Ruger #1 303s of NZ

Roumers have it there was a dozen or so Ruger 1 303s sent to New Zealand a few year ago., aswell as Aus and America, but they were initially made up from Canadian orders.......

Theres a long history of the dramas assosciated with them, i assume alot of the original owners of the 303 shipment would likely have sold of traded them on since,
but , is anyone still out there with the Ruger 303?


I got one, an just got it shooting satisfactorily for hunting, its been a long time coming lol.
ive used a few projectiles in this gun now, from 150 up to 215. varied results.

Sing out, discuss more

https://i.imgur.com/dSC9MRr.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/JlQpBNL.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/x0a3xpp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/s7vdpKn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/iMzjLGu.jpg

lovely rifle...I believe there is trick or three to making the #1s shoot...info is out there on net. I spy a loopy scope...old M8 4x perchance????

I know of one in NZ. Sick bastards the lot of ya

No1 laminate stainless 204. Fired 90 shots. Shotgunned targets. Only trick, new barrel from true flight.
Now tack driver.
No 1 laminate stainless 243. No tricks. Tack driver.
No 1 Walnut and blue 22 hornet. No tricks. Tack driver out of box.
Older rifles with red pad on stock may have had contract barrels fitted by Ruger. A mix and match in early days.
These gave grief to many people as terrible shooters and a reputation to the no1 which has followed since.
Most dont like to be sighted in with a sandbag forward of the forearm screw, bring the bag back as far as possible toward the action.
Yes, there are other tricks but that is all part of the mystique of being a no1 owner.

I know of one in 303 in Chch that is (well was in April anyway) for sale if someone desperately wants one - they are spendy!

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

lovely rifle...I believe there is trick or three to making the #1s shoot...info is out there on net. I spy a loopy scope...old M8 4x perchance????

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Mick you are right in regards to one of three or nine tricks that will be needed to potentially make one of these shoot.... a well publicised "over sized" bore is not everyones porn material BUT those Speers may be one exception an a Fix for a troubled Rifle.... woodleighs measure .312 so its closer to their spec than most.. and Swaging down is a very possible option REGARDING you neck clearance is there! YRMV.

Now the scope, unfortunatly not a M8 ! jus an older Vari-x II 2-7x33 :) loves it.

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Originally Posted by Tommy

I know of one in NZ. Sick bastards the lot of ya

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mines not in NZ anymore lol

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Originally Posted by Tentman

I know of one in 303 in Chch that is (well was in April anyway) for sale if someone desperately wants one - they are spendy!

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I know of two in chch and neither are for sale. (well I guess everything has a price so perhaps for the right buyer.....)

[QUOTE=Rees;1052545]Roumers have it there was a dozen or so Ruger 1 303s sent to New Zealand a few year ago., aswell as Aus and America, but they were initially made up from Canadian orders.......

Theres a long history of the dramas assosciated with them, i assume alot of the original owners of the 303 shipment would likely have sold of traded them on since,
but , is anyone still out there with the Ruger 303?


I got one, an just got it shooting satisfactorily for hunting, its been a long time coming lol.
ive used a few projectiles in this gun now, from 150 up to 215. varied results.

Sing out, discuss more
Try a 215gr Woodleigh RN with medum load of ADI 2209 behind it...2080fps (ish) and everything it hits stays exactly where it was hit...Boom Flop....Shoots partisan / Highland/ PPU and Sellior and Bellot well. Seems to prefer heavier pills like the 18gr-215gr range.

Greetings All,
I have always lusted after a Ruger No 1 but my near terminal procrastination coupled with the natural frugality of my ancestral land have resulted in no such rifle residing in my rifle cupboard. There is however a Martini in .30-40 Krag that shoots a great deal better than at least some of the No 1 rifles. Accuracy with the No 1 .303 rifles seems variable. I believe that the earlier barrels followed the English bore and groove dimensions but not the wide robust English lands (needed to resist the erosive cordite powder). Some later rifles seem to have shot really well. John Barsness, in an article in Handloader tested one that was a real tack driver. Added to this is the rather variable accuracy of especially the earlier No 1 rifles. It seems that what you get in a Ruger No 1 is a bit of a lottery. Perhaps that is part of the allure.
Regards Grandpamac.
PS. There was an earlier thread on this subject that may be worth looking at.

