ruger #1 shilen .45 14 twist range report

I see the 62gr load strikes again. Great shooting also, by the looks of those targets the trigger didn't bother you too much.

Thanks for all the commentary, I will have to get ahold of Ron to make sure they chamfer my crown. Looks like the twist is not a factor for sabots. Any waiting between shots or pretty much shoot and reload?

Those are really impressive results for the 1st time out Dave, I can't imagine what you can get out of it once you get some more time to work with it.
Again great shooting and thanks for the report.

:)dwight and dave thank's.

:)dave my waiting time was all different some fast other's i waited alittle but never more than 5 minutes unless there was a sieze fire.

:)encoreguy thank's and as far as sabotless goes i'm not big on it because i like to shoot lighter bullets.i might play with it alittle just to see how my 14twist likes them but shooting edges gun i pretty much know they shoot.

The breech plug looks like mine except the "cupped" powder side, mine is flat. I am amazed that the 1 in 14 didn't hurt the sabots, I guess you put that myth to rest. I assumed with the 1 in 14 shilen barrel you special ordered it to shoot sabotless. Great shooting!

DaveD

Beautiful clear pictures, great report and very clean/neat range.
Know what you mean about having a machined crown that shaves sabots.
Results for a first time out I’d be ecstatic with those results. Sounds like you had a fun day overall.


Ed

Great report Dave D. That is some wesome shooting.

WOW, What a great range visit...and on the first try!

edge.

PS groups tend to be vertical. Shooter is doing his job, and 3/8 and 7/16 show that the rifle is certainly up to the task too!

Dave,
First off, good job at the range. All the pieces are in place to have something special with that rifle. Please keep us informed of what is happening. All I know is that with the issues you have pointed out, you did a great job on your end to provide groups like that! Once you have the crown and trigger figured out, you will achieve perfection.
Not sure of the value, but let me share my No. 1 trigger opinions - not trying to be Mr. No. 1 ('cause anyone who says that is likely Mr. No. 2), but of all the guns in the world, I have shot a No. 1 quite a bit.
Depending on the age of your gun, you have several options. I have 3 No. 1's and they are definately "older" rifles. These triggers were made from real steel and are perfectly able to be adjusted. Newer No. 1's have triggers that, according to a metal friend of mine, are made of sintered steel, thus are not quite able to maintain the exact edge/strength of "good" steel. Not a knock on sintering, but it is what it is.
So - if you have a newer rifle, you have a couple of options. Bubba mentioned the Kepplinger trigger. They completely rock. Then again, for $270 (Brownells part 495-100-001), the thing darn well better be perfect! Another course of action is to contact Moyers Gun Repair www.moyersgunrepair.com . These guys make a replacement trigger for the No. 1 that is "real" steel and supposedly all set up to drop in. I cannot promise that, because in my opinion the No. 1 trigger group is pretty darn complicated. I have shot a No. 1 with one of the moyers triggers (after it was installed and adjusted) and it was completely acceptable.
My advice is to get everything else figured out, then either do the trigger stuff yourself or find a good gunsmith to do it for you. My main gripe for rifles is that regardless of the rest of your rifle, having a poor trigger will always frustrate you and limit your performance.
Again, good luck and let us know how you are doing.

Dave,

Nice shooting.. I might just go with the 14 twist for my project

On the No. 1 trigger. I have a No. 1 in .22 hornet that had a horrible trigger. I went with the Moyer replacement trigger as already suggested. As mentioned, it has the advantage of being "real" steel vs. powder metal. The other thing that it has is the current No. 1 triggers (depending on age of your action) only have a single set screw to adjust for spring pressure or over travel (can't rember which one). It does NOT have a set screw to adjust for sear engagement. The original No. 1 triggers had both set screws, and the Moyer does as well.

I installed the Moyer trigger myself (got instructions on how to dissassemble the No. 1 action from the web.. it wasn't too bad). The sear will probably need to be honed to get a good trigger pull. Mine was pretty rough and needed some work. Lastly, I honestly can't completely remember, but I think I changed or lightened the trigger spring..

