Hello, I'm new to the forum, but not to shooting and reloading. I'm 78 and began hunting in the late nineteen-fifties. Reloading started soon after purchasing a Ruger .41 magnum Blackhawk in 1967. I still have the pistol in original condition. 

I'm going to lead off in the forum with a Ruger Number One I purchased in the mid-seventies from Mashburn Arms in OKC. I met and visited with Art Mashburn several years earlier when his shop was still in downtown Oklahoma City. Not much transpired between a naive twenty-year old and an old gun-pro who were strangers to each other, but at least, I did meet him before he became history. 

The Ruger No. One was originally chambered in 25-06 and after 20 years of service at the range and in the field, I sent it off to Bullberry in Utah and had it re-barreled and chambered in 25-35 Winchester for want of something a little different. One of my vintage reloading books stated that the 25-35 was "unspectacular on varmints..." Soooo, believing what the book said, the first turkey I shot with it was a fifty-yard body shot - the turkey exploded. After that it was neck shots only. 

The scope is a vintage Weaver T-16. The groups shown were shot twenty years ago using a Weaver T-36. They are 50, 100, and 300 yards. The 300 was shot to the north into a strong headwind. As a note: the gun weighs a little over ten pounds and was shot from a machine rest with all the right stuff under it.

Welcome to the ASSRA Forum! I've always liked the lines of the Ruger No.1 rifles. The Weaver scope looks right at home on your rifle.

... Joe

Nice #1, I bought a 1v in 25-06 in the early 80s. It has never had a factory round fired in it. It was a tack driver from day one, easily under an inch with little or no work on the reloads. Now a safe queen, haven’t shot it several years.
Thanks Mike

Thanks for the replies... the 25-06 happened along in my younger days and even though I put several thousand rounds through it I never really liked it. Back in those days I wore ear protectors at the range but not in the field... go figure on that one. The 25-06 is a real blaster. Probably one of the reasons I can't hear diddly these days. The 25-35 is such a superb shooter I have never missed the 25-06. Both are absolute tack-drivers, but consider that the 25-35 uses about half the powder and isn't nearly as loud. Anyway, don't overlook the 25-35 the next time you're prowling around for a new caliber.

Art...
My R-1 is stock. I remember trying to come up with a different way to mount the forearm back when, but never succeeded. Back when I shot those groups I used a long leather bag packed with sand (much like the one in the photo, but sturdier,) and pushed the rifle as far forward as possible, without over doing it. That puts all the weight near the action where the barrel is much stiffer. The bag is also under the hanger. Then keep as much weight off the gun as you can. After that breathing and trigger control become the most important thing.
Flyers are a fact of life, and I believe they are caused by the shooter, not the equipment... most probably in the trigger pull.
But hey, I could be entirely wrong.
Good luck to you. 

To get a similar effect I just put a pad in the barrel channel at the nose of the forend.

tim_s wrote on Jan 8^th, 2022 at 8:49pm:


You can get the same effect by just using  longer forend screw and let it go through the threaded "barrel " and put pressure on the rifles barrel.it did wonders for my #1 220 Wilson Arrow 25 years back.

The first Ruger No 1 that I found at Sutor's House of Guns in Colorado Springs in 1969 or 70 was a 25-06 varmint. It was not exactly what I was looking for, but it had beautiful wood, and at that point in time they were extremely hard to come by. I have since replaced it with a slightly newer version. The first now wears a 219 Don. barrel. It has been my experience, that the most simple way to improve on the accuracy of a No 1, is replace the Ruger barrel. Some of the other attempts will definatly help, but a good barrel seemed to be the best solution for me, if fine accuracy is the most desired result. To my way of thinking, the 25-06 is an outstanding longer range Antelope cartridge, and that has been demonstrated to me many times, until switching to a 38-55 High Wall and crawling closer!!!!

The earlier #1's actually used Douglas Barrels and now they are Hammer Forged and not by any means as good. They all also had very exceptional wood and they had allot of figure. As well as also being hand checkered in house. They are now just basically hunting rifles and they are probably more than good enough for that type of use. But they probably are not as good for long range Varmint use as they once were and surely not up to extremely competitive use anymore.

The barrels were outsourced from many makers, Douglas being only one, and for a very short time. Basicaly a crap shoot, hence my suggestion to rebarrel from a good source, of which there are many.  Yes, the new are hammer forged, but that doesn't mean they won't or don't shoot better than say Williams barrels, which Ruger used for some time. It all boils down to intended use. At ranges large game should be shot, even the older were adequate. For small targets, more accuracy is best. The Ruger No1 was never intended for competitive use from the factory. There are always exceptions, and there are a multitude of improvements that can be made to enhance their capability for that use, but trying to get a poor barrel to shoot is an exercise in frustration.

BIG, is not always a good thing!! Which is just one of the reasons there are good barrel makers, making good barrels.

Rollerguy, thanks for the trip down memory lane. In 1958 I was in the Navy and was going to school in Norman, Oklahoma and made a number of pilgrimages to Mashburn arms. I don’t remember if I met Mr. Mashburn but did find a nice 8mm Mashburn Magnum for my dad. I also had an early Ruger .44 flat top I bought in 1962 with a 6 1/2 or 7 1/2 inch barrel...at 83 my memory is just that, a memory. I also had a Ruger SS in 7mm mag. Bought it as a barreled action. Your Ruger is a real tack driver in an interesting caliber. So many guns so little time.
Welcome to the forum, the folks here are a wealth of knowledge.
Cheers Richard