Medium to big bore Ruger No. 1's
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:50 am
Hello All,
This year has been an epiphany for me. I have long been a fan of the No.1 and looked at it from afar. I tend to "limp in from the cheap seats" as I call it on calibers new to me. Well this year I made what I felt was a big move into an older caliber that immediately had me kicking myself. I found an Encore in .375 H&H and found that I absolutely loved the caliber. Better than a .300WM and basically a bigger, badder .30-06 180 grain. Okay I liked the gun, but something more was needed.
Once upon a GB, I came upon a beautiful, used No. 1 in .375 H&H and got it for a song. It now wears a Leupold 2-7x with the red dot and accompanies me just about everywhere. I don't disrespect the gun, but the time where someone should worry over its looks is passed. It shoots a great little group with a simple .300 grain handload and wears a thicker replacement recoil pad. Another very good accessory is the Legendary Arms safety. It looks good and is very good feeling as well as not blocking the ejection. This not so little rifle is all business. However it is not the smallest, but even as an older well loved and traveled lady, she is among the prettiest.
Fast forward a little while and a few cyber miles and I joined another forum that keyed me in on an ammo sale. Ammunition in a caliber that I had only previously read about was discounted handsomely and on a whim and due to the utility of the caliber I bought a large amount. What caliber being discounted could possibly cause me to buy it sight unseen, round unfired you ask? Why .458 Lott of course, as it can fire both the longer Lott shells and the shorter Winchester Magnum shells. Sort of like a big boy's .22 Long Rifle, just slightly more powerful. I figured I could reload with cheaper lead .45-70 bullets for practice and smaller critter hunting, a feature not as readily available to the .375.
Now the search was on for a rifle to fire the ammunition in. There are bolt actions from every corner of the Earth chambered in this caliber, but I was interested in a No. 1. I was aware of two variations of the Lott: Blued with Walnut and Stainless with Laminate. By this point, I was thinking about the Blued with Walnut and resigning myself to a Stainless with Laminate. Oddly enough, neither would work out. The whole world seemed to descend on GB and pick off each and every Lott at prices far higher than I thought reasonable. So it seemed I was stuck with a pile of ammunition and no ignition source. I happened upon Lee Newton and his Classic Arms website and reached out to him looking for a rifle. He informed me that he had one, but it was an odd duck: Walnut and Stainless. I bought it on the spot.
A few days would pass and I'd receive the rifle which was the talk of the store when it arrived. The FFL honored my request not do open the box without me and I gently unwrapped a NIB .458 Lott like I was nine years old all over again. I went out and shot it a few days later and was impressed with the authority it conveyed. There is absolutely no doubt that a rifle has been fired in any of the surrounding area or your shoulder. While it is not oppressive all at once, it is a few shots at a time proposition. Unfortunately the open sights leave a lot to be desired. I quickly ran out of elevation and left the drift tool at home abruptly ending the session at five rounds. After a brief consultation with the good folks at Ruger I have some fixed sights coming and I intend to zero them at 25 or 30 yards to optimize trajectory of the 500 grain bullets out to about 150 yards.
Anyway, time for pictures. First Day Zeroing... A pair of working .375's... Plinking with a favorite handload... Lott with a Nosler 500 grain Solid...
This year has been an epiphany for me. I have long been a fan of the No.1 and looked at it from afar. I tend to "limp in from the cheap seats" as I call it on calibers new to me. Well this year I made what I felt was a big move into an older caliber that immediately had me kicking myself. I found an Encore in .375 H&H and found that I absolutely loved the caliber. Better than a .300WM and basically a bigger, badder .30-06 180 grain. Okay I liked the gun, but something more was needed.
Once upon a GB, I came upon a beautiful, used No. 1 in .375 H&H and got it for a song. It now wears a Leupold 2-7x with the red dot and accompanies me just about everywhere. I don't disrespect the gun, but the time where someone should worry over its looks is passed. It shoots a great little group with a simple .300 grain handload and wears a thicker replacement recoil pad. Another very good accessory is the Legendary Arms safety. It looks good and is very good feeling as well as not blocking the ejection. This not so little rifle is all business. However it is not the smallest, but even as an older well loved and traveled lady, she is among the prettiest.
Fast forward a little while and a few cyber miles and I joined another forum that keyed me in on an ammo sale. Ammunition in a caliber that I had only previously read about was discounted handsomely and on a whim and due to the utility of the caliber I bought a large amount. What caliber being discounted could possibly cause me to buy it sight unseen, round unfired you ask? Why .458 Lott of course, as it can fire both the longer Lott shells and the shorter Winchester Magnum shells. Sort of like a big boy's .22 Long Rifle, just slightly more powerful. I figured I could reload with cheaper lead .45-70 bullets for practice and smaller critter hunting, a feature not as readily available to the .375.
Now the search was on for a rifle to fire the ammunition in. There are bolt actions from every corner of the Earth chambered in this caliber, but I was interested in a No. 1. I was aware of two variations of the Lott: Blued with Walnut and Stainless with Laminate. By this point, I was thinking about the Blued with Walnut and resigning myself to a Stainless with Laminate. Oddly enough, neither would work out. The whole world seemed to descend on GB and pick off each and every Lott at prices far higher than I thought reasonable. So it seemed I was stuck with a pile of ammunition and no ignition source. I happened upon Lee Newton and his Classic Arms website and reached out to him looking for a rifle. He informed me that he had one, but it was an odd duck: Walnut and Stainless. I bought it on the spot.
A few days would pass and I'd receive the rifle which was the talk of the store when it arrived. The FFL honored my request not do open the box without me and I gently unwrapped a NIB .458 Lott like I was nine years old all over again. I went out and shot it a few days later and was impressed with the authority it conveyed. There is absolutely no doubt that a rifle has been fired in any of the surrounding area or your shoulder. While it is not oppressive all at once, it is a few shots at a time proposition. Unfortunately the open sights leave a lot to be desired. I quickly ran out of elevation and left the drift tool at home abruptly ending the session at five rounds. After a brief consultation with the good folks at Ruger I have some fixed sights coming and I intend to zero them at 25 or 30 yards to optimize trajectory of the 500 grain bullets out to about 150 yards.
Anyway, time for pictures. First Day Zeroing... A pair of working .375's... Plinking with a favorite handload... Lott with a Nosler 500 grain Solid...