Patrick,
I know you mean well, and I can certainly agree with some of your sentiment... But, meaning no disrespect, I rather hate to see these kind of threads. Mostly because they are rarely logical, and really serve no purpose...(Other than, perhaps, allow someone to post his fantasies...)
And, as we all know, Ruger is in the business of manufacturing fireams for the express purpose of PROFIT, not just for fulfilling some shooter's fantasies! I"m actually surprised that no one suggested some of the really obscure cartridges, like the .351 WSL, .401 WSL, .35 Win, or .38-72... etc... (There is a reason these obscure cartridges died!)
Let me 1st state; that to we must operate on the premise that Ruger will build a rifle using one of their existing barrel contours. (They have five, I believe...) To even suggest that they build a rifle on another contour is just not manufacturingly feasible, but unrealistic, as well. Also, to expect an unorthodox barrel length is unrealistic, as well. Having said that, then we can expect Ruger to build any of the above suggestions in either 20" (RSI contour); 22" (A and AB contour) 24" (AH contour) or 26" (1-B & 1-S Contour)
Note A: I am assuming we are talking sporting rifles, here, not Varmint or heavy Tropical rifles....Note B: In the case of the 24" AH contour; one should consider that there is a generally accepted specification for muzzle diameter. The groove diameter of the caliber, plus .300" of and inch for safety reasons... (That's .150" per side, folks...)
Now in the case of the 24" AH in .25-06, mine measures just over .560" at the muzzle, (Actually about .562") Now I will admit that I have seen rifles with as little as .125" per side, (such is the case of my Browning BLR in .358 Win) But its logical to assume that given Ruger's corporate penchant for overbuilding everything (I assume for strength) that it's unrealistic to even suggest that they go less than the accepted .300" standard.
Then do the math...: .562" minus .300" leaves .262" for groove diameter. So even if we stretch it to .264", then that is about the maximum groove diameter we can expect them to make. (Realistically 6.5 Caliber in a 24" AH) Now I will address the suggestions individually: .300 Savage: This would seem to be a viable suggestion. Logically tho', What can it do that the .308 cannot? It would, however work in the 1-A or AB platform with 22" bbl. (The .308 Win is currently cataloged in the 1-A) Thumbs up!
.257 Wby: This chambering would be viable in the AH platform w/24" bbl or the 1-B or 1-S platform with 26" bbl. (The lighter profile would be handier, but one would likely suffer horrendous muzzle blast...
) I never understood why when they made other Wby proprietary cartridges, they overlooked the .257. I've always thought the .270 Wby was the most practical of the Wby Chamberings, but I have to believe that the .257 WBY is likely the most popular. Thumbs up!
.22 LR: I'm not even going to address this one. It has been beat to death in the past.
.22 Sav H.P. or as the Europeans know it: 5.6x56R. I can't see this one either, 1stly because of the odd barrel groove dimensions (.228") and 2ndly for the fact that Norma is the only manufacturer of factory ammo. Grice has it listed at $56.59/ box. Too pricey for anyone to realisticly use...
.280 Rem: This would seem to work OK in the 1-A platform, 1-AH platform, likely not... (See note B)
7mm-08 Rem same comments as the .280 Rem...
7x30 Waters: Again, it would seem viable in the 1-A platform, and again, not likely in the 1-AH... (It would make a cute little rifle tho'...
)
.348 Win This would seem a natural, but the down side is lack of factory ammo. Yes they make it, but try to find some... And it's expensive! I think the last I saw on the shelf, was
$65.00/box This is a cartridge that really should not have died, but it seems to have. Recent attempts to revive it seem to have failed. (Sadly)
.358 Win and .356 Win. These would work in a 1-S platform w/24" bbl.) Note that the largest bore Ruger has EVER used in the "B"/"S" contour is the .338. (See note B)
Also, factory ammuntion is not very abundent in either...
I have a #3 so chambered (Rebored .22 Horn) so I know it will work w/22" bbl. (The #3 had the same bbl contour as the 1-B, Medium Sporter!)
.358 Norma: This would seem feasible with the possible limitation of muzzle diameter. It might only work w/24" bbl... The only down side I can think of, is the lack of availble factory ammo. I believe Norma is the only manufacturer, and to say that it is scarce, is an understatement!
.35 Rem: Neat idea! If they can make a 1-A in .35 Whelen, I don't see why they can't make a .35 Rem... The only detraction that I can think of is that the only successful rifles ever built in .35 Rem were pumps and levers... (Yes, years ago they made the Rem 81 semi-auto in .35... ) All the bolt guns ever made in .35 Rem were merely special runs or limited runs... sadly...
So I doubt a sgl-shot would likely fare any better...
7mm BR: This chambering has never been popular in any rifle... (I believe Remington did make a limited run of M-Sevens so chambered, but I've never seen one...) And again, the lack of factory ammo. At one time Remington did make it with 140 gr. Core-lokt bullet... (I'd have thought that the 120 gr. Ballistic Tip would have made more sense.) AFAIK, it has been discontinued... So without, factory ammo, I would doubt that Ruger would even consider it...
Disclaimer: So there you have it folks. The above comments are precipated entirely by logic and practicality. You are free to agree or disagree as you wish.
Every year I hold my breath, hoping that Ruger will come out with something new in the #1 platform.... Most years, I'm disappointed...
ADDENDUM: .444 Marlin: I could never understand why Ruger didn't make this one in the factory 1-S. It would seem a natural. Especially so if twisted 1~20" instead of the 1~38" that Marlin uses... With the faster twist, one could shoot 240/265/300 gr bullets for whatever application one might need. A heavily loaded hard cast of 300 grs. would be a great Elk or Moose round, and would likely even be adequate for the big bears. A huge "Thumbs UP" for this one!
Most have been modified to suit my whims...