We finally finished my Ruger #1 458 Lott. Stocked in fiddleback maple.

give us the scoop, stock pattern etc.

Very nice, love that stock

Wow, good looking! It will probably be "lively" to shoot - hope you have it at a decent weight. Congrats on your new toy!
- mike

I love #1s, that is a beaut. I'm a bit concerned about the lack of straight grain thru the pistol grip though?

Thanks gentlemen. I had little to do with this rifle, all work done by my machinist friend. Weighs 10.25lbs, added a 7/8" copper cylinder in the butt, now perfectly balanced. My smith made the quarter rib, recontoured the Ruger front sight, added an ivory bead, made a new barrel band sling stud, machined an old military Mauser sling base for the buttstock, installed a hinged forend eustacion and rechambered to Lott. The gun was an old 458Win that someone had done an amateurish job of stocking in maple. Fortunately the inletting was good and the stock was oversize, so we just worked it down, recheckered, added ebony forend tip. I particularly like the shadow lines my gunsmith added around the panels and cheekpiece. The wood grain is perfectly straight but has lots of fiddleback, my first maple stocked rifle. I haven't shot it yet but my smith did when he filed in the sights, says it kicks like a mule.

I think tht you need to keep that beauty in my gunsafe here in Missouri City! Houston's not a safe place for that nice a rifle!

beautiful. Real nice figure in that stock.

fla3006

Very nice , indeed. It looks like those sights are missing the gold triangle on the standing and the gold line on the folding.

Always an instigator in the crowd. Right?

fla3006,
Very, very nice. I have a soft spot for #1's and yours is a gem. BTW, Jim Dubell builds those hinged covers for the forearm screw, they look like tiny trap grip caps. I have one that is begging to get put on a rifle.

Chic:

Not to hijack the thread, but do you have a photo of the forend screw cover? That is something I would like to see.

Thanks again gents. Here's pics of the hinged screw cover on the forend, the shop-made barrel band and the modified Ruger front sight with ivory bead. Roger, the rear sights came from NECG, he didn't gold fill or recess the folding leaf. Maybe we'll fix that. Probably should have recessed the safety too, or at least made it look a little better.

Rusty, you are welcome to shoot it!

Great looking rifle I love the looks of the Ruger #1's !!

That is a fine looking rifle!

Bitchin!
JCN

fla3006,
That hinged screw cover is intriguing. Do you push on one end to get it to start up. It is a very nice touch. I will try to photograph DuBells and post it here.

Chic- I think we got it from Brownells but maybe NECG. Don't remember exactly who made it. It hinges to hide the screw that angles back toward the action:

Beautiful job! If you don't mind, who was your smith and does your machinist friend do any side work? Really nice work on the stock too. I have a #1 I have been thinking of customizing. Did your smith do the stockwork? Inquiring minds want to know!!

Very nice rifle and a beautiful stock - is that known as tiger maple? Motivates me to build a #1 like it - thanks for posting the photos - KMule

KMule, yes it's called tigerstripe or fiddleback maple. It's fairly inexpensive compared to good walnut, which I generally prefer. Thought I'd try something different this time and it was already stocked in maple when I got it.
Lee, see PM.

Beautiful! I really like the color of the stock. Is that a canned dye or did your buddy custom mix the color? Maple doesn't get much prettier than that for me!

Tate, he used some kind of acid dye to darken the wood. I think he also heated the stock after the dye was applied. I'm not sure I like the reddish color, hoped it would turn out more golden brown.

That is one beautiful rifle! Congratulations. I love the stock, and that hinged forend screw plate is a very stylish and practical touch. I've always had a soft spot for No. 1s, and that action is a natural home for a true big bore cartridge.

Besides the sights, what has been done to the metal? Do you have a custom barrel, etc.?

AD

Thanks Allen. Still has the factory barrel, an early one without the warning stamp, a heavy straight taper. Metalwork included replacing the quarter-rib and rear sight, reshaping the factory front sight to the same contour as the front of the quarter-rib, replacing the factory barrel band with a larger heavier one, a Dressel grip cap and the Mauser rear sling stud. We originally wanted to make a classier rib that would also allow mounting Talley scope rings but decided to keep it simple since it is mainly a close range rifle. The rifle originally was a little muzzle heavy and light for the caliber so we added weight to the butt, which greatly improved the balance- dead center.

Well, I'll be happy to take it off your hands when you get around to re-stocking it the way you want!
I have a soft spot for that color but I usually see it on frontloaders. Your buddy must have made one or two of them in his time to have that technique down so well.

In colonial days they used to put iron filings in a staining liquid and mop it on the stock. then the gunsmith would pass a red hot iron up and down close to the stock and it would turn the color of your stock. A basic technique that still produces beautiful finishes.

Nice way to handle Maple, Looks like exhibition red claro, very nice, nice torch work also......Can't cope with yellow wood...