Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Does the Ruger #1 have a long freebore?

I just got one recently and had the action trued and a trigger job done. When I look up the load in a book the OAL is 2.350 w/55 Nosler BT. When I checked the chamber I got a reading of 2.530. Almost 2 tenths longer. Is this usual for this gun? By the way its a 22-250 ss/laminate. So far my loads such with 1 1/2-2 in groups. I hope longer ones will help.

I have 6 in various calibers all seem to have a "long freebore" as compared to most of my bolt guns.
but that dosent bother me as I set my bullets out. Ive only had one in 7mag that was overly long the rifling could only be reached with a heavy round nose bullet. but some smithing took care of that also I got my 22-250 down to .375 with out too much trouble setting the bulet close to the rifling helped Im at about .010 off the rifling last I checked

I tired 40 gr Nosler BT and I really dont get the bullet far in the neck if I seat it out. Im only about 1/3 in the neck. Well at least I not its not just my rifle. Now if I could only get it shooting good. Tired 55 gr Bt today and I think ill have to up the powder charge some more. I tired 33 grs of varget and still not the best of groups. Anyone have a better powder to try. I was thinking 4895. Thanks for the input.

Maybe reloader 19? Or 15? Whatever the book recommends.

The Rugers have a reputation for having a lot of freebore. Luckily, with a 22-250 you can go with a heavier bullet and still get speed.

Berger makes some long bullets. You might try them.

Not mine, its a Liberty 22-250. I bought a Rem 700 SPS 22-250 last spring, and its best shooting load is the same load that the #1 shoots, right down to the OAL. My Stoney Point gizmo put every .224 bullet I tried between the two guns at almost the same depth. Got to love when that happens.

Two of my three No.1's had/have long throats. A 1A .22 Hornet from the '80s is quite long, and I have to load 50gr bullets to get close to the lands, and still be in the case. I ain't complaining, as with a little help from 'Lil Gun, it puts them into little bitty groups!

The 1A "Liberty Model" 7X57 had an as issued barrel with a very long throat. I recently had Ruger re-barrel it ( which they did for free, I might add ), and the new barrel had a throat that was significantly shorter than the original. I want to say around .200", but I don't have my notes to confirm it. It likes 140gr TSX's.

I never measured the throat on my 1H .458 Win Mag so I can't say. It's re-chambered to 450 #2, so I'll never know. Can't say it would matter much on that one!

Jeff

Nowif I could only get it to shoot well. This gun is driving me crazy. I cant get a load that works. Ive tried varget,H380,4064 and 4895. Im ready to give up. With all the work I had done it should shoot great.

with a 1 in 14 twist you should get the best accuracy with a 52 to 55 gr bullet much lighter wont stabilize with that twist also try a barnes bullet they are all copper and thus are also longer to make up the diff and get closer to the throught it is a bunch of trial & error to find the pet load

I beg to differ. 55 gr is the highest you can shoot in a 1/14. Weights under that are fine. I dont think you can get a barrel with a slower twist than 1/14 for a centerfire.

Bhoges,

Many .22 Hornets and .218 Bees were built with 1~16" twists. In the old days, many of them got rechambered to hotter wildcats... (I don't know why....) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

But it is feasible that one could run across one of those.

Grasshopper

1/15&1/16 seen them both my point being lighter bullets tend to favor slower twists in small bore maby the bullet isnt stabilizing at the vilocity his round is producing!

I hear you about the slow twist working better with light bullets. What im saying is that most barrel makers like Hart or Shilen only make 1/14. I dont think the rate of twist is the problem in my gun. Its 2 yrs old. 40 and 55 grs should shoot fine. I believe Broad Creek Rifle Works did a number on my gun if you know what I mean. It shot like crap since I got the work done by Mike over there.

My only #1 is a K1-B in 7STW. And yes, it is long throated. But that is what I love about single shots, no magazine constraints.

When I brought my #1 home the accuracy was not satisfactory, 2.5 -3 moa. I searched the net and every thing printed I could find on the subject. The search yielded one conclusion, "An inaccurate #1 will almost always respond to barrel bedding adjustment. On mine that meant a free float which brought it under 1.0 moa with Sierra 160 spbt's and H1000. A "Hick's Accurizer" from EABCO later reduced those groups in half again.

