Thread: Ruger No1 Custom Rifles - Anyone have experience?

I have long toyed with the idea of a custom rifle based on a single shot falling block Farquharson style action.

The Hagn is amazing and something to aspire to, but a Ruger No1 is more affordable and readily available in New Zealand.

My objective would be to produce a single shot rifle about 9lb in weight with an all weather finish, long barrel for caliber and chambered in a 7mm, 300 or 338.

Ideally a brake will be used to tame recoil and as the falling block actions are short, you can maintain a long barrel for additional velocity with a reduced over all length rifle.

Ideally the proprietary Ruger bases will be replaced with weaver or picatinny rail.

Has anyone else done something similar?

Dovedale gunsmith Dave Ward built himself a fantastic No1 (in 30-06 I think, it's been 25 years since I've seen it), it had a lot of work lavished on it and was aesthetically very nice.

The main issue that will always be with them is the lever/breechblock relationship - many singleshots have a tension between them so that they don't flop about if the block is down, not so much with the Ruger. If you handle nothing else you'll probably never notice it, however once you've had a real Farquhauson or Fraser etc and dropped the lever you're spoilt for life . . . .

Ive got a mate with custom built .303 its very nice and accurate, i bought a vary tatty #1B converted to a 1A in .219 zipper, the barrel profiles arnt quite right and thus the ribs don’t fit right, had to modify a tally rail, to get sights to work, mind you i am in more for dies, than the rifle. Been a bit of a project to get running, as has forming brass.
Sold a 1H in 300H&H that was a mistake, but now have a 1A in 30-30,
I like them, they are a pleasure to shoot and use, but they have a couple of issues, that depending on the rilfe can affect performance.
Go for it, they arnt hard to work on, and shoot well enough, with a bit of work.

The trick to accuracy as told to me by one of din collings gunsmiths [dave hamilton ] was to time your cartridge when loading , same brass of course , when reloading as bolt was a few thou out of parallel which gave head space problems . I owned a no 3 in 45/70 what a booter as young dumb and loading to max in smokeless .

I know a guy with one in 7 mm Dakota , he might want to sell it but it had quite a few 100’s rounds through it.