I'm pondering having a No. 1 rebarreled for .475 NE #2. Is this a practical conversion, or would it require alot more work than it's worth?

Just a question, who makes a .489 (or whatever) diameter barrel?

Hmm...Lilja might, Pac Nor most definately, Walther perhaps. Kreiger maybe.

Found one on the Krieger web site. A special order from Pac-Nor?

Why choose an oddball? Components are hard to find and resale will be poor. Better to choose a 470 NE or 500 NE.

Better yet, sell that unsightly Ruger and put a deposit down on a double rifle.

Yeah, double rifles are pretty cheap, which is why I was considering the No. 1 instead. As far as oddballs go, .470 NE and .500 NE aren't exactly cartridges you find at the average gun store either.

I have.

Apparently not if you think the 470 NE is an oddball. It is the most popular nitro express caliber today.







The 470 NE is chambered in new rifles today by Westley Richards, H&H, Watson Bros, Chapuis, Rigby, Beretta, Krieghoff, Heym, Merkel, Searcy, and others. And factory ammo is offered by Federal, Superior Ammo, Safari Arms, Westley Richards, Krieghoff, Wolfgang Romney, H&H and others.



The 475 #2 is chambered in new rifles today by......no one. And factory ammo for the 475 #2 is available today from.....no one.



That is the difference between an oddball and a standard cartridge offering.

I was thinking of doing a similar thing with a ruger No1. I would love a good double but cant afford one for another 2 years. I was thinking of a 470 because ammo is probably easier to get ,but then I thought that since I will be reloading and cases will have to be ordered anyway ,a 475 No2 would be great ,just because the case is so bloody big. If I get a double ,it will be in 470 ,but for a Ruger No1 ,I would like to ream it out to 475 No2. Has anyone converted the Ruger No1 to 475 No2 before??????

Brass is available from Quality Cartridge and A-Square(not counting Bertram on purpose), and ammo is available from both of those as well. If I wanted the most common of rifle cartridges, I'd be shooting a .270 or .30-06, but that's not the point.

A PH friend of mine, Ernst Scholz, (of TGT) had Clyde Moore build him a Ruger #1 chambered for 475 Jeffery #2. Clyde has subquently built himself one in 450 NE, which I have fired. In a relatively speaking lightweight rifle, you know you are shooting something with substance.

Call Clyde at D&D Guns (Clawson Michigan), 248 585 0134 He just got back taking his son to Africa so he's probably keen on building something exotic for somebody that has the checkbook to handle it

OK, if the point is to have something 'unusual' (i.e., an oddball), then the 475 #2 fits the bill perfectly.

Why not the 450#2 at lest you can use 458 bullets

I also think the 450#2 is the way to go. An advantage is the ability to use .458 cast bullets for the 45/70 as cheap practice rounds as well as 350 gr Hornady's for deer and pigs. The 450#2 is really just as good as the 475 #2 with an infinately better/larger choice of bullets. The cases are mighty impressive too! Finally you don't have to limit yourself to a rimmed case in a Ruger#1. You might look at the 470 MBOGO if you just have your heart set on a .475. The 470MBOGO is in a totally different class than the 475 #2 in terms of power ( 500 grs at 2600fps)-Rob

Any good suggestions for a smith for the project? Also, will it much matter what I order the rifle chambered for?

A gentleman named Dennis Olson out of Montana quoted me around $700 to convert a No 1 to a 378 Weatherby size case, this included opening up the action for a larger diameter barrel. I am at work but will put his contact info online tonight when I get home. I have heard good things about him from a number of people. I ended up trading the No 1 before I got to that project.
Jason

I suppose Dave James has a point about going for a 450 No2 instead. At least then our existing 45cal bullets and cleaning gear will fit. Also ,it would just be a matter of reaming out the chamber of a standard .458 cal No1. If I see a Ruger No1 going cheap in 45/70,458 win or 458Lott ,I might go this way. Did any Ruger No1s come out with .475 cal barrels.
Back to the original question posted. Will many mods need to be done to convert a No1 from 45/70 to 450NE No2?

