Ruger No. 1

Originally Posted By: pyscodogI called them today. $120 for the trigger and $65 to install. Seems its $65 to install the Hicks Accurizer too. My smith will do it for free for me, but thought I would ask just for grins. I'm going to put a few rounds through it before any modifications. It may shoot good enough without them.

Good thinking, my 7mm shoots just fine. It is a hunting rifle not a bench rifle.
You may like it just the way it is. let me know about the Hicks accurizer if it any good.
 
I was getting some vertical stringing with the loads I tried. I put a rubber shim under the hanger bar and the vertical string wasn't near as bad, almost none at all. I ordered the Hicks today and should get it in a few days. I like the idea of being able to tune the barrel for different loads without removing the fore-end every time.
 
I have four that I use on coyotes.

A build job (1V) with a Lilja barrel in 17 fire ball with all work done by Mark Penrod including fore end work and trigger work set up for 150 and in, a 1V 22 PPC with a Moyers trigger with fore end relief set up for 250 or so, a 1V 6mm BR with fore end work and stock trigger set up for 300+- and a 1B 6.5 Creedmoor with fore end work and trigger work by Penrod set up for past 400. I dont mean to say that any of these rifles cant do more (distance) than I have listed. Scopes are Zeiss and Leupold.

All these rifles will now shoot [beeep] near 1 hole groups at 100 (when I do my part) with cooked up loads for each gun. I dont shoot more than 3 shot groups to sight in as one almost never gets a chance for that second shot on coyotes in our country. My one shot "groups" are usually right where they need to be.

I also have a #1 in 338 with the the Henry fore arm which has had trigger work and some forearm work done. It has taken several head of large game and performs quite well.

I will say this, I like a light trigger (1.5 and under) and the stock Ruger trigger aint there. Also, the vertical stringing we all hear about can be eliminated with work on the front end and the addition of a good trigger system. If someone was interested in getting all one could get out of a #1 contact Mark Penrod. He can do it.

Just my thoughts.
 
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The smith I used, Mark Penrod, doesn't like the Hicks contraption. He would rather relieve wood from the barrel channel, fit the rear of the forearm more correctly to the action and square the action block. There are several top five or so #1 smiths that feel the same way. One gentleman out west (I think) even has a bit of a pillar bedded system for the forearm. I may try one of his in the future. A friend on another board is having a 7x57 built, as we speak, with this system.

The other approach which can be found on line is the rubber (or whatever) shim that goes under the front of the forearm after the barrel has been completely floated. I have owned and shot #1's set up like this and they shoot quite well. Better than acceptable general hunting accuracy.

#1's can be fussy but they will shoot quite well. In reality, likely not as well as a full race bolt gun with all the bells an whistles after the first shot but then "single shot shooters only shoot once."
 
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I put a rubber pad under the barrel and it did help considerably. Just thought it was more of a temporary fix. A friend used the Hicks on his rifle and it made a world of difference. I thought for $60 it was worth a try. I'm real new to the No.1 rifles so its a learning process for me.
 
pyscodog:

Fair warning..... these single shot rifles are addicting.

Give the Hicks a try. If you dont like it try something else. Believe me, the #1's can be "tuned up" to shoot better than a coyote rifle needs to be.

As to the pad.... the point of the pad is the same as the Hicks from what I gather. You might want to try moving it around a bit although most I have talked to like it at the front of the forearm. This is not a real thick piece of rubber, actually a number of folks have made one from gasket material out of a tube by removing the forearm after floating it just so you can get a business card in there all the way back to the action and then tightening the forearm down and letting the gasket material cure. You do need to use something under the gasket material to keep it from sticking to the barrel channel.
 
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Sometimes you can over-think things and spend a lot of not needed money to solve a problem.

I mentioned forend work in an earlier post here for a No. 1 that might not shoot as well as you'd like for it to do. For me that involves a Viton o-ring around the stock screw where the wood and the barrel hanger meet. Then by just "playing" with screw tension while you shoot, you can generally find a good torque for the screw where accuracy will improve significantly and it will maintain over time.

Years ago I bought a like-new No.1 Bicentennial Year Liberty Ruger in 22-250 that shot poorly. That is when I got turned on to the o-ring trick. It has worked for me numerous times over the years with other now defunct to me No.1 rifles and with the ones I still own. My only regret with the 2-250 is that I wish that I still had the rifle.
 
Made a trip to the range today. I had 4 different loads using 80 grain Sierra Blitz bullets, IMR 4350 powder, CCI primers and Winchester brass loaded .005 off the lands. Three rounds of each charge @ 100yds. I had about a 10 MPH crosswind blowing left to right and temps in the mid 80's.

