I have been thinking about trying one of these just because I love a No. 1H and I kind of miss having a .375 to play with. But one thing I constantly hear is, "Whatever you do, avoid belted cases in single shots." I guess this has to do with extraction, and agree rimmed case make more sense here. I have had No. 1s in 7X57 and .416 Rigby, with zero extraction problems, and in .450-400 and (currently) .450 3.25 NE. I did have a little trouble with the .450-400 rim getting ahead of the extractor, which then did not want to snap over it, but I think that was the fault of the smith who built it. Has anyone had extraction problems, failures with a .375 H&H in a No. 1? Any advice most welcome.

BILL/OREGON My wife shot a 243 No1 quite a bit, always with reloads, no problems. A friend had a 375 No1 and he shot his also quite a bit with no problems. I have seen quite a few rimless No1's never heard of any extraction/ejection problems, hope this helps.

I too have a #1 in .375 and to date never had any problems with it. I say go for it. I think that they are great guns and the .375 #1 shoots pretty soft to me.

My son has a No. 1 in .375 H&H that we have been loading for over the last 7 years. Nary a hint of a problem. We neck size only, and with five or six loadings on our first lot of brass, we have yet needed to FL size the cases. Treat your brass right and loading belted is no different than loading a non-belted case. We have 4 other No. 1s also, .22-250, .300 Wby, .45-70, and .416 Rigby. The .300 has also proven to be no more trouble to load for than any of the other non-belted, and we've had that one for about 15 years. I retired the first lot of .300 brass after 8 loadings only because of paranoia, the brass showed no signs of giving up.

I don't understand why belted cases should be any different. The Ruger has a spring loaded ejector and it will snap over the rim and belt of almost anything.

I have loaded for a #1 in 7mm Mag from 1969 thru 1995 and never had a problem and that chamber could have been better. I have a .300 Win mag in a #1S and it has a nice tight chamber and extraction is fine with a load that's 2 grains over the new handbooks max. Pressure is not max with that load in that rifle however.

The chamber in the newer .300 is so good that neck sizing will get by but FL should be done for SS hunting loads.

Bill, the truth is, everything about the Ruger Number One is incredibly strong. The breech system will handle great pressures, and the extraction/ejection system is also extremely strong and reliable. It'll easily handle the pressures of any belted magnum that's ever been created. Tens of thousands of these rifles have been sold in various belted magnum calibers for over thirty-five years, and you never hear about anyone having trouble with pressures or extraction.

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What Allen said!

Thanks guys. Ordered one.

I got a #1h in 375 a little over a year ago and I've been very pleased. Trigger could be better, but it's not as bad as I've read about. The gun is extremely accurate. It was my first 'big gun', but it was shooting 1" or smaller cloverleafs with the very first load I put in it. I'm shooting 270 gr Hornady's at about 2400 fps. Recoil is noticable on the bench, but not bad with a sand bag on my shoulder. Standing, I rock with the recoil, no problem. It's very compact, easy to carry, and about the right weight for the caliber. Go for it. Bob

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Bob at the Bayou Rifles range and getting to shoot his Ruger #1 in .375 H&H.

I was impressed! A compact weapon with plenty of heft! His scope had a bunch of eye relief and I enjoyed getting to shoot his Ruger #1.

Thought Bob was a nice fellow too!

Rusty
We band of brothers!

I got a No 1-H in 416 Rem Mag last October, and it has been a great rifle so far. I haven't done much range shooting from the bench, but I did shoot a 3 shot group @ 100 yards that measured 1.75", with my scope set on 2X. I'm sure it can do much better. I really like the short, compact length.

You made a great choice!

Say Bob, what scope do you have on your .375? I thought I would simply install my old warrior K2.5, which I have had on the .450 and the .416 Rigby.

I'm interested in a Ruger #1 as well, I've looked at their website and saw that they have a stainless version with a laminate stock in 375 H&H, has anyone seen one of these first hand? I don't know if the laminate stock has checkering on it or not but would hope it does.

Mine works great after I relieved the forend pressure.

I have an old Leupold Vari X II 2x7 that I took off another of my rifles. I think it's a good combination, with 7x for bench and longer shots. It has plenty of eye relief and can be mounted on the #1 rib with lots of fore and aft adjustement. Bob

I have a new #1 stainless in 375,I've played with a few different loads,I'm having it rechambered to the 375 ultra mag right now.The only problem with this rifle is the throat is extremely long,I can seat the bullets to 3.85".So if you only shoot factory ammo velosity is way down.By the way there is no checkering on the stainless.

Griz, how do you like your stainless #1? I am thinking of getting one but was wanting some opinions on it. I was told that it was better to have some checkering on a 375H&H to help grip during recoil. This will be my first bigbore type rifle and just wanted to get a no nonsense package. Thanks

Griz: Thanks for the heads-up on the long chamber throat in your No. 1 .375. It is great news for handloaders, but not so much for guys who shoot only factory stuff, I guess. Maybe I will get around to that paper-patched/cast .375 project after all!
I also note in the new Ruger catalog that they are back to supplying scope rings with all models of the No. 1, thank gosh.

My taste in rifles is traditional and to me part of the fun of a Ruger #1 is it's style. For a century .375 H&H rifles have been blued steel and nice walnut. They have a classic look. I have a old M-70 in that caliber and it has that look.

The laminate stock from Ruger has white and black lines to it. It is not traditional looking. It does not have checkering. To be honest I don't really like that stock on any rifle.

Now if the rifle was to be used in the salt and mud on Kodiak Island I might choose a repeater anyway.

Just don't order one with out comparing the laminate look to the walnut. Your taste is as valid as mine but be informed.

[ 07-12-2002, 00:57: Message edited by: Don Martin29 ]

The rib here is that you cannot compare the Ruger No. 1's technology and strength to a double rifle or an old English single shot...The belted and/or rimless cases work fine in a Ruger, but I would not have an English rifle without a rim or in a high pressure cartridge like the 375 H&H, 416 Rigby or any other 50,000 PSI cartridge etc...