Ruger No. 1 Single Shot Rifles are quietly being discontinued, and a few key distributors are selling the "last ones." If you have an interest, this may be an ideal time to buy one.

While well made, and I think attractive, they had a questionable accuracy reputation. Many shot well; some did not. Barrel bedding was sometimes a problem due to the unusual front hanger arrangement. Personally, mine shot fine.

New ones seem to sell in the $900 to $1,200 price range. Cabela's has a few new ones.

My 45-70 shoots well enough for me.

Mine, too. I had a #3 in .45-70, too, that I bought used. My son and I killed a ton of deer with that little thing. My usual load for it was a Rem. 300 gr. FNHP at about 2100 fps. The previous owner had put a whiteline Pachmayr on it to tame it a bit. When my son was 10 years old he would shoot it off the bench. I conveniently forgot to tell him about recoil, and he never noticed it.

After I bought my #1 .45-70 I sold the #3. I once loaded 500 gr. bullets to about 1850 fps and shot them offhand at the range. It bucked and roared but they were fun to shoot in that little gun.

SRH

Dad's No. 3 was my introduction to the .45-70. I was about 12 at the time and he held nothing back and I was hooked. Brought it down to Arkansas one year for our annual shoot and it was deemed to be "that damned rude Yankee gun".

Pity on the No. 1's. They are a favorite. Between Dad and my brother and I there is a fair pile of them and we're always on the hunt for another.

I've had a few No. 1's. My first, and which I'll forever regret selling was marked "7mm Remington Express" now known as 280 Remington. It shot wonderfully. Presently I have one in 300 H&H which does the same (esp. with 200 gr. Barnes TTSX), and a full stock in 257 Roberts which is challenging me.
Most people don't know they've been discontinued, so now is the time to find them used for ~$700. Guaranteed they'll be bringing more in a year.

I've had a #1A in .243 for years. Just "enough gun" for lots of uses, and accurate enough for any of 'em. And light. And handy. And handsome (I swopped a deliciously figured buttstock off a #1H .45-70 onto the .243 and sold the cannon off--"too much gun" for my needs!).

If a #1 or #3 wont shoot, a 10-32 screw through the front of the forearm hanger, putting a little pressure on the barrel, sometimes helps. It is quick, easy, invisible, and reversible if it doesn't work.
Mike

This myth of the Ruger #1 being discontinued has already been nipped in the bud! The VP of Ruger made a public announcement that they have no plans to stop production. Considering the 50th Anniversary of the Ruger #1, it would be silly to stop now anyway.

The DeHaas method of adding the setscrew in the forearm hanger does occasionally help tune the vertical stringing as a barrel warms up. In my attempts it didn't help enough to be worth the trouble.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/01/30/keep-calm-carry-ruger-no-1-not-going-away/

Vall, the article you link to here is TWO YEARS OLD!

Question: If a favorite then why would Ruger even consider ending production? Because, business fact - companies don't keep manufacturing things that don't sell. As much as I hate to say this AR15's are manufactured by everyone cause they SELL. Modern Single shots not so much.

I have owned 2, #1's, over the years and sold both because they could not be made to shoot with any consistence past 100 yds, so not a real good "Out West" hunting gun. I only bought the second one because I guess I wanted to hit my thumb again with a hammer, since I couldn't really believe it hurt that bad. It does. (BTW they aren't the worst modern single shot, that would be the Dakota Model 10.

Isn't this timely:
#1 troubles

My other #1 is a little more "rare". They chambered a few #1V models in 7 mm Rem. Mag. and I ordered one many years ago. It's heavy, with the bull barrel, but it is a shooting machine. It is the only rifle I ever owned that will put every bullet weight from 110 gr. through about 170 gr. into the same group. All were hand loads, but it puts several different weight bullets to the same POI.

SRH

My 200th Year in 7mm Mag benefited from free floating the forend except for upward pressure at the tip. With 160 grain Speer Mag Tips and H870 it would put 4 in 1.5 inches at 200 yards. It was sensitive to load to .2 grains and to seating depth by .020.

I can quote a lot newer stuff too! It's just a myth, and not happening. I sometimes wonder if this stuff gets started by distributors to generate a frenzy of sales and orders.
Both the VP of Ruger, (Christopher Killoy) and Lipsey's, the only distributor for the Ruger #1 have put this latest rumor to rest. They said they will be dropping some calibers that sold poorly, but also adding calibers that have been requested often. But production is NOT ending.

One of those "worst modern single shot" #10 This one a .257R 1/2 minute shooter.


And a second rate #3 sidelever conversion that has killed 17 head of big game including kudu and gemsbuck both one shot kills.

Hello SDH:

Very nice! What was the No. 3 chambered in???

GG

Steven,
A gun that does not eject the case without having to turn it upside down or have significant work done to the action to make it eject (I do believe you yourself commented on this issue in your 1999 book, page 85 and 88) I would consider "worst".
Don Allen and I discussed this short coming when I tested some of his initial rifles at a SCI event here in Minnesota where he was demonstrating his rifles. I do not believe he ever fixed the issue.

This discussion I believe is about factory guns and not highly customized rifles.

17 head, eh? My old #3 .45-70 might not have taken 400 head of deer and hogs, but it came close. Yours looks real purty, but I think I actually would prefer the underlever.

