I have been recently been turned on to the idea of a Ruger #1 in a 375 or bigger as a �good gun for Alaska� for moose and bear. I have been looking around and all of the 375�s I�ve seen are between $150 to $200 Dollars more than say the 416, Rem or Rigby, or even the 458 Win. I also see from the threads that some folks have rebarreled the #1 into 450#2 and other �classic British� rounds. Three Questions:
1. What might account for the price difference?
2. What would be the �best� cartridge for Alaska? (I have a hunt setup for next fall)
3. How fast can you get a second shot off accurately? (How much slower is the #1 compared to a Bolt Action?)

Thanks to all for the input.

Hauptjager:
First of all, I've never used a Ruger #1 but I have used my single shot Sharps so I hope my comments will be of some value. My rifle is a .45-120 which I load with 110 grs. of BP. I've taken it moose and elk hunting (on Afognak Island). To be honest, I missed the only shot I had with it on a moose at about 100 yds. - my fault. I don't think you should have a serious problem shooting at game because of it being a single shot. If you have the time before shooting, I'd suggest you place 1 or 2 extra cartridges between the fingers of your non-shooting hand. I found that I could be quite fast in reloading my rifle doing this although I was slowed somewhat because with a Sharps, the hammer must be placed on half cock first.
As to your question regarding caliber and your hunting large game, I think my minimum caliber would be .338 Win. mag. I think a .375 would be even better. Should you hunt the large bears, you'll have a guide for backup anyway. As an aside, I think on a rifle such as this one, I'd mount a good quality, low power varible scope. I use a Leupold Vari x III in 1.5 - 5x but I'm biased towards Leupolds. I'd also make sure I had a set of open sights on the rifle should something happen to the scope.
Just my thoughts, apologize for the long diatribe. Hope it helps some. Bear in Fairbanks

1. The 375 is more popular because the majority of folks can handle it's level of recoil, and factory ammo is less expensive and easier to find.

2. What are you hunting? There is nothing that the 375 can't effectively kill, though I personally think that for those that can handle the recoil, the 416 is better for the biggest of bears and moose.

3. For one that is praccticed, I'd expect a single shot to be about as fast as a bolt for a second shot. I wouldn't be the least bit suprised if a good single shot shooter weren't faster than the average bolt gun user that never practices taking follow up shots.

A buddy related the story of a friend of his that was visited by the game warden while hunting ducks. The warden heard 4 quick shots, and went to ticket the guy that didn't have a plug in his magazine. The warden was 1/2 right, the guy didn't have a plug, but he also didn't have a magazine. He was shooting a double, and with spare hulls between the fingers, he could reload so fast that it sounded like a pump.

One of these days I'll build a Ruger #1. The plans are a 27" match barrel, chambered as a 300 win mag. Topped with a Leupold M8 6X scope. It should be capable of 3300 fps with the 165 gr X bullet.

I'd also love to see Ruger offer the #1H in a 470 NE.

I always take my #1 in .30 Gibbs out in Alaska, but it's usually for the deer opener around August 1st. Not my pick for areas with coastal brownies.

I've shot a #1 Tropical in 416 Rigby. It's a brute. That, or a 458 Win. You can always load cast bullets in the Winny.





What's a second shot for???

The Ruger #1 is a beautiful rifle. I've got one in .458 Win Mag and am very impressed with it's graceful lines, fit and finish. For a heavy caliber rifle it's fairly light and handy. It's a classic rifleman's rifle.

For an all-purpose big game rifle though I'd choose the .375 as it's much flatter shooting and can easily be put to use at 200-300 yards. There's also a huge selection of .375 bullets available to the handloader.

I'll be using my new .375 M77 this fall and have rapidly fallen in love with the .375 round. I've been thoroughly impressed with it's accuracy, flat trajectory and surprisingly managable recoil. I'll be using the 300gr Swift A-Frame as my big game bullet for things larger than deer.

I am not a bear hunter, but if I was going to hunt grizzly/brown bears with a sigle-shot gun, its minimum would start with the .416-caliber. I would use 300-grain bullets for general hunting, and bullets around 400 grains for bears.

Other than that, the most popular cartridges in Alaska are the .30-06, .300WM, and .338WM. These three leave all other cartridges behind by a very wide margin, perhaps because most Alaska hunters use such as "all around" cartridges.

Thanks for your insight. This year�s trip is planed for Prince of Wales Island. We will be looking for Dear and or black bear. Next years trip may be to the interior for caribou and I don�t know what else. (The plans are too far off) Last year one of my brothers-in-law took a very large black bear around 400 pounds (I was not there) and this spring my other brother-in-law shot a bigger bear, knocking the bear down twice with a 30-06 with 180 gr. Nosler partitions and still lost the critter! (Not enough gun! IMHP he�s a very good shot) I understand that the alders and willows are thick on POW island and that may be a consideration. How easy/pricy is it to rebarrel a #1? Any further thoughts?

