I notice Ruger has made a special run of 7x57 rifles with 24" barels in the No. 1 series.

Has anyone here seen, bought, or shot one yet?

Where did you "notice" this? For which distributer were/are these made? I don't see them anywhere on Ruger's website. Not even under "distributer exclusives".

AC: I absolutely did not need to be aware of this. I can tell you if they made a run with 26-inch barrels, I'd be doing the Three Stooges thing trying to get through the door.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
AC: I absolutely did not need to be aware of this. I can tell you if they made a run with 26-inch barrels, I'd be doing the Three Stooges thing trying to get through the door.

Try not to knock me over!

man.. I just decided to buy a No.1 a few days ago.
Gun show this weekend. Maybe I'll wait.

Cabela's have them listed in an advertizement I received for the Salt Lake City store. They are $1,300, which seems high to me. It may also have a Cabela's logo on it, which kills my interest. I will just stick with my old 1A in 7x57 with the 22" barrel.

quote:

Originally posted by ColoradoMatt:

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
AC: I absolutely did not need to be aware of this. I can tell you if they made a run with 26-inch barrels, I'd be doing the Three Stooges thing trying to get through the door.

Try not to knock me over!

Bill & Colorado Matt...

At one time in the late '60s/early 70's they DID make 26" barreled 1-S versions with about a #1 or #1-1/2 barrel profile, but they were not catalogued. They could be ordered from Ruger though.

I have seen only one of those 26" barreled 7m/m Mauser No. 1 rifles for sale on a used gun rack, ever. It was at Guncraft in Calgary, Alberta in 1978 or '79. Two or three times I started to buy it, then changed my mind (it was unsold for several months).

I've been looking for another one ever since, so you guys will have to stand in line if they ever make it again .

BTW, I would buy a factory original 26-incher in 7 x57 even if it had an Obama campaign button factory inset into the stock. Wood I can always fix up, getting the original Ruger bbld action would be the trick....

Cabela's has had a number of "limited edition" firearms for their 50th anniversary this year. They had a metal logo attached to the action, not in the stock. I don't know if these logos are easily removable, but their logo combined with the inflated prices killed my interest.

AC: I wonder if those early 26-inchers were accurate. Reason I say that is because I bought an early M77 in 7X57 and never could get it to shoot. I know there are rumors that Ruger was contracting for barrels in those days, and not always being well served.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
AC: I wonder if those early 26-inchers were accurate. Reason I say that is because I bought an early M77 in 7X57 and never could get it to shoot. I know there are rumors that Ruger was contracting for barrels in those days, and not always being well served.

I've read The throats in the rifles from back then were very long, pretty much ancient mauser. I don't know when Ruger tightened up their 7x57 throat specs, but they are much better these days, according to the gun rags I read.

[QUOTE]24" barreled 7 x57
So? where are these Rugers? Who has them?

Cabela's has them. Not at every store, but they can be found by going to their website and doing a "search" there.

This batch is a special run. I don't know if they will become a regularly catalogued item.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:


AC: I wonder if those early 26-inchers were accurate. Reason I say that is because I bought an early M77 in 7X57 and never could get it to shoot. I know there are rumors that Ruger was contracting for barrels in those days, and not always being well served.

Bill - I had exactly the same experience you describe, with my own 1st year of production M77 Ruger in 7x57. I quickly sold it.

But in those days I was in the thrall of the gun writers and believed the MOA accuracy they all reported getting was required for successful hunting rifles. I had not yet learned that 2 MOA is entirely adequate for the hunting I generally would be doing. (If I was to hold my tongue exactly right, that's still an 8" group at 400 yards....smaller than the kill zone on most animals I hunt...and I usually shoot my game at distances of less than half that.)

If I had a factory original No. 1 with a 26" 7x57 barrel which would reliably give 2 MOA I'd be quite satisfied. I'd keep it and still hunt with it even if its' groups averaged a wee tad over that.

Naturally 1 MOA would be nicer, but the No.1 is what it is...a hunting rifle, not a bench queen.

Best wishes my friend

AC, glad to hear mine was not a unique experience.
The blacktails are moving this morning, and sun is bright on the golden maple leaves ...

