...at the Allentown PA gun show this past weekend. Barrel was still stamped 45/70. I handled it, did not think it would be fun to shoot, I think it would back you out from under your hat when you touched it off. Definitely needed some more weight. I think the person wanted $900 for it. The seller also had a Butch Searcy double in 470 Nitro for sale...

Sounds just like mine, and your right, with full tilt boogie loads its a hand full

Hey johnnyreb!

How have you been? How is NJ life treating you?

Why didn't you buy that #1?

George

There is one in the new gunlist for $700. Owner says it kicks like a mule...I suspect so!!

I would like one in a 450-400-3" and may build one when I get back next month...

Hey GeorgeS,

I moved to PA back in June, the construction on my house was finally completed, so that will tell you how well Jersey was treating me... I'm just south of Stroudsburg on 611, and am happy as a clam. Now I just need to talk some of the local farmers into letting me thin the does on their land...

Why didn't I buy the 450? Maybe if the barrel had been stamped 450 Nitro, or 450 x 3.25 or something like that, I might have. If someone had taken the time to rechamber a Ruger #1 to a classic British nitro cartridge, they should have taken the logical next step and stamp the barrel appropriately. If they didn't even bother to do that, maybe the chambering job wasn't done very carefully either. Plus, the thing needed a mercury recoil reducer or two, as there was no way I would shoot that rifle before the weight issue was addressed...

If those are built on the 45-70, no wonder they kick like a mad S.O.B. That 45-75 barrel is not very heavy, and it is shorter as well. My #1 45-70 is bad enough when I get the loads cooking like you can in that gun. Would be great for carrying though.

I also think the Ruger No.1 in .45-70 is too light to convert to .450 NE. The Ruger No. 1 in .458 Win Mag (or now .458 Lott) would be a better choice for the conversion.

Just my two cents worth....
-Bob F.

Just for curiosity's sake, do you remember who was selling these guns ant the price on the Searcy .470?

Johnny,

Congratulations on your escape from the PRNJ.

I agree with you that one should not buy a gun that is improperly marked. That is an accident (and lawsuit) just waiting to happen!

George

Gunsmith Clyde Moore (D&D Guns, Clawson, Michigan) has built two interesting #1's recently. One was in 475 Jeffery #2 and the latest in 450 NE. I fired the 475 with "mild" loads when the sights were getting regulated and it wasn't too bad. It went to Africa and is now owned by PH Ernst Scholz of TGTS. A couple months ago I fired the 450 NE with up-to-speed loads and it was indeed a handful.

Conewago, I don't remember the fellows' names. They also had a display of single shot rifles on some type of action that they build to order. Two of the calibers listed were 45-90 and 45-120, or something similar. There is a gun show at the same Expo center at the end of September, I'd bet they would be back. I believe the price for the Searcy 470 double was $11K...

Thanks Johnnyreb. I haven't been to the Allentown shows for several years as the prices there have gotten much higher. I may try the September show to see if that double is there. Check out the gun shows around York, Harrisburg, and Timonium. They have a decent selection but don't seem to have the outlandish prices you see as you get closer to New York/New Jersey. I bought a mauser in .375 at the Harrisburg show a while back.