ruger no1 and the 45/70

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  • Last Post 04 February 2011
pghchico posted this 01 January 2011

I just got a brand new Ruger No1  in  45/70.   I love this round, and also have 2 marlins also in 45/70 that i have been reloading for ,for quite a while. 

yesterday i took the ruger out to the range for the first time.  None of my reloads would chamber in the ruger.  They appeared to be too long, maybe like 1/16 of an inch and these were with lite  340 grainers.  i also had some  405g and they too are too long, and finally i tried some reloaded 340g  sierra JSP and they also didn't fit.  I tried each of these in the one marlin and it had no problems at all digesting all 3 of these rounds.

Anyone else experience problems with the ruger?  My next thing will be to buy some factory loaded ammo and see if that works.  Rifle might have to go back,  which sucks when you spend so much on a gun like this.  You would think they would test fire these things.

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TRKakaCatWhisperer posted this 01 January 2011

I have the #1 in .458WM, which has a longer taper in the throat (in .45-70 it's abrupt).

Do a chamber cast. Consider a 1 or 1.5 degree throating reamer.

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rmrix posted this 01 January 2011

A few questions might clear it up.

Are you using brass fired in your lever rifles for your #1? Did you neck size or FL size?

The #1 may have a correct chamber but still not interchange handloads. I agree that trying some “factory made” should give you a clear answer.

Being a Singleshot Rifle,making up some loads in brass just for the #1 might be both more accurate and fun rather than using any and all ammo in each rifle. But, you mayhave a different idea about what you require from this Ruger.

All the best for the new year, 

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pghchico posted this 02 January 2011

I always FL size my  45/70  brass because actually have 2 marlin rifles and i would like my ammo to work in all my rifles.  Don't like to make ammo specific,  that's one of the reasons i am a little disappointed in this ruger not working with my reloads. 

I think right now, the best thing i can do is try some factory ammo and see what happens.  Then get on the phone/email ruger and see what they can possibly do for me. 

I bought the rifle because i wanted to shoot some big  450-500 grainers, 

I'm not ready to give up,  i'll have to experiment with some reloads, 

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primersp posted this 02 January 2011

i have one an it works well with rcbs 405 grs molds

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afish4570 posted this 07 January 2011

My #3 Ruger handles the cast 457122 (FP 338 gr.) and had a cigar box full of 385 gr. RN from a Lyman Mold a friend gave me way back when,,,,,,,both chambered and shot very very well. Took several deer with each load using 3031 powder that both chronoed 1700 fps.  Recoil goes up substantially  with higher bullet wt.  Haven't really found the heavier bullets necessary as I shoot under 120 yds. or so.As far as knock down and penetration I find the 338 gr. bullet great.  It is an old mold known as the Gould design that is at least 115 yrs old (design wise). It has been available in a hollow point version too but this will increase your casting time and I doubt you'll get enough expansion to notice the difference between the FP design. If high speed is desired you can use condum bullets 300 gr JHP Rem Win or Sierras loaded up to 2300 fps.  Two deer with this load....shoot behind shoulder as meat destruction is bad when bone is hit. afish4570:D:D

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pghchico posted this 08 January 2011

I finally loaded up some ammo again today for the Ruger no1. 

The longest i could load this round was  2.381 inch.   which is shorter than the book says at  2.550  and shorter also than in the lee relaoding manual which shows  AOL for each round.  

The bullet is a cast  Lee 450 grain bullet.   Unfortunately almost all the molds i have for the 45/70 are the Lee and they all seem to have the same profile / ogive.  so i don't think i'll make any difference.  

I might have to contact ruger and see if they can offer any help here. 

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Dale53 posted this 09 January 2011

pghchico; Probably the most practical thing you could do is have your Ruger #1 throated for the bullets you wish to use by a local gunsmith. It is a simple job if you have a throating reamer for the 45/70.

Historically, the Ruger #1's and #3's had rather long throats. I have a Ruger #3 and just love the little bugger! The Lyman 457322 in both hollow point and solid point is my bullet of choice for deer.

Just a thought or two...

Dale53

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pghchico posted this 09 January 2011

Thanks dale, some one suggested that also, to have the rifle throat lengthened. I may see just what that is going to cost around here, as apposed to sending the rifle back to ruger and seeing if they can do it.

