Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Ruger No. 1 458 win mag Safari

I'm a Ruger guy but have never owned a No. 1. Didn't find anything on Ruger's website on the caliber or model. Can anyone give me some information on it? Thank you.

You're not going to like this, but the problem with Ruger No. 1's in big bores is that it is difficult to make them shootable ie heavy but well balanced. You would have to have a heavy barrel to absorb recoil and put weight into the stock to counter balance and I've never seen one done well. Sorry but Ruger No. 1s and heavy calibres don't go together. One could be built for bench use only though.

I was going to build a 500NE on a Ruger No. 1 but anyone that had been down this track before basically said it wasn't going to result in anything that was all that practical for field use.

The Ruger No.1 in 458 Win Mag was offered for many years and has been replaced by the 458 Lott. It was bult on the 'H' pattern which means it has a heavy 24inch barrel. The rifle (without scope) should weigh in at around 10lb.

Balance for your 1H will be slightly muzzle heavy but I do not agree with Mauserand9mm, the No.1 in all configurations balances very nicely and usually make very useful hunting rifles. With the 1H your balance point will be about 3inches forward of the trigger, well within the established numbers for quality english stalking rifles.

You will want to buy a better recoil pad. The factory Ruger ones are pretty poor and a good Decelerator will help you enormously.

Seriously consider a New England Custom Gun peep sight. I've found them to be excellent.

If you intend to hunt dangerous game, you may also want to have a gunsmith change the configuration of the safety as the No.1 can have empty cases bounce off the safety and back into the chamber - annoying when it happens.

If you want more power, a rechamber to 458 Lott is simply a reamer plunge away.

artic338: Ruger #1H (#11308) comes in .458Lott, which can also fire the shorter .458WM. Rifle is a svelte 9# w/o scope or rings. IMO- have had two bolt action .458WM's ,shooting them over several decades, and they've provided all the recoil I would ever want. The .458Lott is just WAY more of the same. Homesteader.

I've got a #1H in 458 Win and I must second Adamjp's comments. The recoil pad is garbage (pull one off - they have "Goodyear" printed on the back) but that's easy enough to fix. I disagree with Mauserand9mm about the balance. I'm 6'5" so perhaps my support hand is further out on the forestock, thus influencing the balance. I find the rifle hangs nicely when shooting offhand though the recoil makes it a tad obstinate from the bench. Fortunately it is designed for hunting and not bench shooting so that's a minor issue as well.

I took my 458 Lott and added weight to the stock, a Limbsaver pad, and a Leupold 3x. Nicely balanced 11 pounds now, and a hoot to shoot...standing up.

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm definitely leaning toward picking it up.