Ruger No. 1 Tropical

I would love to eventually have a Ruger no.1 but still haven't decided what I want it chambered in.

Would love to find a 450 Bushmaster, missed out on Ruger's initial run of those, love that cartridge. Seems like a good power factor for a light rifle and will keep things simple on the reloading bench.
 
Last edited:
Nature Boy said:
There’s that “need” word again. I’m going to have to look it up one day to see what it means.
Click to expand...

I looked it up for you...

"Need" - the basic necessities for sustaining life. Food, water, firearms, ammunition, shelter, reloading equipment and components, optical accessories, clean air, and the warm touch of a good women (or in my case a cold touch of a good women, she's ALWAYS cold).
 
Why have a 600hp Hellcat?

Because they are beautiful, they’re cool, and they won’t ever make them anymore.

You don’t need to drive a .458 WM, or a Hellcat, redlined every time, but having that option to do so when you want to is pretty neat.

Let us know how it shoots when you get it home. ;)

Stay safe.
 
Any Ruger #1 is one of the lovelest rifles ever made. Get it. If you aren't tough enough to shoot it rebarrel it to a caliber you can. They don't grow on trees.
 
westernrover said:
What do I need it for?
Click to expand...
Because you might need to shoot a Cape Buffalo in the back yard... and your neighbor's house is in the way!

In all seriousness, why not? 458 is a great caliber for the big bears and moose. I had one for a bit, a Remington 98 bolt action. A beautiful gun that Big Green had made somewhere overseas for them. I didn't keep it long, though; far too much gun for the 150 pound whitetails and small black bear that live in the Ozarks. That, and between it and the 10 gauge, my shoulder was going south in a hurry. As others have said, you could load it down to 45-70 levels (something I didn't know in my younger years) to make an easy-shooting target/range gun.

Mac
 
When I was driving home yesterday, I realized what I need it for. A bear gun of course. Nevermind that I have a 1% chance of drawing a bear tag. Nevermind the 50% success rate. Nevermind most of the black bears here are under 300 pounds. There are some, about 1 in 300 (according to survey data) that are up to 600 pounds. Since all my rifles are small bore (6.5mm or under), and the statistics favor me having a shot on a big bear in the next 60,000 years, I clearly need to be ready for the chance with a 458. I mean, just imagine having a chance like that, and not having the right rifle.

What bugs me is the No.1 Tropical was sitting right next to a No.1 in 270 Win and by that, I could see that it was "the one." The 270, although far more practical for me, was not as nice. The fit of the wood to the receiver wasn't as close, the wood itself wasn't as nice. It had small blemishes on the bluing, a few scratches on the fore-end, and some faint electric-pencil inscription on the bottom of the receiver. The 458 was like-new (not surprising that it hadn't seen heavy use). So that sticks me with the hefty price tag. Sure, I could find other No. 1 Tropicals on Gunbroker for less, maybe even $500 less, but they won't be flawless like that. It's like I need that one, and another one won't do, and if it's marked up, what can I do?
 
A buddy bought one somewhere in the early 70s for out BPCR matches. He couldn't find brass so bought two boxes of factory 500 grain jacketed. We spent one afternoon shooting them up for the brass. I was a 28 year old 175 pound fearless boy and his pictures caught me with my left foot about ten inches off the ground in full recoil.
It wasn't as bad as dad's Winchester heavy Duck 3" Model 12 with 3" #4 buck, but I was only 16 and 135 when I shot that one.
The 458 with a 385 grain cast, five grains of Red Dot under a case full of ffg was a shooter, often doing 2" at 100.
Buy it. You can make it anything from a hot 45 Colt through 45-70 and 458.
 
westernrover said:
When I was driving home yesterday, I realized what I need it for. A bear gun of course. Nevermind that I have a 1% chance of drawing a bear tag. Nevermind the 50% success rate. Nevermind most of the black bears here are under 300 pounds. There are some, about 1 in 300 (according to survey data) that are up to 600 pounds. Since all my rifles are small bore (6.5mm or under), and the statistics favor me having a shot on a big bear in the next 60,000 years, I clearly need to be ready for the chance with a 458. I mean, just imagine having a chance like that, and not having the right rifle.
Click to expand...

Your family does want you to be safe when bear hunting, yes?
 
westernrover said:
I drove all the way to Cabela's today to pick up an order for primers. When I was there, I checked out the gun library. I saw a Ruger No. 1 Tropical in 458 Winchester Magnum. What do I need it for?
Click to expand...
Yes you do and you should get it. I can't tell you what you need it for but if you are like me and start thinking along those lines when you get it, you might think about selling it and find you cannot bear the thought. I love mine, though its in .375, not .458.
 
westernrover said:
I drove all the way to Cabela's today to pick up an order for primers. When I was there, I checked out the gun library. I saw a Ruger No. 1 Tropical in 458 Winchester Magnum. What do I need it for?
Click to expand...
Well, technically, you can download a .458WM to .45-70 levels. So you don’t have to shoot elephant and rhino-pounding loads all the time.

