I'm assembling parts for next winter's project. I am planning on making a small No. 1 in .222, a lightweight carrying rifle.

Whilst I get all the necessary parts I am spending a lot of time looking at custom guns others have made just to figure out what I want mine to look like.

Will you post pics of your Ruger single shots? I'd really appreciate seeing what others are doing.

Thanks,

This is what I have in mind. I apologize for the quality of the picture. It was part of a catalog page when I found it and was very small. I stole it from the website and blew it up to get a better look. It pixilated and got fuzzy but you still get the idea.

I like these lines a lot. I'd change the front of the ebony tip just slightly but I can't find anything else to quibble with.

In contrast here is my deer rifle... a four digit serial number No. 1 in .243 that my old pal Jack Haugh made years ago resting on my cousin's dead elk.

O.K. I showed you mine... let's see yours.

Dick, nice project. Not photo-worthy, but I have a No. 1 I intend to have made into a .360 NE No. 2, with 26-inch or 28-inch barrel.

Ruger No.3 with custom lever. (edited to keep the discussion about the lever)

Dick,
Emulate the lines on Jack's rifle.

Pictures of a Ruger No.1 that had been extensively reworked by H&H.


I had the rifle for a time but sold it long ago.

Dave,

You really can't go wrong copying a Jack rifle can you?

What I have in mind will be about that size. I will probably use my own version of a schnable and a smaller cheek piece than Jack's.

To me Jack is one of only a few guys that can do something we might consider a little goofy and make it look just right. Others on that short list (to me) would be Maurice Ottmar and Clayton Nelson.

I really like the lines of the one in the fuzzy picture. I wish I knew who made that gun.

quote:

Originally posted by Dick Wright:



This is what I have in mind. I apologize for the quality of the picture. It was part of a catalog page when I found it and was very small. I stole it from the website and blew it up to get a better look. It pixilated and got
fuzzy but you still get the idea.

I like these lines a lot. I'd change the front of the ebony tip just slightly but I can't find anything else to quibble with.

Yes, I agree the tip is not quite right, too abrupt. Makes the fore end look blocky.
Other than that it is superb.
Metal.

This is the fore end tip on a 6mm Mauser I stocked years ago. I think it's about right, more rounded than the single shot above but not symetrically round.

Here is my Ruger #3 in 375 Win.

This is exactly the fore end I was thinking of.
Nice No.1 kda55.

Thanks, guys... Keep them coming. Everybody has slightly different ideas as to what makes for a proper stock. I really don't intend to start whittling on the wood till after deer season so I have plenty of time to look at pictures and to decide exactly what I want.

I picked up a set of two piece blanks from a good friend yesterday... Turkish Circassian (sp. ?????), they should make a lovely stock. I will take them out in the sun and take and post a pic here.

The more I look at this pic the more I think that Len Brownell might have made it. I'm quite certain that he designed the original No. 1 stocks for Bill Ruger way back when and he certainly knew how to make one look exactly right.

Just speculating...

Dick, that rifle was made by Dave Talley metalsmih, Ray Viramontez engraver and Don Kline stockmaker.

Lenard Brownell did design the Ruger No.1 stocks and differed with Bill Ruger by wanting tapered tangs, Bill wanted parallel which is what we got.

These are lovely rifles.

There are some nice ones photographed in J D Claytons book "Ruger No.1".

Rockdoc... thanks a lot!

That figures. Don Klein is the only maker that either I or my buddy, Lundberg, ever ordered a complete custom rifle from. He had an eye for line that few have, even among the pros.

Any more info on the gun? I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Don Klein and, now that I know he made it, I like the gun even more.

Dammit... I can't find my Joe Clayton book. Probably lent it to one of my nere-do-well friends.

Thank you, thank you.

Rockdoc, Dick is right as he and I both had Don make some lovely rifles. Mine are a pair of Mex Mausers, one a half-stock 257 and the other a full stock 7X57 and they are works of art. These were done in the early 80's and I still thankfully have both. Could you tell us more about this rifle and it's history? I'm curious if you had Don make it, where the wood came from etc.

