Well, I'm back in the single shot game after eight years or so. I just picked up a 1978 1A in very clean shape. The wood is nice but not outrageous. I'll post a pic or two as soon as I can. Were the older red pad rifles more inclined to be accurate or inaccurate? The other 1A I had was a late 80s rifle and shot about 1.5" without any load development. It was either this 1A or spend twice as much for the new low wall in 6.5x55.

The general consensus on INTERNET FORUMS is barrel quality and the resulting accuracy of Ruger No. 1s produced prior to 1993 is spotty. (Wilson was sourcing most of the barrels until Ruger began producing them in-house.) I believe most of this is patently exaggerated. (I like to call this BULLSHIT.) I do know you tend to see a lot of long throats on Wilson-barreled No. 1s, but then again, you were supposed to be able to handload for one of these without the confines of a magazine and in other cases (like 7x57mms) the prevailing factory loads for a time were very long-nosed bullets.

I would think unless your No. 1 has been assaulted with a cleaning rod, you'll be just fine.

Bricktop - Thanks. This rifle has not been abused so I am hopeful. As a rule I like to shoot 165s and I can experiment with the seating depth. I did notice that the previous owner had the rings reversed....

Dave

Dave,

Rings on the #1 are the same height back and front. How could you tell that they were reversed?

Douglas and others made some of the early barrels too. But there is no real way to tell who made a given barrel. The date of shipment is all that Ruger can certify. The component parts went into bins for the assembly line w/o any particular concern for assembling parts according to date of manufacture.

Recent production, black pad, rifles are most likely to have in-house made barrels that meet modern chamber standards in all calibers. The earlier overlong chamber problem, judging by cases cited my owners here and other collector sites, was most
prevalent in 7x57s and even then was not uniformly or even commonly the case.

Odds are that, as Bricktop said, your 30-06 should be fine. If not, check for bedding issues as well as the chamber. The right hand load also can fix erratic groups.

Good luck,
1B

1B - Where do bedding issues tend to occur with the 1A, if they occur at all?

Bedding problems can happen in any of the #1 models but ltwt barrels tend to flex more and so they are more prone to problems.

Metal to wood contact points can be out of whack -- forgive the scientific term -- even in some new guns. Excessive wood contact on one side of the barrel; later warping of the wood due to humidity changes and inadequate wood sealing; improper contact at the receiver and the hanger are some of the causes to look for when groups go awry. Often they can be easiy fixed at home but there are also some higher tech bedding fixes.

Again, do not worry about it unless you encounter problems. And each rifle is different so there are no nostrums out there.

If you realy want to wallow in the mysteries of #1 there is a Ruger #1 collectors site with loads of info -- to include data on an annual competition that produces superb accuracy with the full range of #1 calibers.

Good luck with yours,
1B

Possibly the caps were swapped? Ruger ring caps are not interchangeable, but you probably knew that.

Front ring is higher. I'm thinking they're the wrong rings and I plan to replace them.

OldRooster,

It sunds like you have a set of Model 77 bolt gun rings. Buy another set just like it and you will have two sets of Ruger #1 rings of different heights -- probably medium and high.

1B

1B - That's exactly what I was wondering about. Thank you.

d.

Very nice find. You know it's funny to me but the 1A in 30-06 s/b one of the more common configurations but I believe I have seen 7x57s 20to 1 in the 1A in my area.

bangeye - The price was too good to pass up. It's a nice clean rifle and as much as I like the 7x57, I've found the '06 to be hard to beat for a go-to rifle. And 7x57s are hard to come by here.

d.

1B - I found a good set of rings in my considerable collection.

Dave

Same thing here. Odds are if you come across a 1A at a shop or show it's a 7x57 around here too.

I picked up the 1A this morning. It is in excellent + condition. The wood is very nicely figured, bluing is excellent, wood has a couple of very light handling marks. The bore was dirty from collecting dust in a closet. After a couple of patches it looks like an unfired barrel. Beautiful. It's no wonder it wasn't shot. It has a set of Ruger 77 rings on it- backward! High ring in front, low in the back. We figured that if the scope was aimed at a target 100 yards away the bullet would be hitting the ground at somewhere between 35 and 50 yards from the muzzle. Pics as soon as I can.

A new set of rings is a small investment worth making.

That's what I'm thinking. It came with a Tasco that has dual horizontal crosshairs and an extended elevation turret for bullet drop compensation. Kinda interesting old scope. The wood is better than I thought now that it's cleaned up a little and in the light of day. No blue wear at all that I can find. I really got into this right and am feeling pleased.

Footnote: the trigger is niiiice.

Congrats..

I picked up a real clean '78 No.1a 30-06 off of here 4-5 years ago. Haven't shot it a great deal, but it does 1.25-1.50 inches easy enough (good enough for me and it's intended uses).

Have a Leupold 3x in Leupold Low Rings, would like to lighten up the trigger one of these days.

This is the 1A - if the photos load and if they're not so grainy you want to sand rough sawn oak with them.

I found a set of low rings for the 1 and mounted a good little 2.5-8x36. It's a nice size for the rifle.

d.

cal74 - Are you shooting handloads or factory? I'm inclined to go with 165s in the '06. My go-to rifle shoots 165s over H414 extremely well.

Factory loads, some of which have been WWII surplus even that have done just fine.

Just hoping to get into reloading sometime soon, but the 30-06 won't be loaded for anytime soon.

cal - you might want to look at Prvi Partizan ammunition. It is very accurate in 7mm-08 and 6.5x55. The bullets perform well and it's affordable.

Nice rifle Old Rooster. I'm sure with basic and prudent handloading you should easily find a good load for that rifle. I go over all my Rugers and make sure the wood is sealed. Butt pad, checkering, barrel channel, receiver all of it. Then once it's sealed I put some Minwax paste wax over it prior to taking them out every hunting season. It gives a little extra insurance for keeping out moisture and gives the stock a little more grip and tac to it with the wax finish. I started buying No. 1's in the mid eighties and have owned several from 25-06 up to 45-70 and never had one that I couldn't get to shoot MOA or better with good handloads.

Brinky - what do you use for sealing?

I used Minwax Polyurethane fast drying. It's what I had laying around and it worked well. After it dried and cured I put the paste wax on and rubbed it out. I have not had an issue and it's been a few years. I apply the paste wax about two or three times a year out of boredom but for sure before season. Like I mentioned it leaves a nice grippy surface for still hunting rather than the normal smooth slick finish.