Skeet. I have a #1A in .243 and I have to say it is one of my fun guns. I hear you on the #1B being discontinued which doesn't bother me all that much. I have two for them in 25-06 so I'm set thee. One is a tack driver for sure with 120 gr. Speers and I have yet to shoot the other one wihich is a very recent acquisition.
The Ruger #1 rifls I want are the "S" model medium sporters. They have that classic look of the old Farquharsens that I think are so cool. If you saw The Ghost and the darkness, the rifle that misfired when he faced the lion is a Farquharson. The last one I saw for sale had a $5,000 price tag and was in one of the old british Nitro Expess cartridges. I'll behonest, I came darn close to pulling the cash out of my savings to get that one.
I do have two of the "S" models, both in .300 Win. mag. One is a great shooter using my pet 200 gr. load but the other is a 1976 "200th Year" gun and I haven't gotten around to shooting it yet. I'll probably try it out if I draw a tag for elk. I have three #1's in .300 Win. mag. The third one is a "B" model that is a .375" gun with 200 gr. Speer Hot-Cores at 2950 FPS.
I like the Ruger #1 rifles and Ilike hunting with them. I guess that says it all for me.
Since I sold that custom #1 I had in .223 Rem. to a friend who just had to have it, I've been using that .243 as my walkabout rifle when roaming the desert. Makes jackrabbits and coyotes run in terror when I show up.
Paul B.