Ruger No 1 in 303 British?

[rollmyown]

Has anyone got one of these? What is you overall impression?

Does it measure up in this caliber? Are they accurate?

I've never owned a single shot Ruger before. They sound like a great cast rifle.

[herbert buckland]

I have seen some reports that the bore is oversize so acuracy with factory amo would not be up to scratch,I hope this is only a rumor as I would like to get one

[grullaguy]

I have one. My bore measures .303 with a measurement of .313 land to land.

A good review here:

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?65256-My-new-Ruger-No.1A-.in-303-British

Hopefully you have access to the review without having to sign into the site.

[CENTEX BILL]

The latest issue of Handloader Mag has an article by John Barness about this rifle in 303 British.
Centex Bill

[herbert buckland]

[QUOTE=grullaguy;1326112]I have one. My bore measures .303 with a measurement of .313 land to land.

A good review here:

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?65256-My-new-Ruger-No.1A-.in-303-British

Hopefully you have access to the review without having to sign into the site.[/QUOTE .314 to .316 is the measurments I have read about ,if this is true I wonder what Ruger was thinking ,good for custom cast loads but not pratical for the standard shooter or reloader

[rollmyown]

I read the article in handloader magazine. The tested rifle had a tighter chamber and barrel than most military rifles. Shot some sub MOA groups too (J words).

If no one has experience with the caliber/rifle combo, what about the No 1 as a hunting rifle in general?

[grullaguy]

No 1s have been used to shoot everything from gophers to elephants since the rifle was developed. The rifles can sometimes be finicky due to the two piece stock. Some rifles shoot great right out of the box while others need work done to their fore ends for top accuracy.

They are all beautiful rifles styled after the single shots used in Africa in the very early days. That is why the .303 caliber in that rifle has so much nostalgia for many in the Commonwealth.

[Multigunner]

.314 to .316 is the measurments I have read about ,if this is true I wonder what Ruger was thinking ,good for custom cast loads but not pratical for the standard shooter or reloader


Its ridiculous to build a semi custom single shot in .303 and give it the same loose tolerance bores as milsurp .303 rifles.
getting a Lee Enfield to shoot well is more often than not finding a bullet that will bump up enough to fill out the oversized milspec bores.
Theres no lack of .311-312 matchgrade bullets out there, but even a .312 boat tail bullet in a .316 bore is a waste of time.

Personally I wouldn't invest this sort of money in a rifle thats going to require a lot of load development and still might never shoot accurately with more than a handful of flat base bullet types.

They could very easily have found a supplier of .311 barrel blanks, its not rocket surgery after all.

[David todd]

This one is BLOODY accurate!!
it hasn't shot any cast yet however, just jacketed bullets.
Kepplinger trigger, half round/octagon Shilen barrel with express sights, custom sling swivel, wood from Treebone Carving with ebony grip cap.
All work done by Bill Leeper, including the lever modification.
David
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v104/catnthehat/Ruger303-1.jpg

[herbert buckland]

Very nice,is it a 303

[David todd]

Very nice,is it a 303
YUP!
It was actually built when we were talking about how it would be nice to have Ruger build on at the factory, an the 24 hour campfire and Canadian Gun Nutz
As it turned out, Clay Smiley of Prophet river Firearms is a big Ruger dealer in Canada, and contacted them about doing a limited run of 250.
The rest is history!

David

[David todd]

I read the article in handloader magazine. The tested rifle had a tighter chamber and barrel than most military rifles. Shot some sub MOA groups too (J words).

If no one has experience with the caliber/rifle combo, what about the No 1 as a hunting rifle in general?
I have LOTS of experience with both the No.1 as a hunting rifle, and the 303 Brit cartridge .
Both are great , the Ruger is a fantastic fire arm, and as far as the .303 goes, more moose have likely been killed with it in Canada than the 30/30!
It's a great , mild recoiling cartridge for ranges out to 250.
David

[nanuk]

I hear Leeper does very good work

He comes recommended by many.

[herbert buckland]

I have LOTS of experience with both the No.1 as a hunting rifle, and the 303 Brit cartridge .
Both are great , the Ruger is a fantastic fire arm, and as far as the .303 goes, more moose have likely been killed with it in Canada than the 30/30!
It's a great , mild recoiling cartridge for ranges out to 250.
DavidYes I too like the No 1 and the 303 cartridge,it is just that I do not want to buy a rifle that has a grosly oversized bore,am trying to get feed back from people who have bought one,so fare the feed back has been all bad in Australia were I live,wondering weather we got a bad batch or is this the norm,I have giver up beliving gun magizine reports on rifles as of late they just seemeto be indistry spin

[rollmyown]

Do these rifles come supplied with rings and bases? I bought an M77 mk2 some years back and I have a vague recolection that the rings and bases were supplied with it.

[BruceB]

Enough speculation, already.

I bought my #1 in .303 British almost exactly a year ago. Medical events have prevented any serious work with it, BUT....

I had cast a bunch of NOE 316299 bullets, and after watching this thread for a while I was finally moved to do something.

The NOE bullets are .303" nose diameter, as cast. I tapped one of these into the muzzle of my Ruger and found it was HEAVILY engraved by the rifling,with engraving visible for half of the nose length.

I then dropped another bullet into the throat, and drove it in to engrave the full width of the first band. Measuring the diameter of that band, I found the LARGEST dimension to be .313".

