Single shot sight options

[North Country Gal]

Not that anyone else will have this rifle - it's a limited production model - but I thought the various sight options I've explored with this rifle and my experiences with them might prove helpful to others, especially to those of you with lever guns, because the issues are very similar, in this case.

The gun, itself, is my Ruger No. 1S in 44 mag with its short 20" barrel. Have posted on the gun, before, but let me add that if not my absolute favorite, it's very close. Love the gun.

Factory open rear, bead front (factory sights).


Open sights
Handling: Excellent. Makes for very nice pointing and carrying rig.
Speed on target: Slow. That tiny notch rear is pretty tough to pick up, even in good light. In bad? Forget about it.
Ease of use: Fair in decent light, Poor in low light
Accuracy potential: did very well at 25 yards, fair at 50 in decent light, but 100 was less than impressive with the short 13" sight distance between front and rear sight.

Comments: better set of open sights than the usual factory lever gun sights, but a real handicap much beyond 25.

Skinner peep/NECG blade front




Skinner peep/NECG blade front
Handling: excellent, same as with open sights
Speed on target: Very good, but only with the wide .125" aperture
Ease of use: Very good with .125" aperture, only Fair with .90". Not useable with a .40"
Accuracy potential: Again, did very well at 25 yards and decent at 50, but 100 was frustrating.

Comments: Had high hopes for the peep sight option, but, overall, was disappointed. Not the fault of the excellent Skinner sight, though. It's the gun and the way it fit me that made for a bad match with a peep sight. Ruger No.1s are long in the stock and with that peep sight out on the rib, I had a full 9" between my eye and the peep sight. That's just too far for any significant sharpening effect for front sight or target. At 100 yards, both the front sight and the 6" bull were just too fuzzy for accurate work. Worse, yet, the stock comb on this Ruger is just a smidge too high for comfortable peep sight work. Was getting whacked in the cheek when I got even the least bit sloppy with a cheek weld. Ouch!


Ultradot 25 Red Dot


Ultradot red dot
Handling: still Excellent. The red dot and rings add very little weight
Speed on target: Fastest of all sights. Amazing
Ease of use: Excellent. Cheek stayed just high enough off the comb to avoid getting bitten.
Accuracy potential: Excellent at 50 and still decent at 100. Could manage nice offhand groups at both distances

Comments: If you can get by the idea of an electronic sight on such a classic gun (and I know some can't), this would be all the sight I would ever need on this gun, since a 44 mag rifle is basically a 100 yard gun, anyway.


Leupold 1.5-5x VX-R


Leupold VX-R Scout 1.5-5x
Handling: Good, but that added weight is noticeable. Not enough to keep me from carrying it, but handling does take a hit.
Speed on target: Excellent. At 1.5x with that illuminated reticle, nearly as fast as a red dot.
Ease of use: Excellent. At 1.5x with that illuminated dot reticle/crosshair setup, even better than the red dot. The optics on the scope make things much more visible in any kind of light or shooting conditions. Talk about turning on the lights!
Accuracy potential: Outstanding at any typical 44 mag rifle range. Makes it very hard to use any other sight.

Comments: With the way Ruger single shots are stocked and that rib out there forward of the receiver, getting a scope with the right eye relief can be a real challenge. This one was no exception. Standard low power, 1-4x scopes were a no go at 4x with eye relief being too short. Only way to get a full FOV was by contorting my neck. Not comfortable. This Scout version of the Leupold solved the problem, perfectly, though. Has the right eye relief at all magnifications.

And the winner is ...


The purist/traditionalist in me really wanted the peep sight to work, but, as I mentioned, it's just not a good setup for me on this particular model of gun. The scope option wins, here, but only because I found the perfect match in the Leupold Scout scope. Makes the loss of handling a minor concern to get the great performance provided by this specific Leupold scope. It really does make the rifle. Any other scope, though, would make for a distant second behind the red dot. Yeah, not crazy about the electronics thing, but I could be very happy with the red dot on this gun, otherwise.

There you have it. The lesson of this story, if there is one, is to not try to make the gun fit preconceived notions of what sights should and should not work. Sometimes ya' just got try them all.

[MadCityJack]

Very cool set up. Excellent treatment. Learned a lot! I have a Vortex 1.5-8x32 32 HD LH and find at the higher powers the eye relief is impossible on my Marlin 336s--I did add a Beartooth cheek pad and that seemed to help but only on the lower powers. The pad detracts from the appearance of the rifle but adds some function and makes it easier on my neck.

[JEBar]

I enjoyed your most thoughtful post .... I most certainly agree with the concept that one should use whatever firearm, equipped with whatever sights that best meet their wants/needs .... for me, that fact is the only one that really matters

[tractortad]

NCG - great report. We recently added a Ruger No.1 44M to our stable and couldn't agree more on how much fun they are to shoot. Ours presently has a Skinner rear peep and factory front - it works for us because we shoot mostly at 25 yds, but, then again, we may have to check out one of those Leupold scout scopes - thanks for the info.

IMG_0171.JPG (6.38 MiB) Viewed 1670 times

[North Country Gal]

You'll do fine at 25 and even 50 yards with the peep setup with the added benefit of preserving the great handling.

Love the wood on yours. Heard that some of these 44 mags were stocked in Circassian walnut. Looks like you got one. Beautiful.

[Yornoc3]

Ruger #1A quarter rib scope mounts make can it a challenge, alright. I think the best scopes for them were the older Burris models, particularly the 1.75 x 5 straight tube, because their adjustment turrets are farther forward, allowing we "shorter" (5' 9") people the eye relief we require. I was able to fit a Leupold VX 3 1.5 x 5 to my 7mm Mauser, thanks to its substantial eye relief; I had an old Weaver K2.5 with a post reticle on it for a while. I like the straight tube scopes both for their light weight and lack of interference with the rear sight. Some scope bells can contact the sight, even if folded (since it has sights, I want to maintain their functionality). Still, I like the Ruger #1 well enough to put up with that "inconvenient" feature .

[North Country Gal]

I do, too.

[kjunman10]

Beautiful rifle.I have used the Ultra Dot Red Dot on some of my guns but they are the more modern ones. They really work well for me especially with my failing eyesight. While they help my shooting I just cannot make myself put them on my old Winchester and Marlin lever guns. Since I don't hunt anymore I don't really have use for a scope but kept one on the Marlin since it was installed on it with the ring mount when I purchased it so many years ago.
Thanks for the pics and Good Shooting.

[North Country Gal]

You're welcome.

I understand about putting electronic sights on any traditional gun. I, too, am very traditional in my tastes, but not to the point of being impractical or not getting the job done when conditions call for such a sight. Also, I think that in time, red dots on rifles will become as accepted as scopes on rifles, given that so many younger generation shooters use these sights on those "other" types of guns.

[Danwin22]

Those Ruger #1’s are so pretty I’d probably just sit there and admire it.

I wish they could make a 22 Single shot that looks that good.