Hey guys,

I have a ruger no. 3, in 45-70, has a straight stock, nice wood, with a low power scope on it. The problem is that the stock is height for scope, too high for the open sights, and the scope sits back over the chamber. So loading is a bit awkward because I can't easily get my fingers under the scope to put them in the chamber. I usually just put the bullet in and let the cartridge drop in, which requires having it tilted barrel down a little.

My question is, do i just need to practice more with it, or should I look for a scope with a longer eye relief and mount it out farther?

thanks all.

Red

DR. There was an article in RIFLE Magazine by Al Miller on speed loading the #1 which would also apply to a #3. I've modified it a bit, but with a little practice, it works well.
As the rifle recoils upward, I use the motion to help drop the lever. After ejection, (I'm assuming you're right handed. If not, just reverse the hands.) I slide my left hand to the receiver and place my thumb over the open breech, or as close and you can. I have an elastic shell holder on the butt and as I tilt the rifl;e downward, i remove a round from the holder and guide my hand with the round, bullet forward, towards my thumb. When the bullet tip touches my thumb, I remove the thumb out of the way and let the cartridge drop into the chamber. I close the breech and slide my left hand back out on the forearm. You do all of this while looking at your target or game animal. You NEVER look at the chamber while doing this. You'd be quite surprised just how fast you can get with just five minutes practice, and if you do this with an empty case and a dummy round for the ejection and reloading process for just that five minutes every day, you should be able to reload almost as fast as the average bolt action shooter. Trust me, it works.
I have 13 #1 rifles and I use that method with all but one, the #1V in .223 Rem. It's too damn heavy for most offhand shooting, and I don't shoot varmints offhand anyway. Coyotes are the exception.
Paul B.

I have a No.3 with a low mounted scope and have never found it to be a problem. Do what you do..drop the lever and eject the spent case, tilt rifle down and drop a new round in the chamber. Close the lever and I am ready to go. The whole process takes maybe 5 second. Why do you need anything faster?

I will pull it out and start practicing, good advice Paul. My stepfather had a good idea I think too, make a holder that would go around the action and hold a couple of cartridges on the right side of the action. Then after opening the action the hand would come up and be in a position to just pull a cartridge out right there without moving back to the butt. What is your opinion on that?

charger, I never did time myself. I don't know how fast I am with it, just doesn't "feel fast" ya know. After I practice somemore I will go out and do three rounds while having somebody time me. If I can get close enough to the reload time on my bolt guns I will feel comfortable to take it on a pig hunt or something.

thanks guys.

Red

Dago, I have (2) #1s & have done exactly what your father suggested. I made a (2) round elastic holder that goes under the scope. The rounds can be left side or right depends if you are R or L handed. Fire, drop the lever under recoil as you bring your trigger hand back from the lever, strip a cart. from the holder, drop it home & close the lever. This is almost one long motion for me & I can reload almost as fast as a bolt gun. Just practice. To date I have never needed a fast follow up shot, but I always speed reload just in case.

[ 10-21-2003, 04:10: Message edited by: fredj338 ]

I understand the charm of singleshot rifles i own several but trying to shot with the speed of autoloaders may be out of pocket for these rifles what they do well is instill in the shooter that good shooting skills are paramont if you do miss carry a big bore handgun that is ready to use to protect yourself goodluck on finding more nice singleshots

Dago, from your original post it sounded as though you would use iron sights if the stock was lower. A year ago I stumbled onto a #3 in 223 for next to nothing and found the sights too low for the stock. I didn't want a scope on this rifle and I can't see open sights worth a hoot any longer so I had the receiver drilled and tapped and mounted a Williams Foolproof sight. For the front I used an AO (formerly Ashley and now XS) .080 wide by .700 high with the white line along the rear of the blade. The line of sight is perfect for the stock, I can shoot 1 1/4" groups with it, and it slips neatly in the scabbard that's strapped to the front of the pickup seat.

Paul B, what issue of Rifle Magazine are you referring to? I would like to obtain a copy.

