Lots of folks complain about #1 recoil being worse than same round in different rifles. What is the source of that problem? Stock design? What needs changed?
Thanks!

As it comes from the factory:

1. The LOP is too short for me, I don't know if I'm the average Joe, but that could be a factor.

2. Stock design, although straight back and not a hogsback, somehow it doesn't work that well for me, probably related to point 1.

3. Weight, my 450/400 is quite a bit lighter than my Blaser R93 416 Rem Mag. From what I've read, the 375H&H in the Ruger No.1 has the stovepipe barrel, which would help in reducing the recoil, but in turn upsets the balance. I'm happy the 450/400 have the thinner profile barrel.

4. They are a cheap entry into the bigbore market, read 458 Win Mag, so guys might be tempted to buy one without having any previous experience shooting anything larger than a 30-06 and subsequently complaining on Hunting Forums that they recoil too much. I personally don't know if I'd like to fire a 458 Lott or 416 Rigby with full house loads in a No.1.

In my mind the 450/400 is the perfect compromise between recoil and power. The 375 H&H would be the obvious first choice, however, I like a rimmed cartridge in the Ruger No.1. As mentioned before, the 450/400 also has the thinner profile barrel and is lighter than the 375, making it the perfect rifle for hunting where you carry your rifle a lot.

Have you got a No.1?
What's your take on the recoil?

I own and have owned many of them in various calibers; yes,, the stock is fairly straight lined, but I don't see that as a problem. The weight is not as much as most bolt actions, so they can recoil; the .458 I had, I owned exactly 3 days; too much of a good thing. The .375 is perfect and needs nothing; recoil is not bad at all. (It does not have a stovepipe barrel; I will measure it if anyone wants. The 450-400, good for hunting; off bags, you will notice it after a few shots. I put a merc brake in my 450-400; makes it butt heavy, but tames it down. Really, they are good rifles; there is no real "Problem" to fix. Shoot them off hand, in the field. at game; you will not notice recoil.

They do benefit from a real recoil pad like a Decelerator.

Every single Ruger centerfire I have ever shot had heavy recoil for the caliber.

My .204 Ruger is a pussycat. But my 7mm Rem did seem to recoil more than a bolt gun.

They tend to be light and the factory pads are pretty thin.

That is exactly why; the butts are thin and the pad is not a recoil pad in any way. And they are lighter than a comparable bolt action.

I have two #1s, one a .375H&H and I find the recoil not that bad, more of a hard push than a slam, don't mind it at all. The other is a .300 Weatherby and it will hurt you if your careless, I would call it brisk, but after you get the drift it isn't all that bad either. Lets just say once you've fired both barrels of a SxS 12gau.(by accident)everything else sort of pales. --- John

I have two, a 25-06 (great to shoot) and a 338WM that gets old after six shots from a bench. The 338WM just had a BOSS installed and will have a Decelerator installed when one gets here. I chose the BOSS so I could tune the #1 to the best loads in my Ruger 77 (bolt action)338WM. The 77 sets in a Hogue stock and is heavy enough that the recoil does not bother me shooting from the bench.

Richard

If you're gonna drive a fast, powerful car you gotta pay the gas bill. If you shoot a big, powerful cartridge, it's gonna recoil. Certainly recoil can be mitigated but one shouldn't expect to make big cartridges recoil like 243. Shooting game appropriate to the cartridge it won't be noticed.

I never considered a No. 1 B or a 1 S with a 26 inch barrel a light rifle. They do kick a little stronger than some bolt actions I've shot in the same caliber. They don't have much of a butt pad and the stocks are a straight back design with very little drop at the heal.

The 7mm Mag had very pretty butt stock wood but the finish has been marred over the years from a butt stock cartridge sleeve.

I have never noticed them kicking any harder in a similar caliber.

I have had bolt guns and No 1's in 30-06 and 338 Mag and they seemed about the same; however they are usually heavier in a No 1.

The only No 1 I have now is a custom 30-378 and it is not bad at all to shoot.
shane

I have two Ruger #1 tropical.458 Win and 375 H&H. My other .375 is a CZ 550 safari American. The #1 seems to me to recoil harder and faster. Like others I found the stock too short, and buttpad too narrow. I put one of the lace on, wrap around leather recoil pads over the stock buttplate with about 3/8" of dense fiber spacer inside . The extra length added plus larger surface area makes a difference. No other direct comparison to the .458, although it does not seem as bad as the .375. I do have a Marlin 1895 cowboy 45-70 with a 26"barrel that is too light weight, combined with a narrow butt that hurts with heavier loads. I think proper stock length and a buttpad of sufficient width will do a lot alleviate the effect of felt recoil.

I never had one in 458(Except a 45/70)but from 375 down did not notice any difference from a bolt action rifle of the same weight.

I've owned 5 rifles in 375H&H and the #1 kicked noticeably more than any of the others. It is, however, the only 375 I still own. I am not recoil shy at all, but I did put a real recoil pad on it - it is the rifle in my avatar, but it doesn't get much use anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by Fury01:
Lots of folks complain about #1 recoil being worse than same round in different rifles. What is the source of that problem? Stock design? What needs changed?
Thanks!

Really want an unpleasant standard caliber Number One to shoot.

