot well. My .375 H&H shot well with a stout charge of Varget under 260 Partitions. I have not benched my .458, but it seems to shoot very well. My .475 Turnbull is jaw-dropping, 3 shots touching at 100 yards is common. I'm starting to work with a .450 Nitro as well.

GSP, I use a near max book load in my Ruger 450/400 for the 400 gr DGX that I stepped down with the 75% rule used in double rifles for a 300 grain load.

Hornady 8th. Edition
450/400 Nitro Express 3"
Winchester LRM primers
70.0 grains H4350
1/2 inch backer foam wad approximately .60 length
300 grain Hornady SPT ( for the .405) Winchester
Crimped in cannelure

This load shots about an inch higher, in my rifle, than factory Hornady 400s.
It's a helluva lot easier on the shoulder too! I can only shoot 6 or so factory 400 in the #1, while a box in my double rifle is no problem.
I haven't chronographed this load. But probably in the 2200-2300 range.

Getting 1 1/2 inch groups at 75 yards, nothing to brag about but certainly good for deer where I hunt, will try at 100 next trip to the range.

Also, in Graeme Wrights " Shooting The British Double Rifle " 3rd Edition, ( great book!) he list the following practice load:

BELL brass
Federal 215M primers
63 grains Reloder 15
Dacron filler
210 grain .410 jacketed pistol bullet
2170 fps

As with all reloading, start 5% low and work up
I have all the components but haven't tried this one yet.
The 210 grain Hornady XTP 41 caliber pistol bullets probably would overexpand but I bet it's hell on coyotes.

375 H&H Number One Tropical

While sighting-in a 1.5-5x Leupold, I found that my 260 gr Accubond loads with Reloader 15, were printing right around 1" - 1.25" at 100 yards. Three shot groups. From sitting, not using a bench!

First game I took with that rifle was a black bear at a bit over 300 yards. One shot and down, finished. I shot from sitting using shooting sticks for support.

The rifle was pretty much as built by Ruger.

Yes, they can shoot very well.

Regards, Guy