Hello Folks

I just got my hands on a Ruger (a 1977 No3, currently 22K Hornet, stock is very rough, but the action is in real nice condition, 95 % blue and perfect bore). I obtained it as an action on which to commence building something pretty nice but I have to say that it doesn’t meet my expectations as the basis to build an all out “hunting rifleâ€

It is nice and smooth, and functions OK but has a number of functional features that I don’t like (at least in its current form).

Firstly it is real noisy, there are so many “clicks, clunks, snicks and bings†that they almost defy analysis. Maybe I am being too fussy but I expect a real hunting rifle to be very subdued in the mechanical noises it makes ?? I think tuning the ejector will remove some of the worst of them, but this still leaves the safety, and the lever detent, both of which is look to me to be a major fixes to eliminate noise without reducing functionality ??.

Secondly there is no “round chambered but action not cocked “ position that I can find that is satisfactory. I may have been spoilt by my mauser type bolt actions as I always hunt in heavy cover with a round chambered, and the bolt shut to the first detent, one merely closes the bolt to take the shot. Martinis have a half shut lever position of sorts. The Ruger leaves one dependant on the safety, and while it is of very good design apart from the noise, its hard to change the habits of a lifetime.

The way the hammer drops if the trigger is pulled as the action is closed is also disconcerting, my action will do this without the lever being home, and it doesn’t feel like the lever is being “kicked shut†as it “catches the hammer fallâ€. Does this mean that the hammer will fall fully before the action is completely closed ??

Finally there is no way it can be a switch barrel. The forend/mainspring hanger are very close to the barrel, and there is no clearance to turn the barrel off unless the quarter-rib/scope mounts are removed first (unless an interrupted thread was used).

This all begs the question “if the Ruger isn’t a good basis for a hunting single-shot, then what is�?

I have only handled a Hiwall once many years ago, and was very impressed, but there is the exposed hammer, and “deep†loading area. The Martini also has limitations with scope mounting interfering with ejection and loading. The Hagn and Dakota are way beyond my means. I have hunted with tip or break actions also but they don’t suit some hunting situations e.g. shooting prone requires a lot of body movement to reload.

Ideas and comments invited !!


Cheers - Foster

Tentman
One rifle that meets your specs is the Blaser K 95 Single Shot.
Totally quiet, not cocked until you are ready to fire, multiple bbls can be fitted.
http://www.blaser.de
I have a 308 Stutzen. It is one of the most accurate hunting rifles I have ever fired.

My 1885 Browning can be cocked when ready and is quiet.Very accurate too ! The newer Winchester version comes in silly short magnums now .

quote:

This all begs the question “if the Ruger isn’t a good basis for a hunting single-shot, then what is�?

The Ruger is a great hunting rifle! It may not conform to your habits. If it doesn't, you may have to modify your habits!

I have been hunting with No. 1's since 1968, and find no fault with themat all. The safety is pretty noiseless if you control the safety button as you ease it forward. It cannot be put "on" without a click, but it will slide off silently if you sort of "hold it back" as you ease it off. If you just flick it off, yes, it clicks! As to the action, if you take the tension off the exctractor/ejector spring to the point where it merely extracts the case, it will not make any snapping noise when you open the block. Of course, if you do this, it merely pulls the brass out of the chamber about 3/8" so you have to raise the muzzle to get it all the way out. You can adjust that spring to give from no ejection, all the way up to where it bounces the case off the safety button!

El D is spot on. The Ruger #1 is a diff. kind of hunting rifle & you hunt diff. w/ it. There are some limitations, it's not totally safe climbing over & under stuff w/ a loaded rifle on safe & it's noisy to chamber each time. It's never going to be a switch bbl. rifle then again neither is anything else but TC w/o a lot of work (maybe a Savage). The Ruger #1 is a stalking rifle for the patient, one shot kill types. I accept that when I hunt w/ one of mine. If I wanted pure versatility, I would nuy a TC Encore, light wt. many bbl./caliber options, just not a big fan of them.

Sounds like somebody wants to have their cake and eat it too. I've been hunting with a Ruger #1 in one configuration or another since 1975 and have never had a problem. As El D. has stated, there are ways to get around the noise of ejection and the safety. One must become a more patient and careful hunter with regards to the game hunted.
Anyway, you've shot at and hit your deer and it's trying to get away. Just what difference does the ejector and action operating noise make anyway? Your rifle should be loaded while making your stalk, and after that first shot is fired, any noise made by your doing a rapid reload is totally irrelevant. In theory, you should not have to reload, but it's a damn good idea. Sometimes, regardless of how careful you are, the shot wasn't perfect. In 30 years of hunting with Ruger #1 rifles, I've only had to take a second shot two times. Doesn't mean I'm all that good as many times I won't take a shot at all.
FWIW, I just picked up a Browning 79 in 30-06 and it's just as noisy as the Ruger. I don't consider it a big deal.
Paul B.