Try the #1 called the Ruger #3 45-70 Carbine ;
its butt plate design even with factory 300's and particularly 405's is not much fun

quote:

Originally posted by Clan_Colla:

quote:

Originally posted by Fury01:
Lots of folks complain about #1 recoil being worse than same round in different rifles. What is the source of that problem? Stock design? What needs changed?
Thanks!

Really want an unpleasant standard caliber Number One to shoot.

Try the #1 called the Ruger #3 45-70 Carbine ;
its butt plate design even with factory 300's and particularly 405's is not much fun

I have one a 460gr cast at 1400fps isn't bad at all

If true at all, probably because the factory butt pads are thin and hard. Perceived recoil of my #1 458 Lott with Decelerator pad is less than my ZKK602 Lott.

Could not agree more about the No.3 in 45/70, it is definitely stout. Replaced with heavier barrel couple inches longer and helped quite a bit. May have the only NO.1 on the planet chambered in 348Win., but with heavy loads and 250gr bullets it will let you know when it goes off, but not painful to shoot. Find the No.1 and .348 to be a good combination.

My #1 in 450 Nitro only weighs 7.5 pounds. Launching a 500 grain bullet at 2400+fps is not real pleasant to shoot. The gun needs to be heavier.

Even dropping back to 300gr bullets at 3050fps, and the recoil is still substantial.

Tony Rumore
Tromix

Maybe has a bit to do with the fact that the recoil rearward thrust is being generated at a different point in a Ruger #1 than a bolt action.

The cartridge head is sitting just in front of the pistol grip hand in a Ruger whereas with any bolt action the cartridge head is close to where the fore-end hand is holding the rifle.

Just a theory!

quote:

Maybe has a bit to do with the fact that the recoil rearward thrust is being generated at a different point in a Ruger #1 than a bolt action. The cartridge head is sitting just in front of the pistol grip hand in a Ruger whereas with any bolt action the cartridge head is close to where the fore-end hand is holding the rifle.Just a theory!

Now that is interesting. Leverage point. Have to think about that. I have only owned one, a 338 Win Mag #1B model. Yes it did kick and no it was not a light rifle. At the same time I owned a Model 77 Ruger bolt in 338 that I never mounted a scope on. Shot it with Irons only. At least a 1/2 pound lighter than the #1 maybe a full Pound. I preferred it's recoil forces over the number one. Never measured the butt area but the pads were the same. In those days, I preferred the hard rubber pads, so as like Elmer said, they could not "get a run at you." My only real big rifle now is a Whitworth 458, quite light. Factory pad. The full patch loads are buried in the footlocker and I only shoot it with cast these days. I will slip on my past pad on warm days when shooting a bunch so that I don't have too much soreness in a bad shoulder, but hunting with a coat on, no problems. Just a really big shove. Thanks for all the comments.
Best regards,

I love the Ruger 1-S standard rifle and the 1-A fwt. They fit me perfect and I have no recoil problems with them up to and including the .338 Win or even the .375 that's borderline....

These models are fairly light so the recoil with the 458 is rather severe, but I have no use for a single shot big bore DG rifle..That,s just a trick, and not smart at all. When you need more than one shot on that rare occasion, you really need it....

thing is they are right at one pound t0o light when you get up in the 400 's

how to add it

well ---hard to drill the butt stock deep enough to make up a pound of lead

damn near impossible--- to add wt to the forearm piece

change out the recoil pad yes --can do that

even the 450 400 is a bit stiff, where that is a rather light recoil, in say a double rifle

other than that they are spot on, except to say a little tight in the chamber

this is just my view, of the flat side, of the round ruger tropical world

What we are doing these days

Ray

is scope on the single --- iron on the double --- same caliber

that way 2 people can carry 2x 11.5 rounds of ammo to camp

ruger makes the single -searcy makes the double '' kind of a thing ''

it will surprise you what you can snipe out with a scoped ruger single shot using your regulated double rifle ammo

its the only way i can think of to get more rounds on the plane

My No. 1 in 416 Rigby was pretty brutal with 400/2400 loads.

When I was about 14, a neighbor had a No.3 45/70. He had a standing offer- Anyone who could fire 5 consecutive shots with his hand loads could have the carbine. I tried- seven stitches later, he still owned it. My Dad stopped the show after the third round- my left middle finger/knuckle had been cut to the bone (left shooter) and the rifle was getting wet with blood. I was game, but then I grew up to be an Infantryman....

It is very easy to put a mercury brake in the butt, which is what I did to my 450-400 and it tamed it right down; and if I put a decelerator pad on it it would be suitable for a mere child to shoot. Yes, of course, it adds a pound to the butt and you have to get used to the balance.

A Decelerator and as much lead wire as I could stuff into the butt made it possible for me to hold onto a .458 Lott, but it was still way too much gun for this old pantywaist.

this is not on point but


I need to shave off the load ramp so the ejector will work

anyone here know how i should approach that task

mine is a 450-400

I have one that was rebarreled to .470 NE. With the 26" octagon barrel and factory stock it weighs almost 11 pounds, it's pleasant to shoot.

I don't agree with the basic hypothesis that No1 rifles have greater recoil than other rifles in the same caliber. I have owned both a no 1 and other rifles in the following calibers: 300 Wby, 45/70, 9.3X74R, 458 win and 450/400. Weight is the primary differing characteristic. The 300 Wby was worst of all. I had a rechambered no 1B and a Blaser R84. The Blaser kicked more because it was lighter.