This evening I was shooting my Ruger No1-H 416 rem mag. 300 gr. Barnes X's @ 2800 fps with Varget. Last time I shot this load was mid June. Haven't touched the rifle since. Today I wanted to verify point of impact at 100 yards. My first 2 shots hit a little over 7" high at 100 yards of the sandbags. Last time out it was hitting +3" high with this same load. So I clicked down my scope (Weaver V3 1-3X20mm) 21 times, 6 right (.25" clicks). This is where it put my 3rd & 4th shots. I'm happy with the accuracy of this load, but don't like the POI shifting on me.



What do you guys think caused the big POI change?

Todd, this is a common problem with number ones. MOST likely you will need to set the forend hanger. There are two ways of doing this... First way isnt always the best but it might tell you a thing or two at the range. Take your forend off, look at the gap between the forend hanger and the barrel. fashion a wood shim for it (slightly oversized so you can play with it at the range) now take it to the range and see if a certain amount of pressure from the wedge helps your groups.
The second way is to mill/drill a 3/16" hole through the END of the forend hanger, tap it, and put a set screw in it... though make a shim about the contour of the barrel and set it in place so the set screw can rest on it.
Anymore I do this to any R#1 I have.

[ 08-14-2003, 09:42: Message edited by: smallfry ]

I don't agree with the above suggestion. Insead freefloat the barrel. Fit a whittled down facet between the hangar and stock. Put the screw thru the opened up hole in the plastic washer.

The fellow who put the barrel on my #1-B bent the hanger downward slightly but didn't quite end up freefloating the barrel. There's a real danger of breaking the hanger and a trip to the welder.

I took one of those refrigerator magnets that come glued to the Yellow Pages with attorney phone numbers on them and cut out a section about half the size of a postage stamp. It fits in front of the hanger bolt and seperates the barrel and forearm when tightened down. Since it's magnetic it's stayed put for several hundred rounds.

The price is right and you don't actually modify the rifle.

HTH

Rick

[ 08-14-2003, 15:47: Message edited by: Rick R ]

todbartell,

Lets not go crazy yet. Yes the Ruger #1 has a common problem with POI during the same shooting seesion, not normally from a cold barrel.

Though, the barrel pressure may be the key, before getting into that project, make sure your scope mounts are tight and your scope hasn't be knocked out along the way somehow(like 416 recoil). If point of impact is changing try your open sights to insure it isn't the scope. Also when shooting from the bench insure that your rifle is resting at the same point each time, I have found that on rifles with two piece stocks, resting the reciever on the front bag works best.

If all else fails then try the barrel pressure.

BigBullet

Thanks guys. I will try it at the range tonight, see where it is hitting. I don't really want to modify the front hangar, etc, but I also don't want POI change either. I was resting the forearm on the sandbags, probably putting pressure on the front of it. I've noticed this same POI shift last year too. It is always vertical shifts.

Another thing to watch out for is to use the same forend rest in the same place on the forend every time. My No.1's have never liked a real firm forend rest and POI will change if you rest near the end one time and near the action the next.

I've found my best results when the front rest is very near the action (assuming all else is kept equal).

Lots of things can cause a change in impact...a blow to the scope, warping, cold vs. hot barrel, and various other things...see how long it stays where it is now....give it a chance....

Jack Belk makes a neat V shaped gizmo that sure makes a No. 1 shoot...glass bedding works real well on some guns...

Last option is sell the gun to me, I need a no. 1 to make a 404 on...

One thing I have noticed about #1's. Ruger does a seriously pisspoor job of sealing the end grain on their stocks. I have a #1B in .300 Win. mag. that changed POI 6 inches high after being cuagth in one hell of a rainstorm while elk hunting in Oregon. When I got back home to Arizona, the rifle was squirrely as hell for over two years before the stock dried out enough to hit the original POI. I sealed the end grain portions with some varathane and it's held POI ever since. Since that happened, I've sealed the wood on all my #1 rifles, and the M77s I have as well. I figure doing that has saved me a lot of grief.
Paul B.