Advice on Ruger No. 1 barrel change needed.......

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05 January 2015, 01:48

Gatogordo

Advice on Ruger No. 1 barrel change needed.......

As is not unusual for me, I went slightly overboard and bought a custom stocked Ruger #1 in the early Dec. Rock Island Auction. Here

It is really well stocked in European Walnut, in spite of auction description, and has a very good trigger. Without doubt the stock work is worth well in excess of what I paid but......

The problem is, it is chambered in .17 Mach IV.

I don't want or need a .17, of any description. Should I have it rebarreled, rechambered, what? If so what would be an easy and reasonable rechamber or new barrel caliber? I really appreciate your recommendations. I'm sitting here at desk without a mic, but current barrel is 24 inches, nice rust blue color, and about 21/32 inch wide at muzzle.

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05 January 2015, 02:33

dpcd

450 Nitro would be a good choice; 375 minimum. All the #1 actions are the same and the ejectors are very forgiving too.

05 January 2015, 03:04

jimatcat

CAT... ive got a Winchester m70 that was rebarreled to the 17 mach IV.... and I have several boxes of factory Remington ammunition for it....the 17 mach IV is the same as a 17 fireball... according to "cartridges of the world"... the small 20 gr is death on gophers, rabbits, small game....no recoil at all.. you can see bullet strikes in your scope...but if you decide to pull the barrel, I'm interested when you do....

05 January 2015, 10:45

thecanadian

quote:
Originally posted by dpcd:
450 Nitro would be a good choice; 375 minimum. All the #1 actions are the same and the ejectors are very forgiving too.

I think it would need a good recoil pad installed if it is to become a big bore.

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05 January 2015, 11:14

Grenadier

The nice stock you wanted is already fit to the current barrel and you describe the current barrel finish as "a nice rust blue color". I suggest you keep the barrel and rebore/rechamber for another cartridge. Take your choice (within reason).

Rebore/rechamber without changing the extractor:

.223 Remington (5.56mm NATO)
6mm-223 Remington (6x45mm)
6.5mm TCU
7mm TCU
.300 AAC Blackout

Or make a slight alteration to the extractor and rebore/rechamber to just about any cartridge that will safely fit within the current barrel.

How about a nice .260 or .308?

05 January 2015, 14:22

Rockdoc

Nice 300H&H?

Custom qtr rib while they're at it?

Lovely rifle.

Cheers,

Chris

05 January 2015, 23:20

GeorgeS

Shoot it as a .17 Mach IV before you decide to rebarrel.

It's a great killer of vermin and very economical, too.

Without knowing your tastes or gaps in armament:

.221 Fireball
.204 Ruger
.222 Remington Magnum
.223 Ackley Improved
Any of the TCU cartridges (6mm TCU, .25 Ugalde, 6.5mm TCU, 7mmTCU, .30 TCU)
.300 AAC Blackout

If you don't mind changing out the extractor, consider one of the PPC cartridges (.220 PPC, 6mm PPC).

George