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galenaholic posted this 09 January 2011

Dale53 wrote: pghchico; Probably the most practical thing you could do is have your Ruger #1 throated for the bullets you wish to use by a local gunsmith. It is a simple job if you have a throating reamer for the 45/70.

Historically, the Ruger #1's and #3's had rather long throats. I have a Ruger #3 and just love the little bugger! The Lyman 457322 in both hollow point and solid point is my bullet of choice for deer.

Just a thought or two...

Dale53

Yes, the #1 and #3's did have long throat back in the earlier days. I had two #3's and still have my #1. All three rifles had the longer throat. Ruger changed the throat dimensions some time back because people were trying to make them into .458 Magnum shorts. I have a couple of Lee molds, a 400 gr. and a 500 gr. that have very long noses and I can seat the 500 gr. bullet to the crimp groove and it will chamber in my #1. Shot just fine in the #3s as well but my shoulder protested those loads in a loud and strident voice.:( A bullet I like is Lyman's #457122, a 330 gr. hollow point bullet that will group in 1.25” in my Ruger and 1.5” from my 1895 Marlin. Load is 17.0 gr. of SR-4759. Dunno what the velocity is but I like the load. :coffee

My suggestion is to take the gun to a competent gunsmith and have a chamber cast made to determine the actual throat length. Then, if it's out of spec, send it back to Ruger. Worst case is they'll tell you nothing is wrong but quitely replace the barrel. They did that for me on a #1A 7x57 Mauser I have and when I got it back, I had the chamber checked again and the specs were right on the money for the round. It's a PITA, I know but that way it will be made good. Ruger does stand behind their product 100 percent.

Paul B.

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Ed Harris posted this 10 January 2011

The older Ruger No.1 and No.3 .45-70 rifles had a longer throat which would let you seat the 400-gr. Speer softpoint with the bullet crimped in the rear cannelure. About 1987 they changed to a SAAMI-type chamber in which you must crimp the Speer bullet in the front cannelure to give similar OAL to factory rounds.

Rethroating to your chosen bullet is best.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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pghchico posted this 03 February 2011

Well,  i sent this Ruger No.1 back to ruger.   I sent along a dummy round with my bullet seated out to about 2.450 which is within saami spec but would not chamber in the gun.  Bullet is a cast Lee 450g.     Talked to them several times this week and tried to explain the situation.  They basically have stone-walled me.  Apparently they test fired the gun with a factory remington 300g SP and since it chambered and fired that round.  They didn't think there was anything wrong with the gun. 

I tried to explain that just because it fired a factory remington didn't mean the gun was correct.  I explained that the dummy round i sent was within spec and regardless it is a factory round or a reload it should chamber.

The technician did offer to make a chamber cast, but i suspect they will come back and say it is within 'ruger'  spec.   I have a feeling that there really isn't much they are going to be able to do.   I have a feeling they don't have anyone that could actually ream the throat.  Thier techs probably just replace a barrel with another, and probaby all ruger barrels wouldn't take my round because they figure 90% of the people are just gonna go buy a factory remington round.   So we;ll see what happens in the next couple days.

In the meantime i think i'm going to have to be on the hunt for a few new 45-70 bullet moulds that have a different profile that might work better in this rifle.   Any suggestions ?   maybe a lyman 457643  a 400grain with lots of taper.

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galenaholic posted this 04 February 2011

RCBS makes a #45-405-FN gac check bullet that has the crimp groove in the right place to work in Marlins so should work in the Ruger. I have that mold but haven't made up any bullets with it other than to see how it casts. Very nicely, I might add. I recently got the latest RCBS catalog and they've really hiked up prices. :(

Ruger is funy that way. They brook no change to any of their guns nor are they willing to make any concessions,. :X I had to send a #1A back to them chambered to the 7x57 Mauser round. it had a throat almost two inches long which is way out of SAAMI specs. If I had not had a letter from my gunsmith confirming the problem after he took a chamber cast, I probably would have gotten the same BS runaround you're getting.

I've been collecting Ruger #1's for some time now and frankly, I'm thinking of selling most of them off. I figure the money will go a long way toward paying for some nice guided hunting trips. :cool:

Paul B.

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pghchico posted this 04 February 2011

Well the last i talked to the technician he was going to do a chamber cast. Athough i think they are going to come back and say it is within 'ruger' spec. I get the feeling they don't have the tools, machines, or personel to really fix it. I think if they could fix it they would, but i have a feeling they just screw these barrels on and that's all they are equipped to do. We'll see what happens yet.

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