Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Ruger No 1 popularity?

I started looking at used Ruger No1 in 30-06 with the 26" barrel. Slim pickings. Maybe a testiment to their polularity. No one wants to sell one, I guess.

There's one on GunBroker, not cheap

Never are cheap on GB... that is likely why so many of their ads run for a long time

I have a 30/06 No 1S. It is supposedly unfired and in the box. I was told it was a special run not sure how many were produced, there is one local with a asking price of $2k.
I have considered selling this one but not sure on shipping and the hassle and worried about damage. Some how the rings were not in the box but I have a few. I would sell local for $1500
I see the new list price is $2400 so not sure how that will affect the used market. Cabela’s here had 3 used pushing $2k they have a 1970 era 6mm left.
I would say that is getting to high for me. But Im on a waiting list for a new one and was told it will be close to list.
Stainless steel walnut 280 AI

No.1's have always cost more than other stuff. 50 years ago I bought a new Remington 700 because I couldn't afford the extra dollars for the new No.1 I really wanted. The premium for No.1's has remained constant.

It's the times we live in. 20-30 years ago the average price for common stuff was $300 it seemed, with No.1's being $500. Now you normally can't buy an average good quality gun for much under $1K, and No.1's are commensurately higher by about the same ratio as before.

30 years ago I used to stop at a shop where the guy had a vast collection of No1 rifles. Odd-ball stuff, like a 218 Bee. I have owned a couple in 45-70. Real thumpers, killers are both ends. I finally had to admit that the recoil was too much for me. I passed on a 26" gun a couple of years ago. Better balance, but it would have still been a hard recoiling rifle

I’ve owned five of them. Four were marginal at best accuracy wise, 1.5”+ guns.The other was a 218 bee that was a 1” gun.
I really like them, but I like accurate guns better. And don’t get me started on the forend accurizing schemes and custom triggers.

a good hand loader with some skills on Ruger #1 forearms ,and good rifle rests off a cement bench you can make many Ruger #1`s shoot 5 shot groups under an inch , some under 3/4 inch and a few 1/2 inch or less . i have a Ruger #1- 6 BR custom that shots 3/8 and less 5 shot groups at 100 yards. my longest shot on a Montana 10 pt. whitetail buck was at a measured 720 yards with a Ruger #1 257 Weatherby Mag. with first shot laying down with a bi-pod , a Nightforce scope and my handloads. witnessed by 2 Viet Nam Marine vets who were with me. my whole family now use Ruger #1`s all 6 of us , there a safe, simple , accurate rifle to use hunting for the whole family of any age. Pete53

If they were that inaccurate why would you keep buying or owning them?

The 45-70 guns that I had (only cartridge I owned in them) were all shooting a 1-1 1/2" groups at 100 yards off of sand bags. I suspect that the recoil.was a factor in not doing better.

That’s a good and fair question. I like the looks of them, can’t see one without picking it up and handling it. I guess I’m just a slow learner and/or I think I’ll find an accurate one. I’ve been reloading for close to 50 years so I’m not a rookie. And I have Rem 700s, anschutz, and Sakos that are easy sub 1” and some around 1/2”, and an occaisonal group at 3/8”.

I'm like you Dale, I like the way they look as well.

I've owned a ot of Ruger #1s over the year and still have most of them. Only three have been real problems and while I'm still working with two, one has been sent down the road and frankly I'm kicking my self on that one. It however was a custom based on a #1A that made a neat walkabout rifle in .223 Rem. I've since picked up on a new trick that will be trying on the two malcontents when time will allow.
I haven't been able to do much since a bad car wreck sidelined me but when I was deer and elk hunting as often as I could draw a tag or find a reasonably price guided hunt I usually did a hunt with one of the number once. I came to the conclusion many years ago that if a serious big game rifle shot 1.5" or less consistently, then I was happy. I did not not weep and moan, tear my hair out and pour ashes on my head if that rifle would day in and day out shoot that 1.5" or less and I knew I was doing my part. I have more than a few #1s that will shoot MOA or less including four, a #1B and three #1S which shoot sub 0.5" groups on a steady basis. All four are chambered to the .300 Win. Mag.