A Ruger #1 action is fine as is for calibers up to 500NE. All you need is a bew barrel, threads, chambering and a new extractor and extractor cut in the barrel. You then have the issue of front and rear sights, ramp, etc. The stock will need to be reinforced, pad added and for the big kickers, some mercury recoil reducers and probably some woodwork. It won't matter if its a 475#2 or a 500NE. I'd expect to pay in the $1500 range for professional grade work and less for Bubba( and his dremel tool). Depending on the case head size (somewhere around the .577NE the action itself will have to be milled to allow for the cartridge to enter the chamber. Machine work and reblueing will get more expensive.

An interestingt alternative is an Encore rifle. You can probably get Virgin Valley guns to make you a .475 #2 barrel for $400-$500 for a TC encore and be in buisness. These guns actually handle heavy recoil quite well and don't require alot of custom gunsmithing.They also handle pressure quite well. I have one in .405 win that I simply long throated and now I can readily match 450/400 ballistics with a 410 woodleigh at 2150fps.-Rob-Rob

Hey Doc,when I was having trouble with my No-1 in 450-3 1/4" I sent it too Bill's Accuray Shop in Maryland, he has built a couple and straighten it out fine, it was also suggested to me that JJ Perdue{sp} at Champlin Arms as was John Lewis at Carolina Arms could do it

Dennis Olson's number is 406-826-3790, it is in Montana and I don't remember if this is a seperate shop number or his house phone so please don't call in the middle of the night.
Jason

The 475 No.2 is a great cartridge, so is the 450 No.2, all these old English big bores are great, but I wonder why anyone would get anything but a .470, with the more readily available components considering the fact that they are all basically the same from a balistic standpoint, a 500 gr. bullet at 2100 FPS give or take 10 grs. of lead and less than 100 FPS??

The exception may be the wonderfull 450-400 or the 500 NE, 577, and 600 NE. and the availability of 45 caliber bullets in the 450s may be a good enough reason,maybe...

But some of us like new toys, and something different, and don't mind a few obsticles, in which case get the 475 No.2 and enjoy it, its a neat caliber, and actually recoils a bit less than most double rifles of the same power..thats nice...

The reason why I would like just one 450 or 475No2 is that the case is bigger. Not more velocity but just to try out the big 3 1/2" case and to show up at the range with a case which makes the 458 Lott look stumpy. If I got a double ,it would be in 470 ,but for a cheaper toy ,I would like the NE No2 cases.

I had Bowen build me a 470 NE on a #1 458 by reboring. That way I could keep the factory barrel and general look of the rifle. It turned out great and I really like it. It will push 500 grain bullets at 2300 without even working up a sweat. One thing I would suggest is a good recoil pad (unlike the factory pad) and addition of a mercury tube in the stock. I did these two things, and the gun is not bad at all even off the bench.

i would be torn in caliber choice on this.. and since i LOVE to shoot, and I am cheap, I would do the following, on a ruger 45/70 or 458

1: 450 NE #2 ... not just a rechamber, but close
2: 500/450...
3: rebarrel to 470 ne.. cases and bullets CAN be found

i would avoid limited source bullets for both cost and availibility... Then again, when I take my 458 win or 500 jeffe to the range, going through 50 (458 with my son's help) or 20 (500 jeffe - no help) tends to run the bill up, especially when I sneak to the range before it gets hot in texas (that's before APRIL not before dawn)

jeffe

You are absolutely right about the impression a large case makes. In '00, when getting ready for Africa, I used to go to the range and unload like everybody else. Put the stuff on the rear bench . . . put the rests on the bench . . . put the rifle on the rests . . . put the ammo box next to it . . . then open the box to reveal 20 rounds of .450 Rigby! You want to see the other guys with their sorry little .223's back up? Man! God alone knows what reaction I'd get with the #2 cases . . . snicker . . . giggle . . . Buwahahahaha!

I was digging around in my shop and found a like new set of RCBS dies in 450-416-3", hows that for unusual..Years back when all these components were hard to come by I made a 450-400 necked up to .416 so I could have bullets to shoot!

I suppose I'd sell them if anyone is interrested....

Otherwise I might make another one on a Ruger No.1 for myself, it was a nice caliber with a 400 gr. 416 bullet at an easy 2300 FPS in my Browning action double rifle. It would be a nice light 8.5 to 9 lb. rifle in a Ruger, handy as a doorknob..