Cartridges in a holder on the side of the rifle? The Russians did it with their Berdan rifles, in 1866 or 1867. One of the reasons people went to bolt and other repeaters as quick as they could be developed.

This is one of the great enigmas. Why do people prefer a single shot rifle and then do all they can to load and fire as fast as a bolt gun? A single shot shooter by preference, it simply is beyond my ability to understand. I accept that even with great familiarity with my particular rife, and with great motivation I will never match even a bolt gun for speed. THAT is the charm of the single shot. It makes you make that first shot count.

If you want cartridges to easily come to hand, use a wrist wrap cartridge holder. This has the added benefit of not leaving ammo with the rifle if you need to secure it for some moments but the ammo is instantly available to you.

If you can't fit your fingers in under the scope, you're right, get a longer eye relief scope and mount it far enough forward that this is no longer an issue (or mount an aperture sight).

A Ruger No. 3 is a wonderful rifle. Enjoy.

I like Ruger single-shot rifles, but must admit I don't care much for the #3. That's because I don't like the shape of the #3's lever...though the rest of the rifle is excellent.

I use my Ruger No. 1 in 7x65-R regularly for rocky mountain elk. It is plenty fast enough if you are used to using it. On an elk hunt a few years back, I killed two elk with mine as they ran across a ranch road together. One shot each, using H-Mantle RWS factory ammo which Ken Howell gave me. Found the two empties in my right front pocket, after giving up looking for them in the 1/2" of snow on the ground.

I carry one round between the middle and ring fingers of my right hand. Shoot, jack the lever open, catch the fired case in mid-air, and drop the loaded round in, shove the lever closed, and shoot. Never move the left hand from its grip on the forend. Sounds tough, but it isn't. Works for me. May not work as well with rimless cartridges...don't know. Also don't know at what point in the process I drop the fired cartridge cases in my pocket. Don't recall ever having done it, but that seems to be where they always end up.

Habit is a terrible/wonderful thing....and I have about 15 No. 1's, so guess they ARE a habit.

AC

[ 11-11-2003, 00:22: Message edited by: Alberta Canuck ]

Hobie, I don't practice reloading my #1 so I can shoot as fast as a bolt gun. I do it so I don't miss the opportunity for a follow up shot if needed. So far that hasn't happened but it could.
So are you telling us you only hunt w/ a single round in your rifle & no spare ammo? After all, it should only take a single round whether you shoot a bolt, semi or single shot. I also carry spare batteries for my flashlight, a spare tire for my truck & I know how to change them out if required.

Hobie, you are definetly right about the 2nd wife! If I hunted w/ a muzzle loader I would practice reloading that as well. It pays to be prepared.

Fred,

Practice yes, but sweat it out? I still maintain that unless the law is a consideration in your choice of arms, pick the firearm that provides the rapidity of fire you demand. To choose the single shot and then modify it with a Berdan loading block screwed to the side to cut .2 second off your reloading time is simply odd. When they first invented those things they HAD to. They were designing for COMBAT. They wanted to put a lot of rounds downrange fast and didn't have a repeater to do it with. That's entirely different from hunting. In the 1860s-1870s millions of buffalo were killed with single shot rifles. Many of those were muzzleloaders. Often 200 or so were killed from a single stand. While very familiar and practiced with their weapons, I don't think that simple speed in loading was much of a consideration unless under attack as the buffalo hunters were at Adobe Walls.

The original poster only wanted to know whether he should move is scope further forward or practice more. My response was, a bit more gently put, if you have fat fingers move the scope forward out of the way. After that we have something akin to the Pecos/Judy fights. Sadly for me, it was my own fault. I am a full time supporter of "do what you want but don't hurt me doing it." Same applies here.

Of course it is very difficult to be sure we're right as we can't actually see Dago Red operating his rifle.

One thing none of you guys mention is gloves. I'm presuming most deer hunting is done in the winter, how the hell do you manage to hold cartridges with thick gloves on?- I have to stick my gloved hand in my teeth to withdraw my naked hand before I can reload even with rimmed rounds.