On Saturday my brother and I went to the Cabela's store in Hamburg, PA. We were browsing through the "Fine Gun Room" when he spotted a Ruger #1 in .375 H&H; this is a gun he's always wanted and the price was $699 (if I remember right) so he WANTED this gun.

After examining it I noticed that the breech block had a little bit of back to front play in it when it was locked. In other words you could wiggle the breech block forward and backward about 1 mm when it was locked. I checked two other #1's both of which were solid, one of them was a used .300 Winchester. I recommended that he not buy the gun.

Question: Is a slightly loose breech block normal on a #1?

Maybe. The question is, does it still wiggle fore and aft with a cartridge in the chamber. It should NOT. You can try it with an empty case to see. If it does, it needs to have the headspace checked with a proper headspace gauge.

About 1 MM wiggle is ok, some of my # 1's have it some don't. It may still wiggle with new brass or one that has been full sized but if you only neck size it goes away.
Buy it, then you to can say what I always say.
Get er Done with a # 1
S/S

Riverduck, are you from the Hamburg area?

Woody

Frederick, Maryland.