Good opener.
For my part, I think they're great rifles, and I'm not a Ruger fan otherwise. I have two of them at the moment- one is a 45/70 with a fixed low power Leupold (2.5X?) and a Galco leather shell holder on the buttstock. I pretty much only shoot 500 gr. Hornadys out of it over a +P+ charge of H4895. Sighting it in from the bench was an interesting experience, and it kicks too much for me to shoot lots of tiny groups with it, but it'll hit 'minuite-of-tree' dead on at 100 yards, and that's great for what I want that rifle to be. You never know when you might be charged by an enraged bull elephant here in "deepest, darkest North Carolina."
The second #1 Ruger is a custom job that I had rebarrelled in .300 H&H. The barrel is a heavy octagonal from Green Mountain in a 30" finished length. I just got it back from the gunsmith after waiting a year, and I've only done 20 rounds worth of break-in with it so far, so It's a bit early to tell what it will do, but the factory Federal has so far given me one group of 1.3 MOA. I suspect that with any kind of load development, and a new forestock that fits the new barrel properly, it will go under an inch, which is pretty good.
I was lusting for a while over a #1 in 218 Bee, but when I had a chance to handle one it was way too heavy for the light woods rifle I had in mind. That means another rebarrelling job on another perfectly good new rifle, and a wait of another year.....
That project is currently on the back burner.
I have to say that the #1 one Ruger I'll buy in a heartbeat. The wood on some of the ones I've seen has been truely excellent, especially for a factory built rifle, and it's a great way to make you work on your Riflemans Skills, and I need all the practice there I can get.
How 'bout the rest of you? What's your experience with Bill Rugers' pet?
For my part, I think they're great rifles, and I'm not a Ruger fan otherwise. I have two of them at the moment- one is a 45/70 with a fixed low power Leupold (2.5X?) and a Galco leather shell holder on the buttstock. I pretty much only shoot 500 gr. Hornadys out of it over a +P+ charge of H4895. Sighting it in from the bench was an interesting experience, and it kicks too much for me to shoot lots of tiny groups with it, but it'll hit 'minuite-of-tree' dead on at 100 yards, and that's great for what I want that rifle to be. You never know when you might be charged by an enraged bull elephant here in "deepest, darkest North Carolina."
The second #1 Ruger is a custom job that I had rebarrelled in .300 H&H. The barrel is a heavy octagonal from Green Mountain in a 30" finished length. I just got it back from the gunsmith after waiting a year, and I've only done 20 rounds worth of break-in with it so far, so It's a bit early to tell what it will do, but the factory Federal has so far given me one group of 1.3 MOA. I suspect that with any kind of load development, and a new forestock that fits the new barrel properly, it will go under an inch, which is pretty good.
I was lusting for a while over a #1 in 218 Bee, but when I had a chance to handle one it was way too heavy for the light woods rifle I had in mind. That means another rebarrelling job on another perfectly good new rifle, and a wait of another year.....
That project is currently on the back burner.
I have to say that the #1 one Ruger I'll buy in a heartbeat. The wood on some of the ones I've seen has been truely excellent, especially for a factory built rifle, and it's a great way to make you work on your Riflemans Skills, and I need all the practice there I can get.
How 'bout the rest of you? What's your experience with Bill Rugers' pet?