On the other hand, Ruger did make a bunch of No. 1’s in .45-70, but these models are harder to find unless you're okay with paying GunJoker crack-pricing for a used one.
 
Last edited:
I notice that some people need to justify firearm purchases to themselves or sometimes someone else or they need some kind of rationale, and others do not.
I can appreciate that some simply don't need any kind of justification or rationale, but I admit to being the type that needs a rationale. I don't need permission from anyone but myself, but because I feel a sense of responsibility to others, my family, I try not to be irrational, impulsive or even foolish. I'm grateful to have avoided debt, but I haven't done all that I want to give my family security.

Most of my firearms have a practical purpose. I've got a shotgun for birds, a rifle for medium game, a patriotic-service rifle, and handgun for EDC, and if I have more than one of anything, it's for other people in the family. I've done substantial training with my handgun, but I'm not a competitor or a collector.

It also occurs to me that firearms can be a good store of value, kind of like a gold or silver coin or bar. They aren't particularly good mediums of exchange, but they're not bad. Gun shops and coin shops or bullion dealers will trade cash for them very readily, but they pay well under market value. This price spread can be avoided with private sales, though firearms are increasingly demanding an FFL transfer and their fees. Removing barriers to firearms transactions would make them much better mediums of exchange, but it would also massively drop the value of most all of them but the collectibles. I'm talking about total deregulation in an otherwise normal market (no destruction of supply).

I've accumulated some ammo as a store of value. It's not more than I would shoot, but I don't have an intention of shooting it. If I had $2000 sitting in ammo, it was better than $2000 sitting in the bank when they were paying less interest than inflation. I could have put it in stocks, but then its value would be subject to the whim of the Fed. I invested in equities for years, through more than one roller coaster, but was disillusioned by the market mostly being a function of which lever the Fed had its hand on and always being the one shaken down. Guns aren't like that unless the government bans or deregulates, neither of which seem likely for collector types. I can see speculators buying up pre-ban SCARS, Spears, 50-cals, and whatever they think will be the next transferable NFA item, but it seems risky. I'd be concerned with getting dinged on regulatory costs or blocks. I'd enjoy those items for practical reasons, but not for speculation.

I don't have to speculate on a No.1. It's a good store of value. Whether I go for it or not might depend on how confident I feel about income and non-discretionary expenses this year. It doesn't help that the price isn't favorable. The tag was $2000. If it was $1500, I might have bought it on-sight.
 
Jim Watson said:
No 1 .45-70 is much lighter than the Tropical and a hard kicker. My only “Weatherby eyebrow. “
Click to expand...
The 458 Tropical barrel looked thicker than a 12 ga and a lot more solid. I think they used that barrel profile for 404 Jeffrey, 416 Rigby, 450 Nitro, 458 Win, 458 Lott, 470 Nitro, and others. I'll have to look this up when I get a chance.
 
westernrover said:
I don't need permission from anyone but myself, but because I feel a sense of responsibility to others, my family, I try not to be irrational, impulsive or even foolish. I'm grateful to have avoided debt, but I haven't done all that I want to give my family security.
Click to expand...

You're doing it right...my man! I like buying guns almost as much as I like retiring debt.

If your families needs and some wants (both present and future) are met at the moment than I would sleep fine in adding a Ruger no1 of most any chambering. It is simply at worst "parking money," it will more than likely at least keep up with inflation...hyperinflation well lets just say it'll have another purpose, lining up 4 deer and harvesting all with the same shot.
 
Last edited:
"YOU NEED IT!" +! ...... Get your gun club reloader friend to make you up some cast lead "easy" loads and see a whole new side to the 458 Win Mag. IT IS FANTASTIC when reigned in and run with slow moving. Squishy lead.
 
I load mine with 350 gr bullets to medium 45-70 levels-
It's a short heavy rifle and shoots very well-
I have taken several whitetails with it- works wonderful+
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

1
  • Locked
Ruger No1 experts. Need help deciding
Replies
2
Views
447
BruceB
B
D
  • Locked
Ruger No.1 6.5x55
Replies
8
Views
2K
viking499
V
G
  • Locked
  • Poll
Which do you think is most 'limited' production?
Replies
0
Views
325
Grey Morel
G
tahoe2
  • Locked
modern .40 caliber rifle? (straight walled)
Replies
8
Views
622
tahoe2
tahoe2
Dr T
  • Locked
Ruger Number 1 Now Limited Production
2
Replies
37
Views
7K
Sergei Mosin
Sergei Mosin
Back
Top