I just got my new Ruger no. 1, 450 Nitro express today. I was disappointed in the gun to say the least. The matte finish was good, felt good coming to the shoulder. The stock however was horrible. The walnut for the gun isn’t the greatest but that is to be expected as not every gun can have good wood. What really threw me was the way the stock fit to the action. On one side it was sanded flush and on the other it protrudes out. The checkering on the rear grip is nice and sharp but muddled in the front, and not extending out to the end in some areas. Has anyone encountered this? Should I bring this up to ruger or should I just chalk it up as a loss?

Bring it up to Ruger. If you need to send it back, ask for a "will call" box and them to pay shipping. They might and they might not.
Tell them you expected such a limited edition bet better than a NEF handi rifle in fit and finish.

The first Ruger 416 Rigby I saw was like this. They had it on proud display as the new late great thing at the NRA show in SLC and I wanted it bad. I was saving my money and waiting for it to hit the shelves. My buddy kept telling me it was a pooly assembled afterthought but I was 18 years old and could not be convinced I did not need one yesterday. Six months or so later my buddy got one in a trade and called me to tell me I could have it cheap. I rushed over and he handed it to me waited until I calmed down and then pointed out that the stock did not fit the action well there were gaps all around the right side was higher than the left, the checkering was weak and inconsistent and the action was rough at best with the 10 lb trigger pull. He said he was trying to tell me at the show this is common on Rugers and the show gun was the same quality. He said I could have it for $800 but I passed. Having looked at several since I found this to be the case a lot back then and I quit looking.

I have seen some nice ones in the last few years but it does not suprise me at all what you found. Everyone makes mistakes and turns out a poor item now and then but I have been a little scared of ruger ever since. Lots of guys love them and to each his own.

Matthew

I seem to see this a lot with #1's in particular. Most, maybe 95% or more, are very nice, even if the wood is unspectacular. Then you come across one that is poor in every way, as you described. I drove 140 kilometers once, one way, to buy a #1 in .375H&H and found everything you mentioned, in addition to very poor wood to metal fit with large gaps evident.

I don't like buying any gun sight unseen, but for some reason the #1's seem to be an extreme example of inconsistency.

John

Own, and have owned over the years the NO.1 and all have been very nice, but as in anything a "lemon" shows up. Ruger service when needed has always been top notch for me and as mentioned they would prefer you send it back for any corrections. Have been told that Ruger will not sell you just a stock alone for the NO.1 for it must be fitted by the factory. I would also mention in the letter to them that you feel the quality of the wood is sub standard and most likely they will fit it with a better grade of wood.

When Ruger brought out the No.1-S in .300 H&H I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. Finally my distributor got some in and I ordered one.

I was very disapointed. Wood quality was extremely poor, the finish was cloudy and the pores were not even close to being filled. The wood to metal fit at the receiver was not making contact evenly. The barrel channel had big gaps along the barrel. The metal finish was very rough and not even. There were big scratches from previous grits not polished out. It also had several scratches on the bluing from careless assembly. Several places still had burrs from machining, the worst being the loading trough.

I ran a phot copy of a parts sheet and noted every flaw with a red pen. I also took little office stickies and labled each flaw on the gun. I called them and got a return authorization and UPS pick up number. Wrote them a polite letter and noted I have owned several No.1's and that all of them were of good to excellant quality except for this one.

Finally in about 6 weeks they sent me a letter informing me they would replace the whole gun. The replacement gun has none of the flaws mentioned above. The grain is better quality although it has very little figure.

I have not fired the rifle yet. I certainly hope it performs to my expectations.