While there are more experienced shooters of the 22-250 on these boards, I have spent some time learning about the care and feeding of rifles in this caliber. I have had two rifles in 22-250. I have been shooting and reloading the round since 1978. Both of these rifles have been equiped with 26 in barrels w/ a 14 inch twist. And both of them shot the 60 gr Hornady sp bullet quite well at 3600 fps. A 14 inch twist will have no trouble stabilizing the 60 gr Hornady bullet at 3600 fps, or so I have been led to believe from the .5 moa accuracy to 300 yds which both of these rifles delivered.

The use of the 60 gr Hornady bullet will give you a two fold advantage as you attempt to reach a longer COAL. First of all, the bullet is heavier than the 55's and 52's which have been suggested earlier, thus it will reach closer to the lands at the same seating depth as your lighter bullets. Which might give greater accuracy in your rifle.

Second, the 60 gr Hornady is a flat base rather than a boat tail. I normaly have nothing against boat tails, I actually prefer them in any of my larger calibers. But in this case, where you are striving to maximise COAL the boat tail is counter productive. The longer shank of the 60 gr Hornady gives much more contact with the neck of the case which in turn makes for loaded ammunition with less bullet runout which will tend to make for more accurate ammunition.

I have had great success loading the 60 gr Hornady bullet in combination with IMR3031, IMR4895, and H380. There are several additional powders which I have not tried but they should also work well with this bullet.

The Sierra manual #V suggests that 3600 fps may be acheived with a 60 gr bullet using IMR3031 or H414. The Hornady #6 manual reccomends H414 or Win760 to reach 3600 fps with the 60 gr bullet.

I presently have the barrel off of my 22-250, to be rechambered to 22-243AI. When it comes home, I have 1000 of these 60 gr bullets which I am anxious to try. http://www.lockstock.com/prodinfo.asp?number=LS2272

As a further note the 60 gr Hornady is a very frangible varmint bullet. I found it to be quite explosive on ground squirrels, usually flipping them several feet into the air while disemboweling the animal, and giving instant kills on rock chucks or ground hogs at ranges to 300 and 400 yds. The bullets did exit on coyotes, which tends to leave significant pelt damage, if that is a concern.

Ill have to try some 60's. I called a few smiths today and Im tempted to have someone else look at the rifle or I might just sell it. I put 10 rounds though it today and its a waste of time. Even my buddy shot it and 1 1/2 -2 in is the best I can get out of it. Today the wind was zero and I was using a Bald Eagle rest. Its the gun not the loads. Im pissed I love the gun but if it wont shoot 1/2100yds it useless to me. I barrel job will be about $800! Its getting to be an expensive rifle. I might just cut my losses.

If you have not adjusted the barrel bedding, at least give that a try before you dispose of the rifle. Many will simply place a rubber O-ring over the forend mounting bolt, so that it will space the wood away from the barrel when the mounting bolt is tightened. This is about a three minute job and will cost less than a quarter, but effectively gives you a free floated barrel.

If the free floating solves the accuracy woes, then a gunsmith can make the job permanent.

I free floated the barrel on my #1 at home with my wife's Dremel. I later wished that I had instead simply added bedding compound instead as I had to remove nearly 1/8 inch of wood from the barrel channel. Which then meant I had to refinish the forend and then the butt stock to make it match. A thin layer of Marine-Tex under the hanger would have been a simpler and better solution.

All that was done already by a smith. The forend was floated and a hanger was welded and tapped so you could adjust the tension. The gun was completely done from the trigger,crown,hanger, and action. I sent it back to the smith for the last time. If it doesnt work then its getting a new shilen barrel.

I wish you the best of luck. The tension adjusting screw is similar in concept to the Hick's accurizer. After I installed the Hick's onto my STW, it was a simple matter to dial in the accuracy with my load. I hope it works as well for you.

Looks like you have encountered an early #1. They were notorious for long throats and subject to tempermental accuracy because of the way the forearm mounts. Luckily, my #1V shoots well with most loads. I think the varmint contour helps. Is yours a varminter or sporter- the sporters were notoriously finicky. I have heard of several fixes including a ruber washer on the forearm screw between the barrel and forearm. Have you adjusted the pressure on the forearm screw. That sometimes makes a world of difference.

No mine is new about 2 years and its a varmint ss model. Ive had the pressure point mod done to the forend with no luck. Last time its going back to the smith then its gets a new Shilen barrel.