Lightening a Ruger 1B

[Argonaut]

I have a Ruger 1B .257 roberts. I really like the gun but it is so heavy I know I could buy another one but frankly I don't want to deal  with the paper work. besides I like this gun.

So I was wondering if anyone here has managed to shave off some weight.  so far I have considered buying a new forend (to preserve the original) and thining it quite a bit.  I could remove some wood from under the but plate. I could remove some weight from  the rings by milling  some metal out but that would but of little effect as far as weight goes.

A new  light weight  scope. a fixed 6 power would be perfect.

Any ideas folks?

thanks

Roy
Argonauts166 (my uncle's submarine, still on patrol after 66 years)

[Sweetwater]

My Dad was an artist at shaving wood of heavy stocks. He took several pounds off an M1 carbine and it still looked original, only a bit demure, or petit, or one of those words that means LEAN. You can thin the forearm quite a bit, and shave some of the butt, maintaining the basic profiles. be careful not to upset the wood/metal fit. Good luck and show pics when done!

Regards,
Sweetwater

[mannyrock]

  I always have the barrel of my rifles shortened from the original 22 inches or 24 inches down to 21 inches.  It makes the rifle amazingly light and quick, without actually turning it into a carbine.

  You can also easily trim (cut!) one-half to one inch off of the buttstock without ill effect, particularly in a low kick rifle such as the .257, and particularly since the Ruger No. 1 is notorious for having the scope mounts a little too far forward.

  If you can work with the standard weaver bases and weaver rings, they are very light compared to all-steel mounts.

  I would think that if you bought one of the skinny, Fargarson-style forends, you could keep shaving that thing down to where it is almost a splinter forend, like the 19th century shotguns.

  Of course, get rid of the iron sights, front and rear.

  Be careful drilling holes in that buttstock.  Don't overdo it, and seal the wood up (inside those holes) immediately!

Regards,

Mannyrock


 

[Autorim]

Argonaut,

I also have a 1B in .257. I really believe you are grasping at straws to try to remove any significant weight without substantially altering the rifle - which IMHO would be a mistake. I suggest loving it as a fine rifle and enjoy it even thought it is a bit heavy. With careful handloads I can send a 125 grain Nosler Partition down that 26 inch barrel that closely rivals the 130 .270 Win in my 22 inch Model 77.

Enjoy,

Ken

[fish7x57]

ditchin' the rib and using Weaver mounts and lightweight rings is a good start.  Using a scope like the FX-II 2.5x20 UltraLight will help.  Trading fer a #1A won't hurt either.

[Silvertp]

Argonaut...I think your on to something here.  You have a wonderful firearm and if lightening it up would improve the handling for you then do it.  There are a lot of good ideas here, depending on whether you want to keep it "somewhat" original looking or go for the radical.  Here is the receipt I might follow.

Lone wolf makes synthetic rifle stocks for the #1 with and average wt of 22-24 ounces. http://www.lonewolfriflestocks.com/hunting_page_3.html  This would make a significant wt. savings.

If you want to keep the wood look "Fred" who is a frequent poster re: #1's has a thread showing his work on recontouring a 1B forearm in to a lighter Alex Henry style and it looks awesome.  Depending on your physical stature and amount of clothes you hunt in either shortening the stock, drilling in butt area or just reducing the overall dimensions will all help. 

Shorten the bbl and lose the front sight and add a lt. wt. scope, or if you have young eyes pitch the scope and rings for now and go with a peep sight.  I like the rib-look but as fish 7x57 mentioned, there are some wt. savings available there.  Thought of fluting the bbl?  Howabout getting it milled to an octagon beyond the forearm? 

Some folks "swiss cheese" their hammers to reduce wt. and increase locktime.  EABCO carries a "speed hammer".  All these minor modifications and efforts to lighten will add up, just depends how far you want to go.

Dang man, youve got me thinking now about starting my own project...Ive got this sweet little 7x57 1ab and I could.....

Silvertp

[gunnut69]

I would consider drilling the butt stock and forearm both to lighten the load. Shortening the barrel on a Roberts would also be feasible as they are not that over bare a cartridge as perhaps a 25-06 might be. The barrel can also be turned to a lighter contour although that entails altering the bedding in the barrel channel of the forearm. CHanging scopes and mounting systems are a real weight saver and there are further changes ,, some get pretty involved, How much do you want to loose, perhaps just a different rifle would be simpler and cheaper to boot..

[Fred M]

Argonaut.
I have quite a few #1's and a #3. Recently I build a 6.5x284, which started as a 243Win and had it rebored. With it I did several lighting features e.g. mill the barrel octagon, shorten the standard fore arm by 2" and converted it to an Alexander Henry fore arm which is considerable lighter. I also hollowed out the butt that saved 5oz.

One other feature saves a lot of weight e.g. install Weaver bases
and Burris Z-rings with posi align inserts.

The 6.5x284 with a 26" barrel weighs 8-1/4 lbs it has a 3-9 Kahles scope which is not very light and Ruger 1/4 rib and Ruger rings. This rifle could easy go 7.5lbs with a lighter scope and Weaver bases and Burris rings.

Shorten the barrel on a 257 Roberts to 22" or 23" would be ok
by me. I have a 257R #1 it is aweful heavy and in time I wil cut it shorter, plus octagon barrel and Weaver mounts and the shorter fore arm.

[fish7x57]

I like the rib-look but as fish 7x57 mentioned, there are some wt. savings available there. 

I agree, the rib is part of what makes the #1 the best lookin' factory rifle.  I played with ideas to make my RSI lighter, but I finally decided that she is no mountain rifle.  I might hog out the butt some day to shift the balance forward a bit.  That's 'bout it.

[mannyrock]

  Sounds like with all of the suggestions, you could easily shed a pound or more.

  Drill out butt stock

  Thin out fore stock

  Shorten the butt by 1/2 inch

  Cut off 2 or 3 inches of barrel

  Ditch the rib

  Switch to Weaver bases and Burris Z-Rings (which, by the way, are fantastic)

  Lose any iron sights.
 
   Doing all of the foregoing would not cost alot of money.  And, would be a worthwhile fun project.  You can take your time. 

  Go with a compact lighweight scope.  (Leupold makes some nice ones.)

 Regards,

  Mannyrock

[Darrell Davis]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm?

Over the years, I have had a number of RUGER #1s and funny I never noticed the scope mounts being too far forward.

Just hasn't happened.

Personally, I would't go with a fixed 6X scope, again.  Been there done that. A 2X7 would be just fine.

Keep em coming!

CDOC

[Argonaut]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I will have to tackle this as I have the time and money.  the Octaganal barrel sounds like a very interesting idea. I have always liked that look on my flintlock and my M39 .22 marlin.

Roy