Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Ruger Number 3 question.

On a Ruger No. 3 .45-70 with Ruger's Oem two piece scope bases they made for this carbine does anyone know the correct Ruger ring heights for the front and rear?

I appears that a low in the rear and a medium in the front might be correct but I am not sure.

Thanks.

I am thinking that if these are the Ruger bases that accept Ruger rings, then the rings are the same height, as on the No.1. Don't know this for an absolute fact, but try it.

I didn't see any rings listed on the shopruger site or under ringmounts on the Leupold site. If your rifle has bases with the Ruger dovetail, you might just have to eyeball it and see if it's level. The Number 1 and 77/22 rings are the same, front and back.

Midway has Weaver bases, 85 and 86 that may replace the Ruger ones if you want to go that way. It would be cheaper and give you more ring options, but might not look as nice.

No matter what you use, it won't get any better looking.

Don't know of a rifle that uses different ring heights front and rear.
Anyone else?

M77s

Thanks for the replies. I asked this question before the bases I bought arrived. The tapped holes are at different heights but the the ring bases are of different thickness to level things up.

My M77 uses different height rings to be level.

I had looked at the Weaver bases but I liked the "look" of the Ruger steel bases. They are hard to find and a shop in South Dakota (Jack First) had a pair. I put them on today, stuck a 1.5-5 Leupold on it and it appears to be level with the bore.

Again, thanks for the replies. I appreciate the knowledge that is on this forum.

I have a No. 3, .22 Hornet (1976 version) that I bought new in '76 and I'm not sure if the barrel contour is the same but I found Buehler (Sp ?) bases and split rings for it at the time. Don't know if you can find them but that was my solution. The front base has sort of an overhang to clear the folded rear sight.

I don't know about the barrel contour difference either. I bought a set of the OEM Ruger bases. When I installed them I was concerned about ring height. No. 1's use equal height and the M77 uses two different heights. I used a pair of low rings I had laying around. It looked like a level fit but when I put the boresight on it my Leupold ran out of vertical adjustment way before I got on the grid. I will need to raise the front base or lower the rear base to make this work. After reading up on it I think bedding the scope tube in epoxy on the front ring that I read in article by Rick Jamison is probably the best way to go.

I saw the listing for the Buehler bases but could not find any for sale. In the old days that companies mounts and rings were on some of our big game rifles and performed well.

Thanks for mentioning them.

I had a Ruger # 3 in .45/70 once. The recoil on that SOB was BRUTAL!

True enough, but they can cleanup pretty good with some nice stocks, new barrel, better trigger . . .

That they do, but just getting the bones of one to play with has gotten so dang expensive that it's more cost effective to just buy a Number 1. They make a great little walkin' around gun, an alternative to a lever action carbine, but decent ones come pretty dear these days.

I had a .45/70 years ago, but the silly thing insisted on placing its bullets about 6 or 8 inches to one side, even with the rear sight hanging way out the other side in the dovetail. Something was crooked, but I never figured out what.

I am shooting Trapdoor loads in this one at the present time. I will eventually use BP in it but for now 3031 and a 405 grain bullet work fine. The chronograph shows about 1250 fps and the recoil is less than a magnum 12 ga. I have shot No. 1's with heavy loads before and don't think this gun is for that. It weighs about 6 1/2 pounds.

If you're just plunkin', try some Trail Boss. You'll be a little slower than you are now, but at 13gr under a 405, it's pretty cheap to shoot, even at the slightly higher price per pound and it fills the case.

Thanks Pappy, I will give that a try. I like cheap to shoot.

With Ruger bases, Ruger rings are the same height on my 45/70 No.3

Thanks Likeaduck that is good to know. For some reason my rings installed on the bases, which were Ruger Oem NOS from Jack First, are not level with each other. The difference is slight. With the rings in place and a 1" scope tight in the rear Ruger ring there was a gap under the front bottom ring without the top half of the ring installed. I filled this gap with epoxy putty and it fits well now.

It could be that Ruger made different two piece bases for the different calibers but I don't have any experience with No. 3's except this one. I can now adjust the scope onto the boresight grid and have lots of room both ways. I am waiting for some rosin I ordered to arrive before I tighten it up and see how it does at the range.