At a gun show yesterday I found a Ruger No. 1 with a 44XX serial number at a reasonable price. It had all the right bits for a Bownell era gun except for the barrel.

The barrel was big, looked like it came off a .458 and had front sights and a sling keeper on the barrel. It definitely looked like Ruger made everything.

The gun was NOT a 1-A, a 1-AB or a 1-B what with the barrel. It was chambered for .243. I have never seen an early gun in this configuration. It had an Alexander Henry fore end.

Did Ruger ever make one like this back then?

I passed but am not sure I did the right thing. The condition was pretty bad, it needed a complete re-do, but I thought the action with the serial number was probably worth what he was asking.

1-s??

Serial numbers don't mean a lot as to what year a No. 1 was made. Ruger was never big on using old stock first. If a 44XXXX action was on the bottom of the bend and a new batch of actions came in it was just piled on top of the older actions. It could have been a few years before anyone got back to the bottom of the pile. What you are describing is a No. 1 S if it had a 26 inch barrel. In the Ad, medium sport is a No. 1 S. There were no AB's back in the old days.



The No. 1S was made in a number of different calibers after the 1970 ad, before it was dropped from the catalog.

The barrel was very large like the bottom rifle in the ad. It was a .243. ???????

I have a 1S in 218 Bee and I've seen them in 22 Hornet.

The 1-S is a standard weight 26 inch barrel Or its the big bore 375, 458... I have owned them in 30-06, .338, 458 and 375, and a few others, they have a Alex Hendry forend..Nice hunting rifle.

Special runs came along all thru their existence..

yours sounds to me like a special order gun or a parts gun that someone put together, but I wouldn't swear to it. I suspect a photo to Ruger would solve your delima.