Ruger No. 1 for a Long Range Rifle

[ColonialBuff]

Normally, I would go with a Remington 700, but the idea of a Ruger No. 1 as a long range rifle intrigues me. Does anyone have any data on previous attempts or literature that I can research? Since I am not a gunsmith I am not aware of the technical issues; so, be easy on me, please. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[winmagman]

Here is a previous discussion on the No. 1, hope it helps. Ruger # 1
Chris

 

[ColonialBuff]

Thanks for the reply. And, next time I will do a search on the forum before asking an old question. Again, thanks.

 

[Buffalobob]

My 2 cents. In 1979 I rebarreled a NIB #1 with a Shilen 26" heavy barrel in 7mm Wby. Reworked rear stock to provide higher comb and longer pull to fit my body dimensions. Put Redfield 6X18 scope and aftermarket target turrets on it. After a lot of work ( and I do mean a lot) to cure vertical stringing and get the right powder, primer, seating depth it would shoot. The maximum range I could squeeze out of the Redfield vertical adjustment was 1200 yards and it would and will shoot five round 8" groups at that range. The gun is sensitive to what and how you rest the fore end on when shooting and does not like a really clean barrel but shoots best after a couple of rounds (this is a pain when going hunting because it means you have to fire it a couple of times before you start the hunt. I may put one of those new devices in the fore end.

The whole affair was a lot of fun and I learned a lot and I really like the #1: however, when this barrel is shot out and that time is near, I will rebarrel it in something like 220 swift and then build a new long range gun on a custom single shot bolt action in 30-378.

 

[royinidaho]

Way to go guys! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif Rain on the ol' parade /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Just kiddin /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I say this just as a #1 in 375 is in the mail. Got it for the action and wood with tho'ts of replacing the bbl and going long range with it.

I have always been attracted to the #1. Periodically I've cycled through several. Went to accurizing and working up loads and finally traded 'em off as I was spending too much time for not much reward. I could usually get them to pretty fair accuracy off the bench. But out in the field some bullets went into some unexpected places. I never lost game because of it but ruined some good eatin. Depending whether I was offhand or prown, or using a tree for a rest It strung 'em up and down in a major way. The larger the cal. the larger the string.

Don't know if I'll proceed with this project or just do it with the REM 700 that is justa a waiting.

Thanks for for you postings. But, jeez what if I'm one of the lucky ones. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Guest]

I'm on my second bbl on my #1.I found out that by freefloating the forend completely and putting a .060 shim between the spring hanger and the bbl,it stopped my stringing problems and consistently averages .50 -.75 in groups for 3 shots.This is a 338 ultra mag. Hopes this helps.

 

[Buffalobob]

Explain a little more about the shim. What is it made of and what size ? I just reworked the fore end for about the tenth time and was thinking about spending $60 for the Hicks Accurizer.

 

[royinidaho]

Hardcase,

Yes, a little more info on the shim thing. Please

I can just bet that tuning up a 375 isn't gonna be that much fun - based on my 338 experience. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Good to here the 338 Rum is doing so well. If the point of aim doesn't change from time to time you're in the berries.

I'm pretty certain I'll leave the 375 a 375 and go the LR route with the REM 700 action.

 

[Buffalobob]

We may have to track "hardcase" down to get his secret shim info. In the mean time here is what got me down to 0.7 MOA @ 1200 yds.
Take a 12 guage shotgun paper hull and cut the head off, then open it up length wise. Then cut again lenght wise a strip that will cradle about the bottom third of the barrel but not half becasue you will not want any side pressure on the barrel. Then cut off about one inch of this strip and place it loosely in the fore end as far out as poosible so that it cradles the exact bottom of the barrel. Tighten up the forend screw good and tight. Load up several dump truck loads of your favorite bullets. Get a screw driver, some towels to pad your shoulder and the foreend and go to the range.
Use one towel folded several times to place over the sandbags to soften up the contact of the fore end. Ignore the laughter of the benchrest shooters. Shoot a couple of five round groups to settle in the barrel in the cradle made by the paper hull and get sighted in again.
Now then, begin backing out the foreend screw one quarter turn at a time shooting five round groups looking for the sweet spot. If you are lucky it will come at about a half turn out. Obviuosly you can not go hiunting with a very loose fore end screw, (it is my observation that many hunters have a few loose screws) so it is important to find the sweeet spot before backing the screw out too far. Once you have found the sweet spot do not do what I did and fail to write down a good description of where it is. The reason for this, is that the screw will slowly shoot looser and you will hunt out in the rain and have to dissenble the gun. So sooner or later the screw has to be readjusted back to where you set it.

