Not really my first rifle at all, but my first and only in about 25 years. Please allow me to share my excitement. A new No 1 in .45-70 with the 26" barrel.
Now, perhaps most of your life you've wanted to own some particular thing--maybe a '67 Sting Ray, a classic bike or maybe that 35mm Nikon you could never afford--now obsolete and rather pointless. These are some of the items that have come and gone off my list of desires for 40 years or more, and a single shot big bore such as the Ruger No 1 is also among them.
I'm delighted to announce the arrival of what is quite probably the only item from my list of highly desired and utterly unneeded toys that I will actually ever own, and probably the most 'useful' of them.
Now, I've never fired a No 1, ever, and until this week have never held one. In fact, I've actually never even seen one other than in advertisements, and know no one who owns one. One might ask, "So, why did you want one?" to which I can only reply, "Are you serious?"
Anyway, as folks familiar with the rifle might expect, I had some big first impressions. The first was that it appeared to have a stock that was actual walnut...like wood that came from a tree. Maybe not the finest, highly-figured stock in the world, by any means, but I was quite surprised it looked as good as it did.
As I pulled it from the box and took the plastic bag off it, my second impression was how light it was. Wow. I was expecting a much heavier rifle, and it just seemed scary light to me. After checking it for safety, I shouldered it, and my 3rd revelation: tiny! My goodness, maybe it's a combination of the trigger reach and the small pistol grip, but this puppy feels almost like it's designed for a 'junior' or 'little miss' shooter. I'm not a big guy--5'8" and 185 lbs--this feels like cuddling up with one of those little AR carbines.
The box says: Catalog No. 1-S-C Model: 11365
Did I get stuck with a Boy's Rifle Edition? Just kidding--I don't think so.
The last, and very pleasant and promising, surprise, was the forend. Do the 26" models have longer forends than the 22" ones? I'd just read that the Henry groove actually extends aft behind the forward tip of the checkering, making it impossible to remove the tip of forend with a 90 deg cut. Mine appears to have about 1/2" or so of wiggle room, and if done skillfully I think it could come out quite nice. I'm getting out the chop saw now and checking to see if that blade has hit any nails recently.
Last thing: the box is marked 3/25/14. I wonder, is this a Lipsey's ordered rifle do you suppose? I wondered that when I bought it and sort of assumed it must be since it's a .45-70 in 26", but that date seems too recent. No expert here, and it really makes no difference at all, just a curiosity.
So there it is. Mold is on the way, and other components should be ordered shortly. We'll start out with IMR4198 and a little 325 gr bullet and see what happens.
Now, perhaps most of your life you've wanted to own some particular thing--maybe a '67 Sting Ray, a classic bike or maybe that 35mm Nikon you could never afford--now obsolete and rather pointless. These are some of the items that have come and gone off my list of desires for 40 years or more, and a single shot big bore such as the Ruger No 1 is also among them.
I'm delighted to announce the arrival of what is quite probably the only item from my list of highly desired and utterly unneeded toys that I will actually ever own, and probably the most 'useful' of them.
Now, I've never fired a No 1, ever, and until this week have never held one. In fact, I've actually never even seen one other than in advertisements, and know no one who owns one. One might ask, "So, why did you want one?" to which I can only reply, "Are you serious?"
Anyway, as folks familiar with the rifle might expect, I had some big first impressions. The first was that it appeared to have a stock that was actual walnut...like wood that came from a tree. Maybe not the finest, highly-figured stock in the world, by any means, but I was quite surprised it looked as good as it did.
As I pulled it from the box and took the plastic bag off it, my second impression was how light it was. Wow. I was expecting a much heavier rifle, and it just seemed scary light to me. After checking it for safety, I shouldered it, and my 3rd revelation: tiny! My goodness, maybe it's a combination of the trigger reach and the small pistol grip, but this puppy feels almost like it's designed for a 'junior' or 'little miss' shooter. I'm not a big guy--5'8" and 185 lbs--this feels like cuddling up with one of those little AR carbines.
The box says: Catalog No. 1-S-C Model: 11365
Did I get stuck with a Boy's Rifle Edition?
Just kidding--I don't think so.The last, and very pleasant and promising, surprise, was the forend. Do the 26" models have longer forends than the 22" ones? I'd just read that the Henry groove actually extends aft behind the forward tip of the checkering, making it impossible to remove the tip of forend with a 90 deg cut. Mine appears to have about 1/2" or so of wiggle room, and if done skillfully I think it could come out quite nice. I'm getting out the chop saw now and checking to see if that blade has hit any nails recently.
Last thing: the box is marked 3/25/14. I wonder, is this a Lipsey's ordered rifle do you suppose? I wondered that when I bought it and sort of assumed it must be since it's a .45-70 in 26", but that date seems too recent. No expert here, and it really makes no difference at all, just a curiosity.
So there it is. Mold is on the way, and other components should be ordered shortly. We'll start out with IMR4198 and a little 325 gr bullet and see what happens.
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