Tell me about......

[Mr. 16 gauge]

...the Ruger #1 series of rifles. Never gave much thought to a single shot before, but I was perusing some local used gun sites and a few popped up and while the prices weren't 'bargain basement', they are what I think reasonable.
Anyone ever have one or hunt with one?

[skeet]

I have about 4.. One may be in transition. They are great guns. A little hard to get to shoot REALLY well but for a hunting rifle they are fine. They are a bit heavy..well mine are, as I use the #1B rifles. 26 inch medium weight bbls. Mine are ..pretty. for deer and antelope they are great. Did i mention they are kinda pretty??

[Jack]

I have one, and I've owned a few over the years. They are, indeed, pretty.
They are not what you want for benchrest competition, surely, but every one I've seen has shot plenty well enough.
The one I own now is an RSI model- 20" barrel and a mannlicher style forend, in 7x57.
That rifle shoots groups just barely over an inch with a hunting load- a 140 Nosler Partition at 2800 fps.
Single shot actions are much shorter than bolt actions, so #1's tend to be shorter than a bolt rifle with similar barrels. My RSI is a tad shorter than a Winchester 94 with a 20 bbl. Handy in the woods.
I've hunted with that rifle for almost 20 years now, and I haven't found any drawback to it yet.

[jplonghunter]

Owned one in 45-70 and liked the rifle but not the caliber. I have recently bought Number 1B barreled action in 25-06 that I am converting to 25 Gibbs. Although not bench rest capable from the factory they can be tweaked to make excellent shooters.

jplonghunter

[scalerman]

I waited 10 years to buy the #1 I wanted. It was worth every minute of the wait. I reload for mine and as such mine shoots quite accurately.They are heavy- but that is a good thing when you throw it upto your shoulder, it steadies down right away. the weight is a draw back when carrying it all day. The fact that the #1 with a 26" barrel is shorter than most bolt actions with a 22" barrel is a good thing when it comes to getting through the thicker brush. another interesting fact about single shot rifles is that people tend to shoot better with a single shot than a repeater. They take more care with lining up their shot because they know they do not have a quick back up shot. I love my single shot #1. If I were going to buy another rifle it would be another single shot but maybe a T/C this time.

[bigbrother]

I don't own one but have shot OlSpark's #1. He had it rebarreled with a 30" Lilja barrel in 300 Tomahawk (300ultra mag improved). It also feels heavy but I've found the weight seems to be in the right place. They point well for me. His shoots well under MOA out past 800 yards. I don't think you can go wrong if you're looking for something different.

[rainydays]

I don't have a #1 but do have an 1885 Winchester LowWall in .223. Its a little over 6 lbs., has a 24" barrel, easy to pack around and very accurate. Now I wish I had one in a .243 also.

[wrenchman]

the inlaw has 2 one is a 22-250 and cover 3 shots with a dime at a hundred yards and a 270 and he has killed elk muleys and deer with it and has had both for over 20 years never tryed to get moa on the 270.

[popplecop]

Ilike SS Rifles, have the following: 1885 Win. 38-55, Tc Hunter with 2 setups, 30-06 & 22-250, Savages 219s in 22 K Hornet & 30-30, and a Ruger No. 1 in 45-70. The 45-70 No. 1 can be loaded to take anything in North Amereica. Mine is very accurate with the Hornady 350 gr. RN with a load of 3031. Have taken anumber of whitetails with it. I think you'll find hunting with a SS rifle very rewarding and the Ruger is great.

[PJgunner]

I have 22 Ruger #1 rifles in various configurations rnaging in caliber rom .22 Hornet to the .416 Rigby and one Browning B78. I hunt with these rifles and have never felt handicapped regarding a speedy reload. Just takes practice.
With just a little bit of practive, one can shoot an aimed shot, reload and shoot a second AIMED shot almost as fast as the average once a year shooter using a bolt action rifle. Sometimes, you can even be a slightly faster but he'd have to be a bit of a klutz. The main point is after you shoot, don't stand there and admire your shot. Drop the breech and get that round into the chamber. Sometimes, that dead deer comes back to life and you don't want to be there with your jaw hanging down while you frantically scramble to chamber another round.
Look at it this way. Way back in the late 1800's when young British officer were stationed to Africa, most could not afford to buy a brace of double rifles, let alone on double rifle. Most bought a good single shot rifle, probably on the Farqueharson action. (I'd love to own one.) he hunted all manner of game with that single loader from the tiny Dik Dik to the mighty elephant with all kinds of dangerous and non-dangerous game in between. Most survived. John Taylor stated in his book AFRICAN RIFLES AND CARTRIDGES that almost every time he was hunting lions, he was armed with a single loader, probably a Martini-Henry. He tells of one instance where he trailed three lions and took them one with that single shot rifle the third lion being in full charge at the shot.
If I could ever swing the money, I'd be off to the dark Continent in a flash with my .300 Win. Mag. for plains game and my .416 Rigby for cape Buffalo and would not worry one bit about whether I was poorly armed or not. In fact, I would consider myself very well armed. But, unless I win the blasted lottery, that'll never happen.
Paul B.

[Gil Martin]

It sat in the used rack at a gun shop for a few weeks and I got it at a decent price. Very nice rifle that really likes my reloads. All the best...
Gil