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

Boy...That put a damper on the thread.


...It's still nice to dream a No.1 in ANY caliber could be available.


Oh well...now that we're awake....I guess I'll just have to stick with my Lott.


It was a nice dream while it lasted..Take Care Fellas,

Stump

Care to explain why the 303 brit is a "chitty round"
It's a good as the 30/40 and has proven that may times over....
Cat

Don't feel bad..I think the 30/40 is the [bleep] too.

Cat...

Well, you have to admit that the .303 is not mainstream in the US, however, I could see that those of you north of the 49th parallel would like it.

I might consider one if it were available, but I already have a #3 in .30-40 Krag with #1 wood on it. So ballistically, it's a moot point. While I seem to be attracted to "something unique and different", I just can't see it ever happening.

'Course, I could be wrong, I built a 9.3x74R because I wanted one and I didn't think Ruger would ever make one. I also contracted to have a Browning B-78 in .405 Win for the same reason. I was wrong on both counts. Problem is, so many folks want it exactly their way! So a manufacturer could never make it in 6 or 8 different configurations. So.... We all lose.

Grasshopper

P.S: I've never even fired a .303. So it would be a totally new experience for me....

BTW,

I currently have #1's in 7x65R, 8mm Mauser, 6.5x54 MS, and .338 Federal in the works. So no one could ever accuse me of not wanting something different.

I hear ya Grasshopper!
I've owned some no.1's and some Browning single shots in some strange calibers and love 'em all - unless they have a .243 barrel on them , which makes them an instant donor gun!! ( grin)
I recently got the wood for my Martini that is chambered in 6.5/303Brit/imp., which is a strange one, and i just received a martini in 225WIN, which has some pretty nice woos and bird's eye grip caps and tips on it.
my 6.5WSSM has since languished on the rack since last summer, no time for it since I got the O/U in 9.3X74R , now that is a cool cartridge.

However, I have a No.3 that is coming back to me and I may rip the 45/70 long range barrel off and put on a 6.5X47 Lapua barrel on it - decisions, decisions.....
Cat

Cat, I have to agree on the above... I don't have much use for a .243 anything. One 6mmBR and I'm good for anything I need to do with a .24 cal bullet.

I've been thinking of a .25 Krag, but haven't made the jump as yet... Altho' I do have the dies.

Grasshopper

[/quote]

Cat, I have to agree on the above... I don't have much use for a .243 anything. One 6mmBR and I'm good for anything I need to do with a .24 cal bullet.

I've been thinking of a .25 Krag, but haven't made the jump as yet... Altho' I do have the dies.

Grasshopper [/quote]
A TRUE gun looney you is!
Tell us now, did you see the dies at a show and say to yourself " gee, i should build one of those"? (grin)
Cat

"I have the dies" ...that one bit me in the ass today when I went into the local rifle emporium to see if my primers came in...I had to give myself a stern lecture when I got home..

Actually, I went thru a period a few years ago just before I retired, that I bought every set of dies that I found that I either didn't have or thought I might want. I especially concetrated on "Wildcat" dies. Thus there isn't hardly anything that I might ever want to build that I don't have dies for. Conforting thought!

I got a lot of them off eBay, before they went sky high!

Grasshopper

I hunted with this round quite a bit when it was the only rifle I could afford. I still use that old rifle fot bear protection. It may not have the flashy ballistics of the more modern rounds but there is something about the 'large' bullets at moderate velocities that I find just plain work well.

With its rim, I think it would make a great #1, however, I won't hold my breath for it to happen.

I'd buy one in a minute as long as it came with a .311" groove, not a .308" like the us made 7.62x39 rifles.

[quote=7 STW
Not a chance in 5 Hells would I buy or hunt with such a chitty round.Also wouldn't subject a good Number 1 to such a ordeal.

Good luck trying to find a gunsmith to build it without a serious laugh attack.. [/quote]

I agree 100% my grandfather shot a 303 Brit and it was crap.I don't think you will EVER get Ruger to chamber a rifle in 303 Brit There are alot of great old cartridges out there ,the 303 Brit is DEFINATELY NOT ONE OF THEM.

For a "crap" cartridge, it has seen more meat and guts than most have. I'm not going to argue that it is the best round ever, but it is a lot better than what you're saying it is. It's about the same as me calling a .308, or the 30-06, crap and chitty.
R.

Actually, if handloaded to it's fullest, the .303 British is a pretty effective round with the 180 grain or heavier 215 grain bullet.

Hodgon's Basic Reloaders Manual (2006) shows a maximum load (48.0 grains-a compressed load) of H4350 yielding a respectable 2500 fps (with 2499 ft/lbs of muzzle energy) with a 180 grain bullet and a maximum load (45.0 grains) of BL-C� yielding 2563 fps (with 2620 ft/lbs of M.E.) out of a 24-inch barrel with the 180 grain bullet and a very mild chamber pressure of just 43,800 CUP and 43,000 CUP respectively.

Other components include Remington cartridge cases and Federal 210 primers.

In a super-strong Ruger #1 rifle and good brass, we can only guess at what muzzle velocities/muzzle energies one could achieve with heavier powder charges which would be "safe" in a stronger (than the British SMLE's) action.

The one regret I sorta have with my Ruger #1 RSI in 7x57 is that the little rifle isn't chambered for the 7x57R ("rimmed") cartridge... not a popular cartridge case in the USA these days... the "saving grace" of having the RSI in the standard 7x57mm.

In a single shot rifle, head-spacing on the rim of a "rimmed" case seems to be a good & simple way to get the job done... and like the old, heavy-caliber African double rifles, a rimmed case is "traditional" in many calibers used in single shot & double rifles. It seems reasonable that when one is using a single shot rifle these days, the reason is more for "tradition" than anything else, so why not have a "traditional" "rimmed" cartridge as well?

Our Canadian friends have an on-going "love affair" with the old .303 British and with good reason. It has served them well and taken every kind of game animal that roams the Canadian woods with well-placed shots out of the old and kinda "homely" SMLE battle rifles using the 180 or 215 grain bullets at modest velocities.

And so, it is "understandable" that they might like a single shot rifle like the Ruger #1 or something similar in the rimmed .303 British cartridge.

N'est pas?!?


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

I think it makes sense to build the Ruger No.1 in .303, 7x65R, .444 Marlin, .22 Savage HP, and .30-30 - but what do I know?

A 30-30 in a #1 is morally wrong.

BMT

Exactly my thoughts. I guess I'd prefer the 30-40 since that one shares my roots.

Careful with a comment like that. It could easily be taken to represent one's abilities - or, rather, lack of them. The same holds for a 'smith who shirked at the thought of chambering a rimmed case cartridge to a #1 when a paying customer wanted it.

And I seriously doubt Ruger would never chamber such a "loser" round. Consider their recent forays into such "winners" as the 218 Bee and 7.62X39.



I hope that was TIC. It sounds more like something Nancy Pelosi's brother-in-law would say.

I wish had bought one of those immoral Browning 1885s in .30-30 with the 24-inch tapered octagon barrel, tang peep sight and crescent case colored buttplate.