Hmmm - I see part of the issue is different hunting conditions. Although I can miss or misplace shots with the best of them, its not second shots at the same animal that is the issue for me. We often have situations in NZ where one wants to take a second animal. Speed is not usually of the essence, but not spooking the game though noise or movement is. Many times I have dropped a deer, wallaby or goat to have its companions look up and seek the source of danger, as long as one is quiet, and doesn't "flash" hands or make sudden movements often a further shot or two can be taken.

I'm not belittleing the Ruger in any way here, just seeking to understand/rediscover what sort of single shot is most suitable for the hunting situations I find here. If I can adpat or modify a Ruger to better suit those conditions then why not ??

You've mentioned all the gripes I had with action. None were show stoppers for me, but I sold it to pursue other actions.

The safety on the Ruger is about as safe as you can get with a falling block. It blocks both the sear and the hammer. I don't see how the hammer block can fail to prevent a discharge. Frankly, I think it safer than walking around with either a Mauser or a Martini half open.

The block will rise if one pulls the trigger with the lever down, but the motion is so slow I can't believe a primer could be fired by it. The hammer is the first part moved by the initial motion of the lever. The hammer is free to hit the primer only when the action is safely closed.

The action is noisy, no doubt about that. Mine was for a rimless cartridge, and it added the slap of the extractor moving left and right to clear the extractor groove. Others have pointed out the action is fairly quiet if the ejector is disabled. I'm not sure an ejector is compatible with the quiet second shot you seek, so try disabling it. Old John Taylor wrote he disabled his ejectors to ensure reloading was quiet.

I think the quarter rib quite unsightly. If you want a take down, just remove the thing.

All in all, a clever action with many fine features. I've been tempted many times to get one again.

I find the safety on the Ruger #3, factory stocked, to be unsafe for me. The web of my hand can inadvertently push the safety off. I am aware of it now, so with a habit of constant checking it is okay. Problem does not show up for me on the #1.

Have also found I can't carry my #1 the same as I can my other actions. Decided to modify my carrying habits, instead of continually checking the safety.

quote:

Originally posted by Tentman:
Hmmm - I see part of the issue is different hunting conditions. Although I can miss or misplace shots with the best of them, its not second shots at the same animal that is the issue for me. We often have situations in NZ where one wants to take a second animal. Speed is not usually of the essence, but not spooking the game though noise or movement is. Many times I have dropped a deer, wallaby or goat to have its companions look up and seek the source of danger, as long as one is quiet, and doesn't "flash" hands or make sudden movements often a further shot or two can be taken.

I'm not belittleing the Ruger in any way here, just seeking to understand/rediscover what sort of single shot is most suitable for the hunting situations I find here. If I can adpat or modify a Ruger to better suit those conditions then why not ??

Tentman. I doubt any single shot rifle would serve your purpose. Probably the quietest might be something based on a Remington rolling block. I have a replica rolling block rifle chambered to the 30-30 that is, for all practical purposes about as quiet and action I can think of. However, like every other single shot, you will have to move your hands to reload, and excess movement is something you said you were concerned about. The biggest problem with a rolling block would be the power range of the cartridge you could use in the gun. Seems like most of the replicas today are for the big bore black powder cartridges and finding an original in say, 30-30 or 30-40 Krag for instance would not only be difficult but pricey. You might find one in 7x57 mauser in military guise and rework it into a sporter, provided the barrel is in decent shape. However, on those, having the headspace checked is a serious must. Those rifles used a diffeent headspacing measurement for some odd reason making many of them unsafe by today's standards.
Just some ideas on my part.
I don't know? For me, hunting with the single shot is probably more of a state of mind type of thing. I've been using a Ruger #1 of some type since 1975, and when taking the buck out of a herd, as I do the rapid reload, it hasn't spooked the others in the herd all that much as they milled around for a few seconds after the shot.
One thing to remember, should you decide to get a #1. Remove the forearm and buttstock and rubber butt plate and properly seal the wood. Ruger does a pretty piss poor job in that respect. I learned that one the hard way with a .300 magnum. I got caught in a very heavy rainstorm, and both the rifle and me were soaked. This was on an elk hunt in eastern Oregon. About two weeks later, we were in nevada hunting pheasnt on a friend's ranch when we spotted a coyote running off with a pheasant in it's mouth. The only rifle in the truck was my .300 so I tried to shoot the coyote. Six shots and six misses. We couldn't even see the bullet strikes on the ground. When I got back home to Arizona, I took the rifle to the range and it was shooting six feet high at 100 yards. It took a little over five years for that stock to dry out and settle down to it's usual good grouping. Just a word to the wise.
Paul B.

If you go the way of a rolling block check the type of extractor it has, My Pedersoli has a small rotating extractor which can easily flip back durring reloading and end up behind the rim meaning a knife or cleanng rod is needed for extraction. Some of the originals had an extractor that worked on a plunger type of design which would be much less prone to this problem.