SmallCaliberCentral

Thru a whole series of missadventures I ended up with a .204 ruger no. 1 with a 6 to 18 power leopold varix II scope. It included 60 rounds of hornaday 32 grain factory rounds and a 100 round bag of unfiered wichester brass. It had been fired 40 times and the fired brass came with it. The scope had been moved and it was not sighted in. I shot 20 factory rounds to sight it in and for fun. It shot about 3/4 inch 3 shot groups at 100 yards.

I got some dies and worked up to 29 grains of RL15. I shot some 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch 100 yard groups and was very happy. Then I started reading a thread on this forum and they seemed to be talking bench rest precission from all kinds of rifles.

What should I expect at 100 yards from my No. 1?

I like the number one and am real happy with how it shoots in my old hands so it will stay with me but I would like to know its potential without a lot of work.

Thanks

I'dbe very happy with an off the rack Number 1 that can shoot some 1/4 to 1/2 inch groups.
Some shooters are getting 5 shot groups in the .2's and .3's fairly regularly with well tuned loads in well tuned or custom rifles chambered in 204, but I'd bet they get some 1/2 inch and bigger groups more often than 1/4 inch and under.
The great thing about being an accuracy buff is you never have to be satisfied. Set a goal like 1/2 inch at 100 yards and when you achieve that set a new goal like 1/4 inch at 100 or 3/4 at 200. You will never reach perfection, but it sure is fun to push yourself to the limits of your ability.

sixshooter: You don't say what model of No.1 you've got, but any No.1 that is shooting as well as yours right out of the box would be one to hold on to.

My No.1 is the blue/walnut Varmint model in .223. A neighbor wanted to dump it back around 1990 because "it wouldn't shoot". He was right, but me being a sucker for falling block rifles, after floating the barrel, glassing the forend hanger, installing a Canjar single set trigger, lapping the barrel and installing a Leupold 6.5-20X, it started shooting in the .3's with Nosler 40 & 50gr BT's, under the very best of conditions that is. In the field with the wind and range involved, it still stays under .5", and is effective on our ground squirrels easily out past 400 yds. Another tool that Skippy hates.

Mine took much dinking about to get it to shoot like it does, so as yours has not been modified at all, just think how yours might shoot with some bedding and floating, as all No.1's benefit from it. Of course, then there's always the "if it ain't broke" thing......

My No.V .223 on a recent ground squirrel shoot: (It went 98 for 100 that day out to around 350 yds....It was a good day to remember).

I have a light sporter, after a trigger job, it will shoot 3/8-inch 3-shot groups, with 32-gr, and 40-gr factory rounds It groups the 45 grainers at about 3/4-inch, but six inches high at 100-yds. (Before the trigger job, I couldn't get under an inch with it, with any ammo.)

Mine is very sensitive to barrel temp, and if I try to shoot a five shot string, the last two will be flyers. Hopefully I'll have time to start reloading soon, and can get the groups a little tighter.

A couple of guys I know, who have between them 25 to 30 Number Ones, say that free floating the barrel is the wrong approach, and that Numer Ones can best be tuned by tweaking the pressure on the forearm screw. They recomend a neoprene o-ring between the forearm, and the barrel lug, to minimize the effect of the wood swelling/shrinking as the humidity changes.

The accuracy with Number Ones in particular can be optimized by firing "ladders" to tune the load/bullet to the harmonics of the load.

bunnybuster: Your friends with the No.1's are spot on. I should have mentoned that on both the Ruger No.1 & No.3, the Browning High and Low Wall Mdl 78 and 1885's, a barrel/forearm hanger tension screw is the hot setup and not hard to do. I started doing it when I read Frank DeHass's book; Single Shot Rifles & Actions, back around 1979.

If floating the barrel and bedding the hanger to the forearm, along with a trigger replacement or good honing, the tension screw route is the next thing I usually do. On the above No.1V though, just what was mentioned above got it shooting very well. It's probably a matter of time until I put the screw adjustment in, but as it shoots quite acceptably now, it'll wait till I need an afternoon project.

Rick, on the heavy barrels the tension screw has less impact, than on the light sporters like mine. iirc, the barrel stiffness is a function of the square of the diameter, so a barrel that is twice as thick is four times as stiff.

I was tickled that my No. 1, shoots the lighter two of the Hornady factory rounds well. And, am hesitant to play with it. But, the 45-gr bullets impacting 6-inches high is a bit of an issue. Most likely a barrel whip issue, and hopefully with a little barrel tuning it will settle down without too much effect with the lighter bullets. I have been toying with building a deresonating weight for the front of the barrel, similar to what Ruger did with the Mini-14 Target.

Bunnybuster: Your point is well taken on heavy vs. a lighter barrel and the tension screw. On the heavy barrel rigs I've modified, I turn a small button on the lathe to fit between the screw and the barrel, with a radius filed into it to match the barrel O.D. It may be overkill on a HB rifle, dunno, I just know it usually has an effect at the target for the good.

On your sporter weight No.1.....have you considered the Hicks Device?

For what it's worth, my 1st No.1 K1BBB-Z. I re-moved the forend to lessen the ejector tension. Slipped a rubber o-ring between the hanger and the barrel for harmonics, snuged the forend screw. Then did my barrel brake in!
This gun was able to produce a .500 5 shot group at 200 yrds with berger 150's and pet load of H-1000. I have a Moyers trigger for it, but the way it is right now I down want to mess with it.
No.1's are fun to work with, and when they shoot small holes it is the icing on the cake!
Later
Ray P

: wall: Sorry about the above post. My No.1 is in a 300 win mag. I got 3 in total. The same model above in 7mm rem mag. and VBZ varmint in 204 Ruger. All S/S with the laminated stocks.
Later
Ray P