That rifle is not mine, however I would b e happy to own it!

There should be more information if the Julia posting is still available.

There have been some spectacular No. 1's posted over the years, some nice ones if you google custom Ruger No.1.

I have loved the No.1 a long time, I was given J D Claytons book in 1986.

Unfortunately, the fit of the later No.1's does not seem as good as earlier ones. I have had some nice ones and regretted selling them, my only current one is a 450/400.

However, I do have a lovely custom .600 Farquharson in the works, whenever I get to send it to the maker who moved from Aus to VT. His workmanship is superb and really only requires sights, stock and engraving to complete after a lot of metalwork.

Cheers, Chris

Chris,

Thanks. What caliber is the rifle? It looks like it's something small.

I've been thru the Google "Ruger No. 1 customs" many times. That's where I found the picture. Of all the guns shown there, this was the one that really turned my crank.

7x57.

Just found a link to this rifle:

http://jamesdjulia.com/item/lo...le-shot-rifle-33890/

Hope it is ok to post links!

kda55, who made that rifle? It is a cracker.

I like how the receiver has been 'squared' up,like the one auctioned by Julia's, makes for a very sleek looking rifle.

Cheers, Chris

Dick, I like that Jack Haugh rifle. Very classy, in an understated kinda way.

Rockdoc,

Thanks for posting the link. I found the gun in Google's photos of custom Rugers. I tried to send a link and it didn't work. ?????

I really think this is the best lines I've seen on a No. 1.

Mighty Mouse,

Thanks. The gun has achieved the status of "Old Friend". I think the first animal I shot with it was an antelope in Buffalo, WY in 1980. That was before Jack got his hands on it.

I like hunting with it here in Michigan... If deer don't come around and bother you, you can just look at the gun and that's pretty good too.

Rocdoc, I built the stocks (not the checkering) and action work by Mark Penrod. He does a real nice job on #1 actions and has a package deal that cleans up the internals, surface grind, trigger and recessed safety. The recontour of the front is extra. With a little work they really do make a nice rifle. I'm sure Dick's will be a spanking rifle when done.

This is the blank that I will use for the No. 1. It is a piece of Turkish Circasian that I bought from a friend who bought it from another friend.

This blank is big enough that I will have Charlie Grace use it for both the buttstock and the fore end. I have another piece for the fore end but will make both from this piece.

I also have an action taken from a .458 and a brand new #2 Douglas barrel in chrome moly that will be chambered for a .222. These will be taken to Kip Wood (Central Michigan Gunsmithing) soonish.

Right now I'm looking for a Kepplinger trigger. I intend to shoot this gun when finished and am dis-enthusiastic about No. 1 triggers.

I have the original stocks and, when Kip has the metal together, I will put the wood on it and modify what's there (more Bondo) till it looks as much as possible like the Klein rifle above. Then I will have Charlie Grace pre-carve it to my pattern.

I'd really like to get the metal back by the end of deer season so I can start on the wood.

I think God wants me to make this gun... I pretty much now have all the parts and am waiting to get the barrelled action back from Kip. I got really lucky on getting the components. I'm going to tell more here than we normally do to explain the above...

The Ruger No. 1 action was $450.00. I'm told this is a lot less than they go for if you can ever find one. I posted here looking for a single shot action. A really good guy answered, "Dick, I found a complete .458 No. 1 that's nice and dirt cheap. If you buy it, I won't. You can save me some money."

I bought it.

I know the folks at Douglas well. When I was shooting benchrest a lot I used their barrels and wrote a lot about them in Precision Shooting. I got the writer's discount.

Brownell's just got some Kepplinger triggers in and I got one... writer's discount.

I found a Unertl at a local gun show. The guy wanted to sell it with a barrelled action he had. Didn't want to sell only the scope. I paid him $500.00 for an 8X Unertl and a Meacham action (new) with a .22 Hornet barrel, It had never been stocked or fired.