I just went over to the gunsafe and checked the trigger pull on my No. 1 (havent shot the gun for a while).. It is as light and smooth as I remember : )

-Jim

Dave,
That looks like some great results! I gotta say..........some people talk the talk, but you walk the walk! I need to decide what to do about my trigger as well. I can't live with a bad trigger and these Ruger #1's are notorious for heavy pull that can't be user adjusted sufficiently. I am wondering about your breechplug.......is that a stainless vent liner that i see in the photo? I see some sort of joint in the first photo that looks like an insert in the plug. I already told them several times that i wanted one breechplug threaded for vent liners and a spare plug with a drill bushing, but i'm not sure that they remember all that. I am going to call Ron tomorrow and remind him that i wanted a muzzle crown cut so that i could start sabots and bare bullets without problems although i don't want a QLA or anything that extreme. I still need to be able to index my "drop sized" sabotless bullets properly. Later, KerryB

:)steve thank's.the 62gr load clocks around 2640fps.

:)kerry this is the stock plug solid ss it's actaully pretty nice.i really liked that it's super clean with no blowback and came out easy after shooting.i probably will not use grease anymore.i'm going to see how long the stock plug last then drill it out for a bushing or vent screw.i think i will be sticking with .031 vent hole with this gun.

Hey Dave,
Just for your information. Once you get the trigger and crown figured out there is one more suggestion I might make. The Ruger #1 has a pretty strong following in the centerfire/varmint shooting crowd as you well know. One thing these guys customize is the hanger for the forearm. Apparently the factory set up has or can have a negative effect on accuracy by its contact with the barrel. Basically what I have heard is that it screws with good harmonics.
Several years ago in one of the major gun rags there was an excellent article on rebuilding the forearm hanger. With any 2 piece stocked rifle, it is just about impossible to free float the barrel like on a one piece stocked bolt gun. The article I read was excellent. It explained the problem, gave examples before the mod was done and after. The mod allows you to adjust the tension on the barrel/hanger. I will look on the web to see if I can find any info for you. Your gun is shooting good now, but I know you are like most of us in that if there is something else you can do to improve accuracy you are interested. It would be real cool if you could get this rifle to shoot 1/2 moa.

Well what do you know, I decided to due a web search prior to hitting the post reply button and hit paydirt on the very first try. Here is a link that explains in detail all you need to know with great pictures and everything. Plus it looks like this is something you can do yourself with little expense. Dave I think this idea has a great deal of merit and I would look into this. I will admit that allthough I have shot Ruger #1's I have never owned one or tried to work on 1. However I did work on a Browning BAR in 300 win mag that was a sub moa shooter before my pal removed the forearm. After that it shot like crap. Knowing the tension on the fore-arm was the culprit, I adjusted it several times trying to remedy the situation, but to no avail. It was the weekend so we were stuck. Monday morning I had my friend call Browning and speak to a Tech for some insight. Once we followed his instructions, we had a sub moa shooter again.
So that gives me reason to believe that there might be just cause to explore this issue.

Here is the link to the article:

varminthuntinginternational.com/accurizingnoruger.html

Here is the link to the Brownells part:

www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=16944&title=RUGER%7e+%231+ACCURIZER

Here are a couple of pics from the article

www.eabco.com/Ruger04.html

here is the trigger, I did not see it listed on brownells anymore.

-bubba

This thread started interesting and contributions have been great. I commend your shooting and really like your rifle. I am sure you will soon have the things that bother you taken care of. Triggers are vital to shooting your best and I have a question. I haven't seen a set trigger in several years. I mean the type with two finger pieces where one is pulled to create a hair trigger on the second. The first one I ever seen was on a .256 Newton. Are there any of these available as a aftermarket item? Congratulations. I am jealous.

great shooting dave, it looks like the 14 twist is a winner also. i am lucky my no. 1 was from 1976 and it has the 3 screw tigger and is about 1 pound and very crisp.
what were your velocities with the loads you used??/
sb