Great Pics! Where were you hunting? I am really leaning toward the 375 and latter if it�s doable; get a second barrel in something like 404 or 450#2. To use on the �big� stuff

I was looking at that �the gun writers� Woods and Boddington say that they have used the Ruger #1 on dangerous game and they both say that they would never do it again� Bear especially big brownies do fall into that category; however I�m fairly sure that I will not be going to Africa any time soon so their advice doesn�t seem to fit. People used the Faquharson rifle for years in Africa till is was surpassed by the modern bolt actions. I lived in Fairbanks for years and only bird hunted; I never felt �undergunned� as long as I had a couple of good slugs for my OU shotgun. Is there an easy answer

Hauptjager - I sent you a PM concerning a rifle - as far as the second shot follow up, I made a velcro/elastic two cartridge "band" that fits around the action on my #1 - the ejector on the #1 can be adjusted to spit out the empty and you can reload from the band with your right hand while maintaining a firm grip on the forearm with your left hand (and watching the animal).
I can cycle my bolt gun faster than I can reload the #1 but practice would improve the reload.
Depending on what you plan to hunt, a 338 or 375 would be "more practical" but hell, who ever needed a "practical" reason to obtain another rifle? If you are to hunt the big bears, a 375 would suffice but a 416 / 458 might give you more confidence. Of course, the key ingredient for your success will be your ability to place a good first shot with a good bullet. Then it is all easy, right guys?

One thing to remember when you go after ole blackie. He is a fast son of a pup. If you have never hunted bear before it will blow your mind how fast and how quiet they are. The first shot needs to be on that front shoulder so you break it. Running bear might be a cute native name but it's not the one you want for your new nick name. I've seen a 300 mag, nosler partition do the job but with very little penetration. The 375 is a good choice IMO. I would probably chhoose a Ruger Mk2 Express. If you go SS...Practice, Practice, Practice.

KMule
Sent you a PM about the Rifle. Im interested lets talk turky.

It seems that with a single shot, you want three key things, accuracy, the gun must be handy, and enough horse power that the first shot will hopefully stop a big brownie. I would think that the Ruger #1 in 416 Rigby would fall into that category. Now that in mind, can you �download� the 416 to a point that it would be more POW Island friendly? Or is the 375 still a better choice? Just kicking around some ideas. The gun I�m looking for will be used for more that just POW, hopefully in another year I can get into the interior for caribou or moose. I never had the time to hunt much more that birds when I was living in Fairbanks

WOW! Now that�s a good lucking rifle. The lines are clean and the proportions really seem to work. What is the length of pull and where is the point of balance?

KMule
If you were going to scope the 416, what would you use? Also are the rings quick detachable?

I have used the Ruger #1 for everything from deer to grizzly bear. In calibers from 270 to 416 Rigby. Fine hunting tool. As to why the 375's your seeing cost more than other calibers I don't know because they all cost the same from the distributors. Maybe it has to do with supply and demand. Right now the Ruger #1 in 405 Winchester can be had for $580 from one of my distributors. That cost is only good until the 27th of July. That price does not include any shipping. Interested?

Bear in Fairbanks you have a PM

Doug

Today I heard an interesting �point� about why the #1 is not a good choice for Alaska from a gun shop owner here in Dallas and I thought I would share it with everyone.

�In very cold conditions like those in Alaska, the fireing pin can jam (I assume by freezing) and thus cause a miss fire.� He then followed by saying the same would be true for someone hunting in a very dusty area as well. These problems will also effect the ejector as well. Thus I should buy a CRF bolt rifle and �know� that nothing can go wrong.�

I did not really buy the arguments but thought I should see if there is any truth to the story.

Any thing is possible but I just don't really buy that. You can have the old push Vs CRF debate on bolts and depending on the chambering of the CRF and brand etc you can have other issues as well. Nothing is full proof and you just have to decide what peramiters to set for your game. Hunting is a very personal sport. One guy likes the Single shot, the next a front stuffer while others use BP cartidge guns or lever guns. They all offer different restrictions and change the rules of your game. I would agree though that a kevlar stocked SS, CRF with the best optics available will give you the technical edge....hopefully.

I don't buy his theory... the only reason any firing pin would "freeze" is because of oils and gummed-up dirt/oil in the firing pin area and/or being subjected to very extreme cold, getting soaked/frozen. This can happen in just about ANY firearm, not just a #1.

In temperature extremes like that it is advisable to remove and clean the firing pin and the chamber it sits in. This area can accumulate alot of dirt, fouling and oil and turn into a sludge that I have literally seen inhibit the pin to the point where it won't travel fast enough to fire the gun.

That is what I thought! but I am trying to get all the info I can, because I�ve narrowed down my choice in �DGR to a CZ 550 in 375 (to eventually be made into a 404 Jef. or a Ruger #1 in 416 Rigby.