Better accuracy for a Ruger #1.

[SunnySlopes]

I bought a #1 Standard in 30-06 used. According to Ruger's website it was made in 1976, so I'm not sure if it has the older adjustable trigger or not.

Earlier this week I took it to the range and the groups were all over the place. I used Winchester Super X Power Point 180 grain ammo.

When I got the gun it only had the iron sights. No scope or rings. I bought some new rings and a new Leupold 3.5-10 Vari X III.

Based on my internet research I've seen that Ruger considers a 3" group at 100 yards to be sufficient.

Earlier this week I would have been thankful for a 3" group at 100 yards. At 200 yards, fageddaboudett! I'm glad I was the only shooter at the rifle range.

What's the twist rate for the barrel and what kind of ammo does it like? I haven't started reloading for it yet. I thought I'd run the gamut of factory ammo first. Maybe it doesn't like the Winchester ammo?

 

[flashhole]

I did this with my #1V. It has held up really well and I get consistently good results on target year after year. I shoot my own handloads and that may make a difference.

https://www.shootersforum.com/singl...-different-approach-w-pictures-round-2-a.html

I found I have to position my gun in the rest in the exact same manner every time to get really good groups.

 

[entropy]

Try 150-168 gr. bullets over just-below-max listed loads of your favorite powder. My Dad had a .30-06 #1, and it shot sub-MOA, about 3/4" at 100 with 150 Ballistic Tip and Partitions. I don't recall the charge, it was 40 years ago, but he used IMR4350 and CC! Large Rifle primers.

 

[SunnySlopes]

Thanks for all the comments. Here's what a poster on TFL said:

The barrels for #1's were douglas match grade from 67-72, Wilson barrels from 73-91, and ruger hammer forged from 93 to the present. The Wilson barrels are the problematic ones. Some were good and some were not so good. If you have one of the poorer performing Wilson's, there's not much you can do other than replacement.

I'll play with it for a while but if I can't get it to perform with minimal effort, I'll either reserve it for a close quarter thick brush deer rifle or I'll just sell it. According to the above my rifle has a Wilson barrel.

 

[Dr T]

My No. 1 RSI 30-06 (of the vintage for the Wilson barrels) never shot well with factory ammo. As I recall, the critical factor is the tension on the foreend screw. Also, it would not shoot consistently with the factory rings (unlike my bolt Rugers that will not shoot well unless you used the factory rings). AND the bases were misaligned, so I had to use the Burris rings with the eccentric offsets to just boresight the scope.

After A LOT of experimentation, I came up with two handloads, a 165 gr and a 180 gr, that would print about 1.25" at 100 yards (The 180 gr chronographs at 2650 fps). It is topped with a Burris Signature 4x40 fixed power scope, has beautiful wood, and is the most point-able gun I own. A lot of work, but it was worth it in the end. It is one of my favorite rifles despite (or, perhaps, because of) all the work.

 

[Slamfire]

the critical factor is the tension on the foreend screw.

I have heard that, I put a tension screw in one Ruger #1, did not do a thing. I talked last week to a Ruger Technician about my #1 in 35 Whelen and I talked fore end bedding. If memory is correct, the forend is supposed to bear on the back sides and the tip. Fore end tension is critical and so is bedding. But, the tech was claiming, "it all depended". So there are various bedding techniques out there, and, "it all depends".

My Ruger #1 in 30-06 has a good barrel, I took it down to CMP Talladega and it shot horribly and I did not figure out what went wrong till later. At 200 yards, I have an 11 round group, upper right quarter of the ten ring, one shot low in the ten ring, group size 4.8 inches. Not great, not bad. At 300 yards, I have shots in the five, six, and seven rings, for a ten shot group size of 20 inches. The forend screw backed out, I think, as I found the forend screw loose when I got home. I assume it unscrewed at 300 yards, but until I test it again, I don't know. My 100 yard groups were sub 2 MOA, mostly, lots of vertical stringing. I believe the heavy trigger and the hammer fall contribute to vertical stringing in this mechanism.

If I ever figure out how to make one of these shoot, I will have some good advice, but till then, just shoot it, keep the factory bedding, and don't let the foreend screw get loose.

 

[Dr T]

"It all depends" is shorthand for "Every one is different, and it will take a lot of trial and error."

The rifle is peculiar when compared to a bolt gun and the fore end bedding is much more complex in several ways (See the parts diagram at https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/ruger/rifles-ruger/no-1-series). I suspect that if all of the screw tensions are not "just so" that the spring that runs up the fore end will ring like a bell and really play havoc with the barrel harmonics.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

I have a Ruger No. 1 Varminter in .22-250 with 1:14 twist, will not pattern well with anything but 43 grain bullets. Thinking about trading it or selling it. Meanwhile No. 1s remain an almost cult like rifle.

 

[Olympus]

It sounds like if you have iron sights you might have a 1A. The No1 Standard I’m pretty sure is also consider the 1B and they don’t have iron sights that I’m aware of. If you have iron sights and a barrel band, then it’s definitely a 1A.