SRH

Ejection on a non-break-open rifle only serves to ding the comb nose with the cases, I've only done one Hagn with an ejector and will not do another, flings the cases right into the comb. Tipping the muzzle up when activating the extractor works fine, for the most part.
I agree, the sidelever does not provide as positive extraction as I would like, but it sure is cool for my .30-40 Krag.
One of three. Anyone can buy an underlever, eh?

My African hunt: Five animals...


"400 head of deer and hogs" just sounds like boasting, who could count that high?. Did you carve a notch in the stock for each?
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On the #1 and 3s, you can make them extract or eject; I have all mine set to extract. I agree with Steve, in that regard. I had a friend that put #1 stocks on all his #3s, and called them #13s. Actually, they looked nice. He is another one that has "passed", I'm starting to think it is dangerous to be my friend.
Mike

Is there such a thing as a Ruger #2?

Officially, no. However, in the same vein as Der Ami's friend, I call this a 'No. 2':



No. 3 action, No. 1 butt, forearm and 26" barrel.

BTW, the chickadee is a good friend.

LOL
However does beg the question....
Maybe it was discontinued before it got started

That's exactly what I am wondering. But didn't the #3 predate the #1? I'm not a ruger fan so I don't know much about them. However, I've always wondered about the #2.

or
"A notch by any other name (an inscribed cartridge case for example) would smell as sweet"

1967 #1
1973 to 1986 #3

I lusted for one in 1969, but then went to Vietnam and when I return in 72 I bought my first. My thoughts soured shortly there after.

Ah ha! Born late, died young.

The pinnacle of single shot action development?

This is a rifle I completed about 5 years ago after taking a 30 year break from gunmaking. They are a wonderful canvas for a custom rifle. The first thing to do is cut the end from the fore end hanger and then dovetail a block into the barrel for fore end attachment.

I also found it annoying that cases marked the top of the comb on ejection on the 270 I bought and sold forty to fifty years ago and only recently have I bought my second one which has come from the estate sale of a fellow shooter at the shooting club I belong to.
This one has a heavy barrel with no sights and blocks for mounting the leupold 6.5x20 and is chambered for the 6 mm PPC
When I first took it to the range to fire it off a bench rest it wouldn't fire and I thought to myself something wrong here but no, just a heavy trigger which I am not used to.
Unlike my first No1 this one shoots ok despite the heavy trigger.
Also the ejected cases do not come back and mark the comb. Just as far as the safety.
Another thing I find unusual is that there are no markings on the rifle to say who the maker is.
The photo on the previous post shows a fantastic looking rifle,

Dennis, I love the profile of that stock - specifically from below, of all things. I imagine it has an almost delicate feel to it.

IMHO that is about as nice a rifle as you can make out of a Ruger #1 action.

Thanks all for the positive comments. Glad you like it.

Dennis, any more pictures of your no.1 or other guns you have remodelled or customised ?

I can count that high. And I didn't say I killed them all, I didn't even kill 20% of them. The previous owner was the game manager on a 28,500 acre plantation adjoining me, and it was the rifle he used for nearly twenty years to cull does for the plantation, on tags, and kill hogs.

If it's boasting I'm boasting on him, not me.

SRH

Bonny,
I can photograph and post a Satterlee-actioned Mauser that I built several years ago if you are interested. It is a .404 Jeffery.

I'm an amateur gunmaker and not particularly prolific.

Bonny,
Here is an image of the rifle action top and a close up of the grip.

Thank you Dennis, love the cch !

So what is the TRUTH ?

Are Ruger No. 1's DISCONTINUED ?

Yes, they're gone, and Ruger is rounding up all the used ones and destroying them too. Then they plan to round up all photographs or evidence of their existence and destroy those also!
It's like the Nazis and their reign of terror. I think Ruger is tired of all the myths and rumors, so just going to remove all signs of the No. 1 now.
I'm burying mine in the backyard, so nobody ever finds it.

I'm confused gold40, you started this thread, were you spread rumor or talking from a point of knowledge? Your first comment seemed to say the later yet know you seem to be coming from the former.

Any frankly who cares?

The facts seem unclear. I have read several places that the Ruger No. 1's were being discontinued. Some postimgs say that is not true; other say it is true.

I recently bought a new one in 30-06. I had owned others in the past, but had traded them.

They are nice guns.

gold40

The facts are indeed unclear if you choose to believe internet myths, and rumors. But if you don't believe those high up at Ruger who have dispelled these myths, you'll continue to wonder what's true.
I think once I read that Ruger company officials disputed the myth, I didn't waste any more time on the subject. But you're free to continue the myths if you choose to.

Vall
+1

I wonder what's the point of further discussion. If Ruger is ending them it means too few care about them and one being me.

I've owned a few, and always thought Ruger missed the boat on not offering some different options. A heavier octagon or half octagon barrel. A more slender forearm without the ugly groove cut in the end. Set trigger. A modified tang safety so a good sight could be used.
I recently came into another Ruger #1 in 7x57 with the old red buttpad, which is a caliber I'm pretty fond of. Took it as part payment on a Ballard #1 1/2 I was selling. It came with a 2x7 Redfield scope and 100 new brass. Figured I'd play with it a little and move it along for the $750 I allowed on trade.
If I kept it, I'd want to spend money on it to make it look good, so best to move it later.