I always fancied a Ruger No 3 when I was younger. Still never seen one in the flesh so to speak.

Cool rifle in the quintessential Kiwi caliber :thumbsup:

A shooting acquaintance of mine is a bit of a No 1 collector, he has been given specific instructions to call me before selling - not that I think that is ever going to happen :P

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Originally Posted by Barefoot

I always fancied a Ruger No 3 when I was younger. Still never seen one in the flesh so to speak.

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There were two for sale in Rod and Rifle years back. They were in .30-40 Krag and .22 Hornet. Price from memory was $850.00 each. I wonder who has them now?
Grandpamac.

yeah woodleigh 215s are good for Sambar but even then are fairly tough. but thats more or less the shape of bullet the ruhgers prefer.

i went for hot rodding option to create an all round rifle, as opposed to a less effective rifle loaded with 215 woodleighs at just over the sound barrrier lol..

i use 308 data for 150s-180s and so far its coming together O,K. the ruger will handle 50,000k older smle wont handle 39,000k lol.

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Originally Posted by grandpamac

PS. There was an earlier thread on this subject that may be worth looking at.

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typically early threads surrounding the 303 #1 are,.... to be frank..... quite loaded with shit.

i made new post to see if people who had em, still got em, or those who wanted em, finally got one. :)



about a momth ago i was ready to re barrel into 8x57 rimmed , as someone else mentioned here those rugers that dont shoot, do pretty quickly after a new barrel.

I don't have a Ruger #1
A friend has heaps of them from 22 hornet to 458 and plenty in between

I would like one because I'm a single shot guy
But the right one at the right price hasn't come home with me yet

But I read with interest lots of threads about getting the problem ones to shoot.
Clearly some just go great straight out of the box
Others get sold on our of frustration by the original owners.

As a matter of interest ( and why I posted to this thread ) there are over 50 parts in a Ruger #1
I think this is part of the problem . Lots of parts in a mass produced rifle means lots of potential points of change in isolating the cause of inaccuracy.

But good old Bill Ruger opened the eyes of the world to a quality single shot anyone could own
So I will excuse his mass produced complexity

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Originally Posted by res

mines not in NZ anymore lol

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@res didn't know you had one, so a couple then

My brother has one.
I was talking to him today (before I saw this thread) and he's looking to sell his, along with a Marlin 450 lever.

Most of the accuracy problems come from the area about the forearm. Numerous thoughts on applied pressure from forearm to barrel, and how much. Screeds of info on the net and a matter of finding which works best.
Keeping in mind it is a single shot where the first shot does all the work, a sighting in session may find the shots starting to string vertically, again the net is full of info with all manner of fixes, But dont get too hung up if things start to go off after a few shots, as long as the first 2 are ok you may still bring home the bacon. If you intend shooting more rounds get a bolt action.

I remember an arrival in gun nz about it. The throat seemed to be very long. A long round nose bullet might work very well in it.?

yes, there was quite alot of drama from memory with that batch of Ruger number1 in 303 but can,t remember what the problem was Friwi is probably right.
I had one in 204 cal and was very accurate after I changed the trigger and put a gadget called an accuriser that I got from Brownalls in the forearm that you could adjust with a alen key that put pressure on the barrel that tightened up groups if target shooting when the barrel warmed up because it would start shooting like shit.

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Originally Posted by hotbarrels

My brother has one.
I was talking to him today (before I saw this thread) and he's looking to sell his, along with a Marlin 450 lever.

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@hotbarrels Tell me more about this 450 marlin....

@Tommy, Wilsons have a No 1 in 450 Bushmaster in stock.

I can pick it up and transport to SR Nats if you are that way inclined :D

@ebf, more keen on a bigger lever to be honest.

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Originally Posted by Tommy

@hotbarrels Tell me more about this 450 marlin....

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@Tommy Should have info tonight