Ruger #1

[Swigs]

Just curious if anyone owns a Ruger#1 . I was considering buying one in a 220 swift for ground hog hunting. Was wondering about the accuracy. Seems like the price for used ones are close to $1000 . Thanks

[North Country Gal]

Have had a few in other calibers. The problem I've found with the Ruger single shots is trying to predict accuracy. Some have been great and some lousy. Love the gun, but that's s lot of money to spend not knowing what'll you'll get. Would suggest trying to get one where you can talk to the owner about its accuracy. Some of these get sold off precisely because of accuracy issues. Had a 1B in 223 that was one of those.

[bandit1250]

Had a Ruger #1 with the Varmint heavy barrel. Accuracy was terrible. I love the cartridge so I gave it a good chance by working with the fore arm like Jon Sundra wrote about in magazines and many different loads. Helped a little but the so called varmint model would have required very large varmints to be able to consistently hit them. Sold it to a Ruger collector that didn't care how it shot and bought a Savage single shot Model 112 220 Swift and the Savage would shoot smaller groups at 300 yds. than the Ruger at 100 yds. on a good day for the Ruger. Several years later bought another #1 Varmint 223 Rem. Just about as bad as the first one. Traded it in on a Savage single shot Model 12 in 223 Rem. and both Savages shot slightly better than my much more expensive Remington 40-X single shot. The Savages have been great shooters for me and right now I have two 112 single shot Swifts.

[JEBar]

while I'm a long time Ruger fan, I have never owned or fired a #1 ..... I do have several friends who have owned then and from what I've been told, NCG is dead on the money (as usual) .... when it comes to accuracy, folks seem to love them or hate them

[Swigs]

Thanks for your responses . I have several savages and they all shoot good. I just always wanted a #1 but not if it doesnt shoot.

[Cofisher]

Yeah, that puts a crimp in my desire for one also. Will look hard before buying one. Still love the brand and reputation.

[Mistered]

I just always wanted a #1 but not if it doesn't shoot.

Yep - this is what killed the desire for me. The inconsistencies tell me there is some kind of a problem but I am not going to chance it.

[bandit1250]

I just always wanted a #1 but not if it doesn't shoot.

Yep - this is what killed the desire for me. The inconsistencies tell me there is some kind of a problem but I am not going to chance it.

If you could find a private owner who was selling one that would maybe take you out and let you shoot it at a 100 yds. or more it would be much better than taking a gamble that you might just get a good one. NCG would probably agree that a lot of the problem is how the fore arm can put uneven pressure at the front of the action. Relieving the pressure can make a significant improvement in the accuracy unless there is other issues with the rifle that needs to be worked out. I just got tired of fooling with the two I had and bought the two Savages and never bought another #1. I feel Rugers are hot or cold. Either they shoot well or at the bottom of the rung in accuracy. I did take a chance and buy a Ruger Predator bolt carbine in 7.62X39 that shoots great and does it with the cheap "junk" ammo. I love this little light weight Ruger and don't have to set at the loading bench when I can be shooting instead and shoot it for less than 22 Magnum ammo usually cost and this ammo is easy to get.

[tractortad]

We have one in 44Mag that we like a lot, but then again, we don't do much long range work it either. It shoots just fine at 25-50 yds which is where we do 99% of our shooting. I would think there would probably be better choices for a ground-hog rifle in 220 swift. We love our Ruger #1 and would never let it go, but it can be a little tricky to mount optics on these due to the nature of the action and scope mount location. NCG put out an excellent post on this subject a while back. Ours presently has a Skinner peep with a Merit adjustable aperature mounted on the receiver, which works good at 50yds and less.

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[North Country Gal]

That's a beauty, Tractordad. Love the wood.

I've always been a fan of Bill Ruger for his innovative gun designs, but one place old Bill got it wrong was that flimsy hanger bar for the No 1 forearm and his obsession with that angled forearm bolt mounting system, also used on some of his bolt gun designs. Makes the forearm on these riles very sensitive to pressure, bolt torque and where you rest them on the bag. Winchester/Miroku 1885s, on the other hand, have a proper hanger bar for the forearm. In my experience, these are much more consistent shooters than the No 1.