I quickly sold the barrelled action for $1000.00 to a friend who shoots black powder cartridge competition. This gave me a $500.00 cash profit and a Unertl. The guy that bought the barrelled action got a deal and so did I.

The Unertl had the thumb screws that hold it on the blocks frozen up. I sent it to a good guy in Ohio, a former Unertl employee, who fixes them. He drilled out what he had to and replaced the thumb screws. Cost me $133.00. He said the scope was made around 1940 and had probably never been on a gun. There was 100% blue and no evidence of use. When I bought it, it was in the original box.

When I get it done the gun will be rust blued. Kip showed me his rust bluing the other day and it was excellent.

I've collected fine rifles ever since I got out of college and I've never run into this kind of luck. All these years I've been regarded as not too bright by my collecting friends...

I'm going to buy a set of Unertl blocks that are color case hardened from Steve Earl. When I get everything paid for, if there is enough money in the budget, I will get a safety that is recessed into the tang. Kip (Kip Wood, Central Michigan Gunsmithing) says he does it all the time.

Maybe God really does want me to make this gun.

I've been trying to decide as to whether I should have a guilty conscience re: how cheap I got the Meacham and scope... You decide.

When I met the old guy at the gun show he was very nervous about even letting me even take the Unertl out of the box. He didn't want me to drop it. Finally we went outside, sat at a picnic table and I got to see it. The thumb screws were frozen up and wouldn't turn. He told me to put a drop of oil on them and "No problem". That turned out to be BS.

He said he wouldn't sell it without the barreled action. I went up to his house the next day with more than the $500.00 because I thought the price might go up.

The barrelled action was in two parts... it came with a double set trigger and he had ordered/swapped for a replacemant single set with un-blued bottom metal.He couldn't get it together and thought there was something wrong. He was selling a screwed-up scope and gun and seemed happy to be doing so.

I didn't not quibble about the price, just gave him what he asked and tossed the stuff in the back of the Porsche.

After he found out I was the Dick Wright he had read for years when I was at Precision Shooting (I literally had to show him my drive'rs license.) he did show me around the house. He has a basement full of small machinery, all brand new and unused, the biggest being a new Bridgeport. There is a brand new copper color Challenger in the drive way. The old phartte has some taste. He buys good stuff and never uses it.

He didn't offer to show me any more guns but did show me the safe.

I honestly think he thought he was screwing me with flawwed items. I decided "Screw it." and gave hin the $500.00.

I took the action down to Kip and he put it together correctly in ten minutes and charged me $20.00 for being too stupid to know how a highwall works. I sent the Unertl to Aaron Davis down in Ohio who immediately drilled out the thumb screws, replaced them and charged me $133.00. He told me the scope was made around 1940 and had never been used.

I ended up with one 'ell of a deal. I sold the barrelled action to a buddy who is building a black powder match rifle for a grand, passing the bargain along. He and I are both happy.

I'm gonna call up the old guy and see what's in the safe and if it's for sale.

Would say you did quite well on the deal. As for the Unertl scope, I tend to give it more protection than the rifle it is mounted on for find them to be excellent. Wish I could post photos of my Ruger No. 1 which has two barrels, one in 22-250 and other .348Win. Unertl blocks on the 22-250 barrel then std. Ruger rib/rings on the 348 barrel. Might mention that my Unertl goes from my Remington '03 to the Ruger and then currently on my Rem. 40X 22. Take care of that Unertl for excellent piece of optics.

Just my old red pad 270 Win. I bought it from the original owner who gave me the last two rounds from the only box of ammo that he shot through it.

I've always had a thing about ripping off widow ladies. Many years ago I went to a Detroit gun show. A guy had a Shelhamer lo-wall in .218 Bee on his table marked "Not for Sale".

I asked him where he got it. He said he bought it from a widow for $150.00. This pissed me off but I politely asked him if he would be interested in $600.00 profit. He took my offer of $750.00.

