Just wanted to hear some opinions about loading for the Ruger #1.
I just aquired a customized #1B in 6mm Rem.
it apears to be super accurate , after one informal shoot in the woods near the oregon coast.
The load it seemed to like best was one in witch I experemented with backing off the size die, so that I actually had to push the loaded round into the chamber with just a little bit of force.
It has me thinking I should try neck sizing only.
i think that tight chamber fit might squeeze a little bit of extra accuracy from the loads.
opinions please
...tj3006

You are already way beyond my ability to add to the discussion. Instead I'll sit quietly by and learn from the pros.

What powders are you thinking of playing with?

Cliff.
The 3 loads I shot so far were with IMR=7828,
RL-22 and IMR-4064.
All shot well enough to try them again.
My 1st shoot was just an informal plinking session , off the hood of my truck.
I have aready started duplicating the loads for a shoot at the range.
If I can get great groups and good velocity with the IMR-4064, I likly will stick with it.
It is a faster burning powder that the others and max velocity should be reached with apx 10 grs less powder.
As for my other post, about backing the die off a little, let me explain it a little clearer.
The full length sizing die , when used as designed shrinks the cartridge case as close to origional dimmensions as posible.
But a neck sizer die only brings the neck back to a tightness to hold the bullet firmly.
Using the neck sizer, the case is still expanded to fit tightly in the chamber.
This helps assure that the bullet is aligned the same way with each chambering.
The down side exists with reapeating rifles, beacuse the tight fit can cause feeding problems.
But with a single shot feeding is not an issue.
backing the full lenghth sizing die out is sort of a compromize. The round fits tighter in the chamber, but not as tight as with a neck sizer.
...tj3006

Thanks for a great explanation. I have wondered when people spoke of backing off their FL dies, what they were trying to accomplish. I can see how the concern for a tight chamber and it appears backing off the FL sizer die accompmishes this.

it's always been my "rule", so-to-speak , that all my rifles get thier own, individual set of brass and a necking only. i see no benefit in FLS, unless as general concensous dictates, you are loading for a dangerous game gun. in over 30 yrs. of loading for bolt guns, i've never had a problem with feeding or, for that matter, any other problem related to it.
i generally neck size to leave just a small portion of the neck unsized. i'm so used to feeling that slightly tight bolt close that i would be suspect of a round if i didn't feel it.

I do a partial FL sizing of brass to use in my No.1's (have six of them). I size a .3" of the neck. This leaves a section of the neck "fire formed" to the neck of the chamber and the case the size it was when it came out of the chamber after firing. This puts the bullet right in the middle of the chamber when the round is seated. I don't know how much influence this has on the ultimate accuracy of the rifles, but it sure doesn't hurt anything.

My No.1's have always been quite accurate. They shoot better than I can hold them in field positions.

I only neck size for my No.1's. When pushing the cartridge in gets too tight then I bump the shoulder back only. I disconnect the ejector and if extracting gets to tight I bump the shoulder back.

fyi.I had Possum Hollow build me Delrin bore guides for my No1's.

I may have to disagree with some of the comments on how to size the brass. Neck sizing is OK for bench rest shooting and maybe leisurely varmint hunting, but for hunting with any of my Ruger #1 rifles, I want full length sized brass.
With some practice, one can reload a Ruger #1 almost as fast as the average hunter using a bolt action rifle and doing AIMED shots rather than blasting into the brown.
If one is using necked sized brass on the hunt and have not tested the ammo for easy sliding in and out of the chamber, then one is looking for a disaster and they try to shove that tighter than normal rouns into the chamber.
I've been hunting with my Ruger #1's since 1975 and while a tight round never cost me an animal because most were DRT at the shot and the few that ran off never went very far, I no longer gamble that a tight round might cause me to lose a wounded animal.
I do set up my FL dies to make the brass for the rifle a "custom" fit though, yet they slide into the chamber like they were greased lightning. That's the result I want when on a hunt.
Paul B.

My 7mm Mag #1 will take the same brass back into the chamber and fit nicely after firing, if the loads are not hot.

If the loads are hot, the extraction and ejection are easy, but it does not want to go right back in there without some force.

My 223 #1 is easy extraction and ejection, unless the loads are so hot the primer pocket doubles in area. That is throw away brass and a no good load, anyway.
When I get used 223 brass, I full length size it to the min SAAMI chamber size. MY #1 223 came from the factory with .003" more headspace than SAAMI minimum. First firing forms them. Now I like to neck size with Lee Collet Neck Dies.

There is a great description of the Ruger #1 design in De Haas' book on single shots. The firing pin is enclosed in the falling block with the hammer, so the gas cannot come back at the shooter.


From page 318:
".. One of the major design and construction features of the Ruger action is the breech block and firing pin arrangement. To make this one of the strongest and safest single shot actions ever produced, Ruger insisted that the rear of the breech block exposed above the receiver be solid an closed. Previously in circumstances like this, other gunmakers merely made the firing pin tip integral with the hammer nose, as witness some of the German made single shot actions. Ruger, however, intended his action to be the best ever, regardless of cost, and this called for a solid rear breech block wall and a separate and easily replaceable spring retracted firing pin in a straight line, or nearly so, with the bore. How he achieved this is seen clearly in the sectional view drawing."

quote:

If one is using necked sized brass on the hunt and have not tested the ammo for easy sliding in and out of the chamber, then one is looking for a disaster and they try to shove that tighter than normal rouns into the chamber.

This is absolutely correct, and I always check my rounds to see that they slide into and out of the chamber using gravity only. You can do this safely by never shutting the block unless the muzzle is pointed downrange. Most of my "partially FL-sized" rounds will pass this test. Another approach is to use new cases for your hunting ammo.