1st-45 grains,.842
2nd-45.5,.464
3rd-46, .464
4th-46.5, .771

Now I have the Hicks Accurizer arriving on Friday and don't really think I'm going to need it after all. Four back to back groups under an inch is pretty good I think. Now to see if it will repete with the same results.
 
Obviously, I would stay with those two middle loads.... Under .5. Try some one shot "groups from a cold/cool barrel.

I suspect some tinkering may even close them up a bit. Good work.
 
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I received the Hick's Accurizer today. Installation on the rifle is super easy but looks like a lot of wood needs to be removed from the fore-end for the part to fit the stock correctly. I'm not sure now if I want to hack up my stock to make it fit. With only a dremel tool a guy could butcher a nice stock pretty easy. If I only had a mill!! If it shoots the loads I tried last time out as good as it did, I may call it good enough and return the parts for a refund.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogI received the Hick's Accurizer today. Installation on the rifle is super easy but looks like a lot of wood needs to be removed from the fore-end for the part to fit the stock correctly. I'm not sure now if I want to hack up my stock to make it fit. With only a dremel tool a guy could butcher a nice stock pretty easy. If I only had a mill!! If it shoots the loads I tried last time out as good as it did, I may call it good enough and return the parts for a refund.

Another example of overthinking a problem that might not exist.
 
I bought a 1B in the 1970's for a long range work. It was a 300 Win mag at first it wouldn't shoot well at all with my favorite 165gr bullet but when I got up over 180rs it was like a different rifle and doted on 200gr SMK's and 200gr softpoints for hunting. I killed a number of deer with it and when a guy offered me way more than i thought it was worth to take it out west for elk, well it went down the road.

I always thought one in 222 Rem would be a fun rifle.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogWhat consists of "front end work"? I have a Hicks accurizer ordered, should be here on Friday.

Since the forend is attached to the barrel tenon, there can be a lot of pressure on the barrel. There are two things to look at regarding the forend. First is bedding the three points where the hanger contacts the forend and then remove the excess wood where the stock touches the barrel. Second is to sand down the rear of the forend to barely give clearance from the receiver when the forend is tightened down. I would have done these two things before considering the Hicks Accurizer, but it sounds like you already ordered it. I had two No. 1Vs and both were very accurate without doing the bedding, but I had a No.3 that I did it to. It helped reduce group size and alleviated the tendency to string vertically. I got the tips from an article on No. 1 tuning by Jon Sundra way back in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Hope this helps.
 
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Originally Posted By: huntschoolObviously, I would stay with those two middle loads.... Under .5. Try some one shot "groups from a cold/cool barrel.

I suspect some tinkering may even close them up a bit. Good work.

I would also try something in between the two, like 45.7 or 45.8.
 
My smith/friend has a couple of No.1's and he recommended getting the accurizer before I had even shot the rifle. It made a big difference in the accuracy of his rifle. After a partial box of factory ammo and a few hand loads,I was getting the vertical stringing. Thats when I ordered the accurizer. Then did some reading on the internet and I read about putting the pad under the hanger bar. Also got some pretty good tips here and on Accurate Shooter. As far as the Accurizer, it wasn't that expensive and if I decided not to use it, I can send it back or sell it. The cost wasn't that big of a deal and I have it if I need it.

As far as the loads, I want to try the same two middle loads again and will try some in between loads too. May play with seating depth also.
 
Had a Ruger #1 varmint .223 . I giving that design of rifle a BIG Thumbs-Down and I never want to see one again as long as I live . It was the most inaccurate .223 rifle I ever owned . It was also the most time consuming rifle I ever owned, with taking months of my life wasted on trying to accurize and then working up different loads . It was no more accurate than any of my Ruger mini14's . and the throat was a bottomless pit . Was a happy day celebration when I got it out of my house .
.
Edit to add:
one positive thing i can say about that Rifle .
" It was a good looking rifle ".
.
 
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While its not a bench rest rifle and never meant to be, mine is coming around pretty good. I still may use the accurizer but its shooting decent right now. I'm sure it is accurate enough to kill deer. I think if you buy a No.1 and are expecting BR type groups, you may have bought the wrong rifle. I shot mine again today and it didn't get the small groups that it shot the other day but I had considerable wind and it was pretty warm. Three shots and the barrel was really warm. Still acceptable hunting groups.
 
Early Rugers had a variety of barrels from different manufacturers. Seems that Wilson barrels had the sketchiest reputation. My #1V in .22-250 would regularly shoot 5 shots groups at 5/8 inch even with a long throat and my #3 in .223 would do 5 shots in 3/4 inches. Handholds were used in both.
 


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