ruger #1 forend

[reed257]

Does anyone out there have any expierence with floating/bedding a forend of a #1? I have one that close to driving me nuts the thing will shoot the first two shots in one hole(almost) and the next shot will be wild high low right left it seems to have no pattern. my local gunsmith said that floating or bedding the forend will solve the problem any input?

[ReedG]

Hi Reed257:

I had the same problem with my No. 1. My solution is pretty much a "jury rigged" set-up, but had drastic results. I simply took a small aluminum washer and put it between the foreend and the hanger bracket, so that when I snugged the foreend screw, the forearm doesn't touch the barrel. Now my sporter-weight 1B shoots as good as the 77VT.

Some guys do a fancy glass-bedding job that keeps the barrel floated. Also, there is a device called the "Hicks Accurizer" which goes over the end of the hanger bracket and has a screw to adjust the pressure on the barrel. According to reports, this also works.

I did some experimenting with forearm pressure before settling on the washer. I simply tightened the foreend screw barely finger tight, shot a 3-shot group; gave it 1/2 turn, shot a 3-shot group, etc. up through two full turns which is "snugged up good."

1/2 turn = 1" higher @ 100 yds.; 1 turn = 1-1/2" higher; 1-1/2 turns = 2-1/4" higher; and 2 turns = 2-7/8" higher. All these groups were good in size (all less than 1") but kept moving up the paper. Free floated, this rifle will shoot Sierra 52-gr. Match HPBTs into less than 1/2" with several different powders.

I believe free floating a barrel is the best thing to do. Though others believe in some pressure. Whatever works.

[reed257]

I think I'm going to go the bedding route. I tried the washer trick before talking to my gunsmith & got mixed results,   thanks for the info

[Graybeard]

I fixed mine by trading the sorry #@%$$% POS off for a Browning Low Wall that shoots 1/2 to 3/4 minute of angle all day long with a variety of loads rat out of the box and looks twice as good in the process.  :eek:

Now that's the way to fix a Ruger.  :-D

GB

[Dand]

You might check to see if the quarter rib is bearing against the receiver too. I filed a little off the  end of mine and it helped noticeably. Just wish I'd done a more careful job of it.

Was just reading somewhere that how the forearm bears against the receiver may make a difference too. Can't find the reference now. Probably Rifle Magazine somewhere.

I installed a Wolf hammer spring too from Brownells and that helped a little as well.

[Muddyboots]

I free floated mine with Black & Decker Dremel look alike. Used router type bit and went to town on the channels. Sanding drum to finish and sealed with tung oil. Shoots fine now. Only problem I have is barrel heating up with 7 RM too fast so I gotta shoot slow. Shoots MOA all day with 140 gr (139 SST 0.4 MOA @ 3450 fps) or 175 gr bullets. No clue why nothing in between won't work to same degree of accuracy. Interesting the 175 gr partition with IMR 7828 cruises along at 2950 which makes it a potent elk rifle with decent down range ballistics. My forearm was touching in 1/2 dozen places before I whittled er down. Recommend having vacuum right next to forearm to catch dust. Its a bear to breathe that crap in.

GB,
You really shouldn't hold back like that about Rugers, it ain't healthy to keep it in. Try expressing your true feelings so it doesn't sour your opinions......hehehe

[Idaho Shooter]

Reed 257,
I purchased a Ruger #1 in 7mm STW in 2001, The silly thing was shooting six in groups at 100 yd with my first loads. After checking every gun magazine I had collected over the last fifteen years, and rechecking what Carmichael had to say in the Book of the Rifle, I determined that #1's are very sensitive to barrel bedding. My thoughts at the time were NO DUH !! I had not at that time discovered the wealth of experience available from, or the helpful nature of most visitors to these forums.
I decided; since my #1 has a fairly heavy barrel, free floating it couldn't hurt, it certainly wasn't going to shoot any worse.
I dragged out the Dremel tool which I had purchased for my wifes crafty type hobbies a couple of Christmases earlier and went to town on the forend.
I ended up removing about 1/8 inch of wood from the bottom of the barrel channel, before she truly floated. I then had to sand off the top surfaces of the forend sides because they extended above the midpoint of the barrel circumference. This meant that I had to refinish the entire forend. After I had spent a week hand rubbing and polishing the truoil into the forend and the finish had cured, the forend didn't match the buttstock any more. So I spent another week stripping and refinishing the buttstock.
When the finish was cured and the Pachmeyer Decelerator pad properly installed I took the rifle back to the bench, point of impact had dropped by more than six inches.
With a little bit of load tuning I soon had the rifle shooting less than moa, and am very happy now. I was almost ready, at one time to give the rifle up as a lost cause.
If you add up the hours that I spent rubbing in and polishing the stock finish, along with the time spent sanding the barrel channel and replacing the recoil pad; the purchase of that #1 is probably the cheapest dollar per hour entertainment I ever bought.

[First Shirt]

Hey Idaho, look at it this way...if it was easy, anybody could do it! :wink:
I have a No. 1 in 7mm R Mag that shoots fine with no forend twiddling...but my No. 3 in .375 will get a new barrel soon.  I've tried everything except cast bullets in it (including all the standard and not so standard forend tricks), and it just barely stays minute of whitetail.
The action should make the basis for a nice scheutzen rifle, though!

Greg