The gun was new and un-fired. My daughter and I shot it for years, finally passing it along to a gentleman of taste for $1750.00.

Dick,

Nice find.

I was at the Casper gunshow one year while on leave and a guy on a table next to us had a Dakota 76 in 270 that had never been fired and was about the 2nd or 3rd year of production.

He was completely enamored with it, but hauled it around NIB and had never fired it. He had bought it from a widow of a doctor in town for $600 and was trying to get $6000 on it based on the concept that it was hand built by Don.

He had sold most of the rest of her husbands rifles, and this one remained.

I have no problem with making a profit on a widow sale, no one is business to not make money. A 50% profit is pretty fair. Keeps a guy from getting taken to the cleaners.

A retired state trooper I used to know in Kentucky was a safety consultant for DOT inspections. I worked for the DOT as an agent for a while and he and I would run into one another regularly. Everyone in his area new he collected guns and he bought out a widow for $10,000 and ended up with about $350,000 worth of guns.

Not going to wax poetic about it, but life is not always fair to widows.

quote:

Originally posted by Instructor:
Would say you did quite well on the deal. As for the Unertl scope, I tend to give it more protection than the rifle it is mounted on for find them to be excellent. Wish I could post photos of my Ruger No. 1 which has two barrels, one in 22-250 and other .348Win. Unertl blocks on the 22-250 barrel then std. Ruger rib/rings on the 348 barrel. Might mention that my Unertl goes from my Remington '03 to the Ruger and then currently on my Rem. 40X 22. Take care of that Unertl for excellent piece of optics.

I have owned many Unertls over the years starting with a 1" 10X that I got along with a Model 52 so I could start shooting smallbore rifle right out of college. I really love them.

Charlie Grace sent me a pattern butt stock he got from Dale Goens when he bought Dale's carving machine. The patterm is done extremely well but I want the butt stock to look like the Klein rifle above, not a Goens. It's going to have a semi-beavertail fore end to make shooting off the bench easy.

I have the original take-off wood and there is plenty of wood for me to whittle on and add Bondo till I get the pattern to look the way I want it. Then it's back to Charlie for carving. I would really like to spend the winter finishing this gun so I can shoot it next summer.

The barrel is on the action and is going to end up about 24", fine for a #2 barrel on a No. 1. The scope is 1" so everything is going to be fairly petite.

Boddington 450/400

quote:

Originally posted by Dick Wright:


The more I look at this pic the more I think that Len Brownell might have made it. I'm quite certain that he designed the original No. 1 stocks for Bill Ruger way back when and he certainly knew how to make one look exactly right.

Just speculating...

I immediately recognized the stockwork. I apprenticed with Don.

Heres a #1-A in .222....

I don't have a picture of my sole #1 but it looks like most others in 450/400. Nothing special about it. I had worked up cast bullet loads...not a lot of cape buffalo or pachyderms to slay in Missouri. However, I did want a jacketed bullet load just for when I wanted to get slapped around a little. No need for Woodleigh's or other top of the shelf bullets so I loaded some Hornady 400 gr. I started low and haven't worked up the ladder. Here's the results; three rounds, 60 yards, open sights, leaning against a tree for a rest, 72 grs. of IMR-4831, Horndady cases, CCI Mag. primers. Not bad for an old, fat man. I was surprised at POI as the rifle is sighted for a 410 gr. cast bullet at about 1200 fps., a near duplication of my 40-70 Shiloh Sharps.



The two little holes at about 11 O'clock in the 6 ring are the 2nd and 3rd shots from my 1903 Mannlicher/Schoenauer in 6.5 X 54. The first shot has been obliterated by the 450/400. The little M/S will put the first round in the X ring but it walks pretty bad after that. I had done everything I'm aware of to eliminate that except to relieve the front sling swivel stud. I relieved the wood around it and a few other places it appeared to be touching the barrel. Obviously I still haven't found the gremlin.