I had a 7x57 1A that shot lights out with 175's...and like an idiot I sold it... probably the biggest regret I have when it comes to selling guns...

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:
I had a 7x57 1A that shot lights out with 175's...and like an idiot I sold it... probably the biggest regret I have when it comes to selling guns...

Yes, some of the No. 1 rifles shoot great straight from the factory. I have a No.1-S in 7 Mag which shoots that way, so I have kept it for the last 25 years or so. I bought it second hand at a gun show at the Civic Centre in Mesa, AZ. It was on a cluttered table but looked brand new, so I asked the seller what it was chambered for and how much he wanted for it, not thinking it would be less than $350-$450, and that I might just buy it anyway at that price.

When he said $265,I almost tore my right rear pants pocket off gettng my wallet out, even though I didn't want a 7 Mag at the time.

Then, jokingly, I said, "That does include the scope doesn't it?" After a little hesitation, he said "Yep". It had a straight 4-power Leupold on it...and still has it there. Shoots so well with 172 and 175 grain bullets that I have never bothered to add one of the more powerful variable scopes I once had in mind for it.

If you want a good 7X57 you should build it yourself. I don't think that Ruger knows how to engineer a decent chamber reamer for this round.

Agree with SR4759.

Today, won third place in a shooting competition at range I'm a member against 10 other gents. My rifle was a Ruger tang safety 77 (bought used $210) that I'd have rebarreled to 7x57 mauser with a cheapo midway A&B heavy barrel. Only other modification to rifle was installing a Rifle Basix sear (made only for the tang 77s) and putting the barreled action in a Boyd's unilet (clearance) stock that I had inletted and shaped for it.

Previous month I'd finished 9th place, among 10 shooters in same competition using a decent shooting Savage rifle in .223.

So yes, a Ruger can shoot and not a darn thing wrong with a 7x57. Guy that finished first place, used a 6 PPC custom rifle that cost a fair amount more than my Ruger.

Huffy,
I have a tang safety M77 that does not shoot too well with 140 grain bullets. It shoots excellent groups with the Hornady 154 gain RN bullets. I doubt than many people want to use the heavy RN bullets but I have learned to like them with this rifle.

I stopped at the Cabela's store south of Salt Lake City and looked at the No. 1 they advertized as the 7x57 with 24" barrel. I had no way of measuring the barrel, but it was in a rack next to a No. 1 with a 26" barrel. The 7x57 was much more than 2" shorter than the other rifle. I think the rifle they are advertizing is the standard No. 1A with a 22" barrel. It did have a nicer high-luster blue finish than the standard 1A, and also nicer wood. They did not put their 50th anniversary medalion on this one. The price was $1,300, which still seems too high for me.

I have a bicentennial version (made in 1976) of the 1A in 7x57 and really like it. It was my favorite whitetail and hog rifle when I lived in Texas. I also hunt with it some here in Utah.

Dale, I believe you are correct.

I just did a nation-wide search of Cabela's inventories at all their stores. None of their stores show any Ruger No.1s with 24" 7x57 barrels in stock.

What they are calling their "exclusive classic" rifles in 7x57 are indeed No.1-A s, now described on their websites as having 22" standard weight barrels and standard 1-A sights.


That really, really irks me! What I posted to start this thread was directly copied from an e-mail sales message Cabela's sent to my home e-mail address.

Because they said it was a limited edition, I suppose it is possible they quickly sold them all out, through emails to customers who had previously bought No.1s from them.

BUT, I strongly doubt it.

Considering how little their clerks AND managers in their stores I've visted appear to know about guns, I suspect the marketer who composed and sent that e-mail for Cabela's (and whoever proof-read it) just plain screwed the pooch.

I don't know if you fellows know it or not but SAAMI changed chamber dimensions. Mainly what they changed was the long throat for the long heavy bullets. There was a write up about this in The Reloader magazine. The author has two Ruger 77's, and early one and much later production one, and the later one definitely has a shorter throat. I recently built a custom 7x57 on a Hungarian Mannlicher action with a Shilen barrel and it's throat is noticeably shorter. This chamber change was somewhere in the 1980's.