Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Rebarrel a No. 1?? How difficult??

Just thinking about the possibility of rebarreling a No. 1 , I think it is a Tropic Heavy barrel. . Chambered currently in 458 Win Mag.
So it has the larger diameter barrel.

Wondering if pursuing a caliber change to something more pleasant would even be practical.

The receiver is engraved and personalized and very special to me. I would love to utilize this rifle much more. Just not a huge fan of the 458.

Thoughts??

it is kinda expensive to rebarrel a Ruger #1 plus not sure how expensive changing the bolt type face on a # 1 for a smaller cartridge is ?

I'm no gunsmith, but I own one and have owned many No.1's. I believe the extra expense in re-barreling one, comes from precisely making the extractor cut and fitting the barrel rib. As far as I know, all calibers use the same flat breech block face, so no mods should be needed there, except for some rim fire conversions. RJ

Correct! Most of the work difference comes with the extra, extractor cut, rib fit. Also be aware of the forend not fitting a lighter barrel contour

It makes more sense to me to sell the one you have, and buy a different one

I will never sell it.

Unfortunately the best in Nebraska Bose guns is going out of business. But I would call and see if they have a recommendation.
Phone: +1 402 695 2555

Find yourself a 1a or 1s forend that matches your butt stock, then order a rib, front sight, extractor depending on new cartridge (these are not expensive parts from ruger) and barrel blank to match - send it all to your gunsmith - then go shoot your new rifle. Finally, list and sell the parts to took off (458 barrel and forend)

I had a #1 RSI in '06 re-barreled to 9.3x62 by Rick Steinhour at Extreme Rifle Works and he did an excellent job. He put on a NECG barrel band front sight and reused the existing rib. I highly recommend his work.

Thank you!!

Maybe another option that you haven’t considered is having it converted to a a Smokeless muzzleloader. It would utilize your existing barrel just have a breach plug threaded for it

PacNor can rebarrel it. Give them a call. I have been contemplating the same.

Are they back up and running after being burned out last year?

Buy another No1 in another, fairly small, caliber, say .257, 6.5 or 7....

Reload some .458 cases with a milder charge and lighter bullets or even cast bullets..

Then you'll have 3 guns! small deer/coyote rifle, a REALLY fun, cheap plinker AND an elephant gun for that trip to Libby Mt.

Poole
(and you'll probly have spent the same as a rebarrel)

Yes. Seems they are back up and running. I had called them prior to the fire and the cost to rebarrel one was in the neighborhood of $600 which I thought was reasonable.

Consider a custom insert that would allow you to fire a smaller round for plinking and small game.

http://mcaceak.com/rifle-inserts.html

I have one re-barreled from .270 to .250-3000. Intelligent swap as far as I'm concerned, at least for my purposes.

Just shoot cast bullets at appropriate speeds or the 325 gr Flex-Tip with Trail Boss. Turn that fine rifle into a pussy cat . . .

The only potentially difficult thing with a #1 is the scope mounts on the barrel on a quarter rib or, with the varmint model, blocks. Matching the barrel contour to the mounting system can be a little tricky. If you're staying with the same barrel contour, no problem, have the 'smith take the barrel off and send it in to the barrel maker for an exact profile match. If you are changing profiles, then there may be some additional fitting to do as well as having to get a new quarter rib if the barrel is of smaller diameter than the original. The extractor for a caliber changes is easy-peasy, or was, just order one from Ruger for the family of cartridges you want to shoot.

One thing I'd think about .. what do you want that is easier to shoot? I almost bought a #1 in .458 with the idea of shooting cast bullets and black powder. A 2-1/2 inch case is a 2-1/2 inch case. .45-70 is 2.1" so 2.5" should put you in there around .45-90 to .45-100. Nothin' wrong with that for clobbering deer, elk, etc.

Tom

Best answer yet.

Can even go lighter yet. Hodgdon has data for the 250 grain Barnes starting at 2600 fps. In that heavy of a gun, that would be a fun load.

Pac-Nor has done #1's for me, and they do a fine job. They had a fire a year or two ago, but they are now back in business again, and they will do custom contours.

Might contact RJ Renner http://www.rjrenner.com/ He is something of a Ruger #1 specialist doing both metal and wood. He could even do the light weight treatment on it, install a thinner octagonal barrel and a new trimmer fore end. I would have him do the butt stock too for a complete package.

I have shot the 458 with 45-70 class loads and they are a lot of fun. Jack Rabbits hate it though.

http://www.oregunsmithingllc.com/

They have my #1 as we speak. It is getting a Benchmark 25-06 Ackley Improved barrel with a 1:7 twist! I opted for the picatinny rail instead of the factory rail.


Wayne does remarkable work. Here she is before the surgery

Load 300 gr hollow points to 1600-1700 fps, or 405 gr to 1200-1300 fps (45/70 Trapdoor level). It'll greatly reduce recoil and still hammer deer.

I have 3 Ruger #1s.

I bought one, a 270, just to rebarrel, but it shoots too well with the factory barrel.... I can't take off a 1" shooting barrel:(
So I made a scope mount for it.

How hard is it to pop the quarter rib off?

The flathead allen screws can be very tight. I broke the head off one. Penetrating oil and some gentle heat would be in order. There are two screws and two dowels. I did not try to remove the dowels from the barrel since I was only interested in taking a few thousandths off the back end of the rib.
IIRC I was able to unscrew the broken stub with vise grips after the second screw and rib were removed. Ruger sent me a new screw.

Not bad but get a dedicated No.1 smith.

I use Steve Durren out of Michigan. He’s the No.1 GURU!