Picked up a Ruger #1B in 280. Does anyone have any experience with the accuracy of this round in this rifle. I notice that some manufactuers say they expect larger groups from the 280. thanx.

My No. 1B in 7mm Rem. Mag. will shoot into 1" @ 200 yards, and I would expect the .280 in the same gun to do as well!! But I am talking handloads here, and have no idea how accurate the AVERAGE factory .280 load is. There are probably some which do quite well, but this varies, even from lot to lot of the exact same brand & bullet weight!! You must do some test shooting!!

Thanx for the reply. I was expecting more shooters to respond. I have no experience with the #1. I have 5 boxes of various factory loads. A 6xby42 Leupold should be installed by tomorrow and if and when it stops raining , I will see. I got a portable shooting bench and just need it to dry up so I can get to my place.

.5"-2.5", newer production alledged to shoot better than old due to Ruger making their own barrels. #1's often need help to achieve their potential. Have a competant 'smith tune or replace your trigger, float the barrel, and you will be a leg up on accuracy. Handloading helps as well. I think all #1's are capable of consistant accuracy in the .5-.75" range but have not had one do that out of the box.

Kepplinger, Canjar and Mowry make aftermarket triggers. A forend hangar attachment is available from Brownells that requires no machining and only a bit of simple wood work to float the barrel. This can be done in other ways; talk to your 'smith or give me a yell. My experience has been contrary to some in that I've had no joy with a pressure pad. COMPLETE float worked well for me. Ruger sometimes uses what I think are odd twists for certain cartridges, and in the case of the #1, some lock-step practices in chamber set up. EX. My .257 Bob is very short throated even though it's a single shot. It has a slow twist as well and does not shoot 100-120 grain bullets worth a damn. What it does with 75-85 gr bullets however is quite amazing. Occasional groups of 3 in the 1/4" range.

Luck to you.

I have owned only three #1's and they shot the same as a bolt rifle. The two 1A's that I know of shot 1 to 1.25 MOA and a 1S in .300 Mag shoots 1 MOA all the time. All are free floated with a simple faucet washer between the hangar and forend.

Do a search here on #1's and you will find a discussion of how to free float yours and more.

My 1969 vintage #1A in 7mm Rem mag had excessive headspace (to the shoulder) and the wrong twist (1-10). It still shot ok and accounted for a lot of game. I wore the barrel out and Ruger put a 30/06 bbl on it for me. From this limited experiance I feel that the new Ruger barrels are far superior.

Of the links this is my favorite to date. www.members.tripod.com/Rbertalotto/ruger/ruger.html

[ 11-27-2002, 19:50: Message edited by: Don Martin29 ]

I have had two #1s. Both shot half-MOA with careful handloading. The 1-V .25-06 is gone, and I'm selling the 1-B .243. Both were replaced by custom bolt-actions which are more accurate and are repeaters.

There is nothing inherently inaccurate about a .280; that's probably some bullshit being spread by a .270 fan.

#1s are a crap shoot in the accuracy department, but ALL Rugers are.

George

Thanx all. I do not handload so I will check out various factory stuff. As an aside, Hill Country Rifles in New Braunfels will not guarantee the 280s and other 7mm's to shoot groups as tight as the 270 or others. I was somewhat disappointed since I wanted them to make up a 280 for me. I found the Ruger #1 in 280 and am going to give that a try.

Let us know what happens!! (TAMU CLASS OF '61!!)

Eldeguello. It still TAMC to me. '62. I just ordered the Kiplinger trigger,& Wolf springs and am having the forearm free floated. "wunbe" on the ruger forum is interested also. He gave me BCRW4guns as a site but I have not been able to find it. Have to get back with him. That football game today is not going as I would like.