William Batterman Ruger is best known for his
innovative mind in the firearm industry. Many
say he was the finest firearm designer since
John Browning, and few would argue that
declaration. Many Ruger gun aficionados may
not be aware that in addition to his phenomenal
gun-designing skills, Ruger was also a very
successful industrial designer whose
investment-casting business supplies precision
cast parts to the automotive, aerospace and golf
industries as well as general manufacturing
businesses. Ruger, however, was above all else a
true Renaissance man.
He was a devotee of classic cars as well as
classic firearms. A gifted mechanical mind,
Ruger was largely responsible for the continuing
of classic firearm designs well past their
original manufacturing lives. His first
commercial success, the Standard Automatic
Pistol, was a rimfire redesign of the famed
Japanese Nambu pistol of World War II. Ruger
recognized the superior ergonomics of the Nambu
and made them the foundation of his first
pistol. Its success is legendary, and it—in its
MK IV form—is still being manufactured 67 years
later.
So in 1966, this Renaissance man brought to the
sporting market a single-shot rifle like few
American shooters and hunters had ever seen. At
the time, the vast majority of American shooters
wanted bolt-action rifles—repeaters—to carry on
their hunting adventures. Why in the world would
anyone want to handicap themselves with a
single-shot rifle? The answer was twofold:
beauty and simplicity. The Ruger No. 1
took off like a wildfire and remains a steady
occupant in the long-gun market some 49 years
henceforth.
Based on the English Farquharson falling-block
rifle of 1872, Ruger’s iteration features the
same internal hammer, falling-block action and
overall styling of the British rifle. The
renowned classic stockmaker, Lenard Brownell,
designed the two-piece stock for the No. 1.
Ruger wanted to lighten his new single-shot
rifle—during its pre-production time it was
called the “Victorian”—and make it with a
trimmer profile. Ruger engineers Larry Larson
and Harry Sefried rose to that task by locating
the hammer centrally and moving its spring onto
a hanger that projects forward of the receiver
and serves as a fastening point for the fore-end
and the ejector spring.
Like its English predecessor, the No. 1 is
bull-strong. Brownell said that, during its
development, he tried several times to blow one
up but never succeeded. As such, the No. 1 has
been offered in no fewer than 47 chamberings,
from the .204 Ruger to the .450/400 Nitro
Express. The number of wildcats and custom
chamberings must be many times that factory
amount.
A tang-mounted sliding safety that blocks both
hammer and sear from movement takes care of most
safety concerns. It is unobtrusive and operates
easily with the shooting-hand thumb. If it has a
fault it would be that with some models the
front of the safety lever sticks above the flute
in the breech block and receiver where the fired
case is ejected. Sometimes the case hangs up on
this projection, and one must turn the gun over
if a quick reload is needed. Fortunately, it is
an easy fix with a small cut-off wheel and some
cold blue.
With no magazine in the receiver, the No. 1 can
be made with a longer barrel and still stay
within the physical length of traditional
bolt-action rifles. That gets a few more feet
per second out of the bullet and makes for a
very handy rifle to carry on the mountain. Those
of us who have hunted with a No. 1 have never
found its single-shot status to be an impediment
in any hunting situation.
Perhaps the only fly in the No. 1’s ointment is
its reputation for inconsistent accuracy. I have
never had an issue with any of the three No. 1
rifles I have owned over the years. Each
produced acceptable hunting accuracy, including
a .22-250 Remington varminter that kept 52-gr.
Hornady hollow points in less than .75" at 100
yards all day. Others have had problems with
accuracy in a No. 1. I believe that most of the
problems associated with accuracy were due to
barrel quality that was a problem issue for
Ruger years ago. I have not seen or heard any
recent problems with No. 1s.
The No. 1 has been made in several
configurations, mostly differing in barrel
length, weight and fore-end treatments. It
remains a part of the Ruger stable, though it is
down to nine model variations chambered from
.223 Remington to .450/400 Nitro Express and
available exclusively through Lipsey’s,
the Baton Rouge, La., distributor.
What started as a dream of Bill Ruger nearly a
half century ago remains one of the most iconic
sporting rifles ever made. The Ruger No. 1 is
the instrument of the rifle connoisseur. It is
for the person to whom the hunt is as much about
the tool as the game being hunted. The No. 1 is
not for the hunter for which the rifle is
nothing more than a tool, like the hammer in a
carpenter’s tool box. The man who hunts with a
No. 1 probably enjoys hand-rolled Cuban cigars,
cognac from France and dry-aged rare steaks.
For more information on the Ruger No. 1, check
out our American Rifleman TV Rifleman
Review here or watch our "Gun of the Week" video on the
rifle here.