SmallCaliberCentral

Hello all. This is my first post here, but I have been glancing off and on. I finally broke down and bought myself a Christmas present this year. A Ruger #1-AB in .204. I have always been intrigued by the .204 and have always wanted a #1, so I did it. I opted for the #1-AB because of its lighter weight and compactness for the type of hunting I do. Now, while I wait for the rifle to come in, I have to find a scope for it and ammunition (I don't reload). Being the barrel is a 1:12 twist, is this better for lighter bullets or heavier?

Anyone else shoot this model?

Thanks

It SHOULD shoot 32s fairly well, at the least. The heavier bullets are a toss-up, you'll never know unless you try them. I've seen some Rugers that strongly favored heavy bullets, so you'll have to try some of each, sorry there's no easy answer, but that's the common conundrum of the .204.
Welcome to the forum, it's a good crowd.

Thanks for the welcome.

As far as bullet weight goes, I just wanted to know what end of the scale I should start out with.

I have a No 1AB also and agree with you that it has great lines and balances very well. Mine has a Leupold 8.5x20 scope. I've tried 32 and 39 gr Sierra BK's and mine shoots both about the same.

Congrats on a nice gun.

Thanks Merrifield. I'm still waiting on it to be delivered at the gun shop. I found a Zeiss 4.5-14x44mm scope in my gun safe for it if the supplied rings will allow it to clear. I'm very anxious for it's arrival.

My understanding is that Ruger will replace the rings supplied with the rifle if the package is unopened. Not sure how you will be able to tell they're correct or not without opening the pack, but......

Good luck with your rifle

I picked up my #1-AB today and I'm really impressed with it's compactness, weight and balance. Plus, the wood has some interesting grain to it. I was a little nervous about the wood not being good looking. I hope it shoots as good as it feels and looks though. It did come with medium height rings, so I'm going to do some scope switching amongst my rifles in order to accomodate the rings. This rifle is going to be used mainly as a calling rifle for reds and shot distances will range from 10 yards to 200 yards, so I'll probably just stick my Kahles 3-9x42mm on it. This will keep the overall weight down and with a great FOV for those closer shots.

Do any of you use a 3-9 on your .204's for calling predators and are you happy with the magnification for it's purpose?