Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Ruger No.1 in 303 British

30/30's belong in lever guns.

Its a rule that should be a law.

Nothing offends the Horsemen in me more than the Rem 788 in 30-30.

Like a blue hair on a pretty young girl, it is very very wrong.

I will defend your right to bear a No.1 in 30-30, at all costs.

BUT, if you JUST GOTTA HAVE a single shot 30-30, PLEASE use a nice Remington Rolling block action. . . . . . .

BMT

Or a NEF, or TC.

Why put a four cylinder engine in a Corvette?

1B

Or, in my case: "Why put an American Icon into a "British" falling block."

That's what the 303 Brit is for.

BMT

This has been a fun thread to read I never thought the old 303 British would be so controversial. It makes more sense to than some of the winner's Ruger/Hornady have come out with. I use the term "Hit or Miss Hornady" because the seem to either hit a home run or strike out miserably with their new cartridge introductions.

I am rebuilding 2 Remington Rolling Blocks now, one in the family since 1882. There are currently some .30-30s being manufactured in reproductions, but most are too bulky for the cartridge. The Browning 1885 Low Wall was ideal.

A Ruger No.1 in .303 Brit with a 24-inch sporter barrel would be very desirable, and fitting.

There is a .303 LightMagnum factory load, 150 at 2830. Right up there.

Well, along that line of thinking, I'd go further and say that there is no point in putting the 30 WCF in a clunky (relatively) Marlin levergun then either. And I don't disagree about the M788 version. And while I wouldn't choose the 30-30 for the #1 myself (since I think the 30-40 makes more sense) the 30-30 does qualify as a suited cartridge, as well or better suited than many, simply due to its design (rimmed and all) than some others. I would qualify the 30-30 as being better suited to the sleeker #1-A, just as the 218, Hornet and others should have been.

In the really questonable department are such things, as stated before, as the 7.62X39 as well as 357 Magnum(????).

The 30-30 might be despised by the "super-sized MacDonalds" crowd as a "four cylinder among Ferraris." I don't really care what people say about it. It is and always has been a very fine and useful hunting cartridge. That has not changed through the years.



And it has a lot more history and class than many of the upstarts.

Fellow Campfire Members;
As much as it pains me to admit it, in all likelihood I would not be lining up to buy a No.1 in .303.

While I respect the capabilities of the fine old round, the lack of an easily accessible variety of bullets in .311 in Canada would be a factor for me. Not withstanding that I know a .311 diameter, 180g. Sierra will kill the variety of moose that frequent the Caribou region, I�m afraid I�d be inclined to agree with Mr. Grasshopper that the .30-40 would make a more pragmatic nostalgic choice.

Regarding Mr. Klikitarik's thoughts and with apologies that I have written this before, my childhood recollection of rifles used by trappers, natives and fringe area farmers recalls the most common seen as �94�s in .30-30 and various SMLE and Enfields in .303.

As he so aptly stated, those cartridges worked well when they were new and in my view are no less able in the right hands today.

Lastly, I�d like to extend a Happy Fourth of July to all of my American Campfire companions. Here is to a safe and happy long weekend to you all.

Regards,
Dwayne

GunBroker has a custom #1 in .303 with all the trimmings for sale. The bidding now is at $1500 with 1 Day and 7 hours to go.... tick, tick, tick...

The # is 172864863.

You'd spend a lot more for anything as nice....and it comes scoped with dies and Kleppinger trigger. some dings but hey who hasn't got them? I have no interest in this one, just stirring th pot.

1B

"the 30-40 makes more sense"

I couple years ago I could have bought a #3 in 30-40 Krag for a good price and passed on it. Wish I hadn't.

From my perspective, having run the gamut of most of the super magnums, the short-fats, and everything else, the traditional, nostalgic cartridges hold a lot of allure to me.

I have also come to believe that those who dis the traditions the most are the younger folks. When they get to be my age, they will have run the gamut as well. I can assure them that things look different from where I stand. I have owned more rifles, and loaded for and shot more than they even dream about. Most of the younger guys that frequent these forums cannot even fathom how many dies that I own. (Nor why I would want to, for that matter....) I will venture to bet that I have owned and still own rifles in calibres that they've not ever HEARD of.

In conclusion, having read this entire thread, all it has accomplished is to make me think of building a #1 in .303 Brit.

I'm thinking 23" half-octagon, 1/4 rib with express sights, schnabel fore-end... Say 7-7.5 lbs before scope. Just a nice little stalking rifle. Likely would dig around in the "cave" and come up with an old 3x Leupold that would fit nicely in Warne QD rings. (that I just happen to have stashed.

As Americans, we love the .30-06! The Brits, the Aussies, and the Canucks love the .303! Our Teutonic neighbors across the pond love the 8mm Mauser, and the Swedes love the 6.5x55!
Me, I'm just a "rifle looney" that loves them all. I see no need to dis another group of loonies just because their traditions are different than mine. In actuality, the vererable '06 is my very LEAST favorite rifle caliber. I guess I just travel to a different drum.

Grasshopper

Edward,

Mostly, I like the beat of your drum. I do like the 30-06, though. Just about perfect for me. I have a 303 -- heck, I'm Canadian . . . . I think it's a law somewhere here.

Magnum is okay, but mostly it is just more of the same, and sometimes, it is an unneeded more. I use my 303 Brit to clean the heads off grouse. Nice lite rifle.

Hey guys, no more bad words about the 7.62x39. While it may not have been a big seller for Ruger, it is one of the best combinations out there. I shoot the fire out of mine. Surplus ammo, mild recoil and no picking up brass. My wife even likes to shoot it.

It makes me want to come up with a 1A in 223 for the same reasons.

Of course I am waiting for a 257 Weatherby in #1 to be finished. That sould be much cool.

SS

Bro' Keith,

The above statement shows maturity and growth. I couldn't agree more. Skill at hunting will put far more meat in the pot than a magnum (without the skill) In actuality, I have found that patience has about the best advantage.

I was once a younger hunter that tried to make up for what I didn't know by adding a scope to my rifle, but buying a more powerful rifle, etc. Now, it matters not what chambering I hunt with. I even put venison in my freezer last fall with the despised .30-06. Danged if it didn't work just fine.

I have even taken 5 deer with a handgun. I hunt now with a rifle, because I am a confirmed rifle looney. But what cartridge I happen to use, is pretty much a moot point.

My goal this year is to take a deer with iron sights. Gots to use a peep, tho'... These near 60 yr old eyes don't focus like they used to. Kind of doing things backward, aren't I?

Bro' Edw

THREAD RESURRECTION....It's a reality now....

http://www.lipseys.com/itemdetail.aspx?itemno=RU1A303BRIT&mfg=Ruger&family=No.+1+Series

How do I justify it this year (I know...I'll wait to see if they bring it out in an RSI model).

For the non Lipsey model, again the catalog # is 11348...we just started seeing it appear on distributor sites....

Ingwe

Yup, Clay at Prophet River has a mess of them on their way to his shop!
Just because spome people say stuff like " good luck getting a gunsmith to build one" or forget about "Ruger chambering THAT"
does not mean that it ain't gonna happen.
Bill Leeper ordered a match chamber in .303 Bbrit for that same reason, because naysayers said it wouldn't fly 0- he ended up winning his share of matches with that rifle!
he is used the same reamer in my custom that he built for me.
Cat