No1 rifles do tend to be all over the board in terms of accuracy. Lot of discussion on the forend and how it attaches and how the screws are torqued. I have a newer production 1B in 243 and with the loads I worked up for it, the thing is like a laser! But not all are that way. I’d be happy with anything around 2” from an older No1. Developing your own load will work better than trying off the shelf ammo.

 

[Browning]

I have a Ruger No. 1 in .270 Win that I inherited from my father. I'd never sell it. A few years after he died I finally got around to shooting it with his handloads that he had labeled in the garage and it was a tack-driver. It has an old Redfield 2-7x scope. I was stacking bullets on top of each other at 100 yards.

I ran out of the ammo that he had for it and for 15 to 16 years it sat and just remained in the same slot in the safe only moving occasionally to get wiped down with a silicone cloth. Eventually I needed a deer rifle after moving to Texas and being here for a few years and remembering how accurate it was I bought a couple boxes of ammo from Academy and took it out. It was all over the place. I couldn't get better than 3-4 inch groups.

I thought it was me and thought maybe I had a bad day and tried it again, same result. Thought maybe the scope was loose and giving inconsistent performance and tightened everything up and after some trial and error and some frustration discovered that it was real picky about ammo and after buying a few different loads I stumbled across one it liked. Now I just religiously buy that one load.

While my father had several No. 1's including a .257 Roberts, a 30-06 and a .458 Win Mag I've only messed around with this one on my own and from what I understand that's pretty common. Ruger No. 1's have a reputation for being load picky and apparently for good reason. You'll probably have to go through a similar process and just find a load that yours likes.

For my Ruger No. in .270 it prefers 150 grain Nosler's ... it's shown a preference for most 150 grain bullets, but it's back to doing 3-round cloverleafs at 100 yards with those. Took me long enough of going through different loads to figure that out.

Good luck with yours.

 

[Sniper66]

Ruger #1 has the reputation, deserved or not, of either being a good shooter or a bad one. My brother and I have several in different calibers. All of them shoot better with hand loaded ammo and trigger adjustment...all of them. My .204 was improved from 1.5" groups with factory ammo (Hornady) and factory trigger to .5" at 100 yds with hand loaded ammo and a modest trigger adjustment to about 2 lbs. My brother's .243 improved from 2" to .5" groups. His 6.5 Creedmore shot 1" groups right out of the box; I think because some of the factory ammo is really good these days. Even so, our reloads are even better.

 

[Bushpilot]

IMO wouldn't bother with too much load testing and development at this point. Working up loads is fine if your #1 is shooting 2 inch groups and you're trying to get it down to an inch or an inch and a half but when it's shooting "all over the place" it's probably going to be more productive to start looking into the various Ruger #1 forearm modification options... Especially on an older #1. After you get it shooting at least 2 or 3 inch groups with some ordinary factory loads then I would start load development.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

Number One in 257 Roberts: In loading for a 1977 vintage #1B, I found the rifle has a very long throat. So long, in fact, that 87gr. Sierra bullets could not be used. For this rifle it had to be 100gr. bullets and heavier. The rifle did well with with 100 to 117 gr. bullets. Well is less than 1" for three shots at 100 yards. Most recently good results with Varget and 115 gr. Sierra GK's. Rounds were neck sized with careful attention to COL. This #1 is unforgiving but does well with selected loads. Not working with the lighter bullets kills dual purpose use. My thinking is that my rifles, made between 1977 and 1981, all have Wilson barrels.

 

[rayatphonix]

I have two No. 1’s. Both have varmint barrels and shoot 1” groups, or slightly better with handloads. I’ve never tried factory ammo so don’t know how it would do with those. I talked to a guy at the range who had done the mounting modifications with the rubber pads and his shot lights out. He’s been very helpful to me over the years and taught me many things. I’ll make those changes to both my rifles this winter.

 

[the Black Spot]

Could be as simple as putting a rubber O ring ,between the forend and barrel, for the screw to go through. Benchrest for groups with the gun resting as close to the action as possible.

 

[Flatbush Harry]

I got a No. 1 in 6.5x55 SE several years ago. Not having any brass for it, I bought three boxes of Remington Core-Lokts with 140 gr bullets. After mounting a Leupy 2.5-8x36 scope in the factory-supplied rings, I went to the range just to sight in. Imagine my surprise when my first three shots produced a 1/2" group at 50 yards. After a few adjustments I took it out to 100 yards and got a 3/4" group with shots 7-9. For giggles and a reality check, I cracked the second box...same group size.

I have worked up a nice load with 142 SMKs and 40.0 gr of VV N550 but I've not found a load that betters the Rems. I've still got two boxes left of the Core-Lokts and will use them for deer. Great rifles that put a premium on marksmanship.

Good luck and good hunting,

 

[Bfh_auto]

My brother has one in 22-250 that was my grandfather's. It shoots poorly unless the bullets are seated long.
It was not 3 inches poor though.
My go to is decopper and make sure all screws are tight. Then I try different weight ammo.
Bad crown or poor forearm fit can wreak havoc.