If you think all of this is fun, then just try sneaking one of your wife's good towels into your hunting back pack for the fore end rest. Lots of deer and antelope do not like to stick around while you fumble with your towel to get it under the fore end. On the other hand, if you wish to amuse your frends, you can try shooting at an antelope at 400 yards while resting the fore end on top of a fence post without your towel. Having tried those tricks, I turned to man's best frieind - Duck tape. Go and find a good firm sponge at the super market make sure it is firm but springy and then duck tape this to the bottom of the fore end. Do not let this get wet. When hunting season is over you can then amuse all of us on this forum by describing how to get the duct tape adhesive off of the foreend without ruining the finish. At the moment I cannot remember what I used.

Seriously, it sounds like the shim and the Hick's accurizer and the paper hull all work on the same principle of applying a pressure point on the bottom of the barrel and a sweet spot.

Shooting a #1 is kind of like raising children, just a never ending process, full of fun and amusement.

 

[BountyHunter]

Here is a thread on the new hicks accurizer for the number 1. By all reports, seems to work very well. Recent article in one of the mags that spoke highly of it also.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/9421043/m/936100381

BH

 

[Guest]

I found that having any contact between the forend and the barrell on MY no 1 created a problem,whether it was direct pressure or indirect pressure..ie with the hicks or a screw bedded into the forearm and adjusting tension on the bbl with the screw.Since the movement of the forearm,whether due to moisture,heat or not holding EXACTLY the same spot with the same pressure on the forend everytime would cause the group impact points to shift,I decided to shim the bbl under the spring hanger.That gives me the "dampening" I need for accuracy.By completely freefloating the forearm(I run a folded dollar bill under the bbl with the FOREARM lying in my rest,if you only freefloat a small amount the weight of the rifle will will make the bbl touch the forearm and you won't be free floated so check it in the rest.) I took the forend out of the mix.I also made sure the receiver end of the forearm was square,a little sanding took care of that.It seems that when you tighten the forearm down and the receiver end of the forearm isn,t square,it exerts uneven pressure on the receiver,putting it in a bind,causing the poi to change especially in temperature changes,such as not letting the bbl and receiver cool to exactly the same temp for each group or differences in the ambient daytime temp.I then sealed the wood with polyurethane.For a shim I used the flap portion from a box of Remington ammo,cut it to size to fit under the hanger,sealed it with epoxy so it wouldn't expand with moisture, and inserted it under the hanger.A 1-1.5 inch long piece worked fine.The reason I used the ammo cardboard is beacuse its very dense so it won't compress much under the hanger.It seems to stay pretty well stable.Then I just worked up some loads for it.Simple ain't it! I had hair when I started!!!!!!!! Hope this helps

 

[Buffalobob]

Thanks Hardcase

This is very interesting, particularly, rechecking the fore end with weight on it and the fit to the action. I think this weekend, I will take mine apart again and look at the shim thickness required and what material I have available. This sounds like it may save the cost of the Hicks which you did not find to be satisfactory anyway. In reality I am not sure why I am doing all of this being as the gun was shooting really well already. I must need a new gun to play with.

 

[Guest]

Also check the rail you mount the scope rings on.On my original rifle the rail had the bbl in such a bind ,I had to pry it off with a screwdriver.It bout took my head off.I still have a big gash in my sheetrock to remind me.i sawed the rail into and put it back on.My groups went from5" to 3" but that still didnt solve the puzzle.It did help eliminate one of the problems. Good Luck

 

[Buffalobob]

The guy who rebarreled my #1 had some considerable difficulty re-radiusing the quarter rib to fit the heavier barrel. I may be bored and messing around with the gun but I am not crazy. I am just going to believe that I do not have that problem (although you bring back bad memories of waiting for the gunsmith to solve the radiusing problem and you may well be right). The barrel only has about another 200 rounds of life in it and with it shooting 0.7 MOA that will do me until I move back out West. There is not much long range hunting (800-1200 yds)in this neck of the woods. I definitely agree with you that this whole thing is a barrel harmonics issue and I think that it gets worse with the larger calibers. Dampening the vibrations is the name of the game.