I mentioned that I'd learned of a new, at least to me new trick and that's messing with the rib that the scope rings fasten to. Take it off the gun and if you hear a, "ping", carefully remove a bit of metal from the end and relieve the screw holes in the rib so there is now contact. I wish I'd have known that trick before I'd sold that .223 off.

I've never messed much with the forearm. On a #1A in .270 I bought second hand, the previous owner had done the forearm routine and it either did not help or just made it worse. A cut piece of credit card to replace the bedding and the rifle does a useable 1.25". Probably should have done a proper glass job on the forearms but the rifle killed deer just fine.

Two things I've noticed when hunting deer and elk. Get close enough and a 1.50" grouping rifle is more than sufficient. Second, 'v seen damn few bench rests out in the boonies. besides. I like the challenge of getting as close as I possibly can which probably explains why I like hunting with a Ruger #1 or a Browning B78 I have in 30-06.

PJ

i own many Ruger #1`s and have gave the whole family their own Ruger #1`s too , easy and safest rifle for many people to use and understand and yes i had to make some of these Ruger #1`s too shoot better but it was well worth it . my custom Ruger #1 is a S.S. Laminate ,27 inch Brux barrel chambered in a 257 Weatherby mag. my new reamer ,13 degree target crown i reworked the forearm that is glass bedded in the back part of the forearm and the rest of the forearm the barrel is floated, timney trigger 3 lbs. , picatinny custom base ,Nightforce scope and rings ,i even have the rubber ball thing on the barrel too for vibration consistency . i now use Hammer bullets and Reloader 25 powder with velocity averages of 3680 FPS this is my deer rifle so i don`t shoot it fun anymore, my 3 shot groups are always under 3/4 inch some 1/2 inch. yes i did a lot of work to this Ruger #1 but i have killed deer and antelope a long ways out with one shot with this Ruger #1 . don`t forget the Ruger action is one of the strongest actions ever made and it must be true Federal Cartridge Ammo Company has used Ruger #1 actions for over 25 years for pressure testing many different cartridges. Pete53

Overpriced inaccurate POS. A $400 dollar Savage Axis or Ruger American will shoot circles around most #1's at 1/5th the cost.

Here in PA my longest shot ever was 130 yards. I made that with an open sighted 1895. Second longest was 100 yard, done with an Ithaca 37 slug gun and peep sights.
So for me 1 1/2" group at 100 is fine. I don't think that the guns are inherently inaccurate. I think that we expect evey gun to shoot sub 1" groups. I have 2 that do that. A Marlin 1894SS and a Sharps 50-70. Go figure...

Those Ruger 1's can be a challenge for sure.I had two 7mags,one was a 24" V model, the other was a 26" B model.It was a lot of fiddling with the forearms before either one would shoot better.First thing I did was sand down the pressure point at the end of the forearm.Helped a litte,but not much.Ended up with epoxy work on the inside of the forearm around the hanger.That got them both down from being 2-3" shooters to around 1.5" shooters.I bought a box of Tubb's Throat Maintenance Bullets and fired five in each rifle.That was an instant improvement in both rifles.They never shot better,both under an inch.Accuracy was nearly identicle in each rifle.I ended up selling the 1-V and kept the 1-B because it was a lot faster,nearly 200fps faster than the 1-V,shooting the same loads.The Ruger 1's seem to have a lot of common problems that might be fixable.The two I had,I bought about a month a part,so I was working on two rifles at the same time trying to improve their accuracy.If I ever bought another,I'd probably start with a Hick's Accurizer Kit.That would probably be the best way to take care of the forearm issue.The next step would be to try the fire lapping bullets.Here is some examples after I worked on the rifles.

How about the 22" Sporter vs the 26" so far as balance?
It seems that the Sporter is more common and cheaper

So stick with the POS Axis or American. The plastic no class no soul rifles are for some with no…. Well you know.
Why is it there are those that like No 1’s can make them shoot and then those that want to tell everyone how bad the accuracy is supposed to be or expensive( overpriced) they are? Then there are those of us who shoot them and know how to tinker with them. It seems that if they were overpriced the prices on used ones would a whole lot less. Well the prices keep going up and people keep buying.
Oh and how many Americans need fixes for the magazines
or the barrel channels filled and what ever other tinkering it takes to make a ugly POS shoot

I bought #1's because I couldn't afford the High Walls.