Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Takeoff barrel for a Ruger No 1?

I have a chance to pick up a very nice Ruger No 1, but it's a 22-250, and I have no use for that cartridge.

I hunt deer, antelope and elk, and even if the 22-250 is a viable deer and antelope rifle with the right bullets, the old, slow-twist barrel will not utilize the new, high-BC bullets to their maximum advantage. Besides, I have a nice .223, so the 22-250 is redundant.

Are there inexpensive take-off barrels available in mid-range calibers (.243, 250 Savage, 6.5x55, 7x57, 308, etc.) that I could simply spin on, headspace and go shooting?

I don't know but it would seem you are risking getting a Pre 1990 barrel. Ruger outsourced barrels before then and lets just say accuracy could be problematic.

Whilst your intention is possible, it is unlikely to work like it does on a Remchester. Generally, No.1 rifles and take-off barrels don't work well.

As the extractor cutout in the breech is timed specifically to the action and headspace it is common that the take-off will either line up with the action or the headspace will be correct. Having both come in on specification is unusual in my experience.

Rebore.

Might take a few months, but you'd get the cartridge and twist you want, not have to settle.

The problem I have found is finding a good reliable smith to work on a No.1. Most don’t even want to mess with em for various reasons. I have talked to these people a couple of times and would suggest you do the same.
http://www.bosesguns.com/
Notice the 60 buck up charge just to work on it.

that 22-250 is a great cartridge for deer and antelope ,before you spin the barrel off try it for a year,you will be surprise how well that cartridge/caliber will kill deer.

The problem for the OP will be a twist that won't shoot the bullets he likely wants to use. If it were me I'd go rebore by Dan Pederson in AZ.

Edit to add: I've never used Pederson's services before but based on good reports and my satisfaction with the concept of reboring based on JES's work I'd happily use him for any smaller caliber needs I come up with.

I would just wait and buy one in the caliber you want may sell my Ruger #1 Red pad in 7 X 57 in the future nice wood and accurate.

I seem to remember that Ruger will re-barrel a Number One fairly inexpensively, but only in the same cartridge... No cartridge swaps.

Anyone know for sure?

Guy

That's what I was told by Ruger maybe a decade ago when doing research for an article about rebarreling. In fact all of the manufacturers I contacted said they would rebarrel only to the original chambering, probably because otherwuse rifle loonies would be sending in their rifles every time they got a whim for a different rounds. Back then the price was $75, but have heard it's gone up considerably since, though nothing like having a gunsmith screw on an aftermarket barrel--especially on a No. 1.

Just called Ruger. It's roughly $350 these days: $130 for a barrel in the white, $130 to put a finish on it, about $100 labor to fit it to your rifle and install.

I think I have a couple of #1 takeoffs in storage, #1B and #1V style, 6mm Remington.

If interested, I'll look for them. I know where they SHOULD be.

Bruce

My brother recently had Ruger re-barrel a 1V in .223. for $350. While it was the original chambering, the new twist rate was, IIRC, 1 in 8." Check with Ruger and see what twist they are using on the .22-250 nowadays. A faster twist in the 22-250 could make it a lot more useful.

I was told by my gunsmith that Douglas can produce barrels to the original contour specs as they were one of the original suppliers from whom Ruger sourced their barrels before they started making their own. Douglas can easily come up with a correctly dimensioned tube and it might save a bit of hassle and expense. It doesn't hurt that Douglas barrels are very good, especially their air-gauged offerings, but it will run you more than having Ruger do the work.

That said, it would be worth checking into a rebore.

I generally charged an extra 40% labor to barrel a No. 1. The extractor cut and the drilling and tapping for the quarter-rib was enough to add forty bucks, in my view. Because I was always a poor businessman, the 40% dwindled to 25 as time went by and I started charging more labor for general re-barreling. It isn't necessary to match the original contour entirely; only at the contact points for the rib. You can vary the rest of the barrel as you wish. Of course, if you choose to go to a different scope mounting system, you may make any contour you want, as long as it is compatible with the fore arm hanger. GD

^^ This on both counts. Cheaper, easier and your factory gun will be worth more than one that has been rebarreled.

If it were me it'd come down to the deal I was getting on the used one, including the wood it wore and the model, combined with what I could have with a new or re-bored barrel. No sense spending a bunch and wasting time on something that can be had off the shelf in short order.

If, as it appears, the OP doesn't have any particular cartridge in mind, it might be worthwhile to just shoot it as is a bit before spending any more on it. Even standard twist barrels will stabilize good deer bullets like the NP, 63gr Sierra, 64gr PP, and even the CE Raptor I believe. He might discover he really does have a use for a good-shooting Varminter.