Dare I say that these dimensions are just about perfect for a .303 British rifle?

Yes, the #1 comes with Ruger rings. Bases on #1 and M77 are integral, not separate.

We now return you to our regularly-scheduled programming....

[rollmyown]

Bruce,
I'm glad to hear the dimentions in your Ruger are spot on. Apart from Herbert's post casting a little doubt, I haven't realy heard much not to like about these rifles.

I hope your health issues are more behind you than in front, and you get to put her the it's paces. Look foreward to hearing your results when you do.

Thanks to all for sharing.

Rob

[herbert buckland]

The corect dementions for a .303 british is .303 for the bore and .311 groove diameter.Many military rifles were over size,but acuracy was not as good as it could be.I could proby live with one that had a .313 groove barrel but not over this,I really want one of these rifles but the rumores hav stoped me for now

[SlamFire1]

It was about time that a modern single shot in 303 British was on the market. The Ruger #1 is a very classy rifle, very strong. Case life ought to be great, much better than the old Lee Enfield.

And you can shoot it in the rain!:


Owners of Enfield No 4 actioned rifles in any calibre are strongly advised
not to use them in wet weather or without removing all traces of oil from
action and chamber prior to shooting.

British NRA Spring 2010 issue, page 11.

http://www.nra.org.uk/common/asp/general/downloads.asp?site=NRA&category=14

[rollmyown]

What? Arguably one of the best bolt action battle rifles ever designed, and it's got problems with rain?

[herbert buckland]

Yes you would have thought some of the millions of troops yousing it in the mud sand and jungle swamps would have noticed before the British NRA boys

[BruceB]

From personal experience, I can say this:

In the course of an entire summer, we fired the #4 Rifle all day, every day in a Canadian Army Rifle-Coaching course. For two months, we shot in whatever weather came over the hill. On uncovered firing points, in rain, dust, high winds, hot sun, we fired "....until the targets are obscured."

Our instructors even demonstrated the effects of firing wet ammunition by DIPPING THE ROUNDS IN A BOTTLE OF WATER, and then firing them immediately...with water literally dripping off the ammunition and running out of the chamber (the points of impact changed...no other effects).

I have no idea why the British NRA released this statement. Maybe their version of the Nanny State has spoken once again. Certainly, no such belief has ever intruded upon my shooting circles.

I have only the utmost respect for the #4 Rifle and its cartridge.

[Haggway]

I have one of these rifles. With Factory Ammo I am getting better than average accuracy. I can hit the 500 yard gong at our range with ease with this rifle. As for shooting cast stuff, I am a beginner. The freebie 212 grain 303 bullets shoot ok at 50 yards. I will be trying other in the future as money permits.

[EDG]

The basic Lee-Enfield action was designed during the black powder era.
The bolt and receiver components under stress are long. This produces a spring action that is sensitive to the case gripping the chamber walls.

[Four Fingers of Death]

My friend at the local range has one. He does a lot of hunting and is a bolt rifle guy and pretty fussy. If it don't shoot accurately, he moves them on. His new 303 is his first non bolt gun, it is accurate and he loves it.

I have had good luck with all of the No1s I have owned, they have all been accurate out of the box. I had two friends years ago who had accuracy problems with them and they couldn't sort them out. One guy sold his off and the other guy swapped the wood onto his Ruger No3, pulled the barrel and threw it away and sold the action. He tried everything, but it wouldn't go. I heard a few stories like this in the early No1 days, but I haven't heard of anyone having problems for many years.

[lowgie]

HI, have one of these manufactured 2011. Shoots everything extremely well, Sellier & Bellot 150gr has 3 shots touching at 50 metres.

Woodleigh 215gr reloads with 45.5gr of ADI 2208 ( Varget ) shoots to the same line but about 25mm higher and groups equally well.

Hornady 150gr SST & Varget also shot well but were not used further. EVERY load I put through this gun shot to the same line with only variations in height. Hell of a good job of machining I would have to guess.

The no floating forend was a problem but a rubber washer under the barrel lug fixed that easily.

Very quick to reload, the long tapered case and large rim means you can drop a cartridge in from a handspan away and it just drops right in. A No1 I have in 223 by comparison needs to be poked home with a finger before closing the action.

Fine hunting gun.

[sharps4590]

It was said during WWI that the Americans had the best target rifle in -03, the Germans the best hunting rifle in the Mauser and the British the best battle rifle in the SMLE.

Grand old cartridge the 303 and a classy rifle the #1. Me, I'd love to have a 303 in a Lancaster oval bore double rifle!

[Bad Ass Wallace]

According to the Small Arms Identification Series by Ian Skennerton "Magazine Lee-Enfield Rifle" Page 29

1) Lee Metford and Lee-Enfield Mk1:
Barrel Specification:
Barrel Length - 30.5"
Rifling Metford - 7 groove L.H. 1 turn on 10"
Rifling Enfield - 5 groove L.H. 1 turn in 10"
Bore Dia - 0.303"
Metford Rifling Depth - 0.004"
Enfield Rifling Depth - 0.0055
Metford Land Width - 0.023"
Enfield Land Width - 0.0936

From book "The British Service Lee" by Ian Skennerton Page 86
2) Short Magazine Lee Enfield Mk 3:
Barrel Specification:
Barrel Length 25.2"
Rifling Enfield - 5 groove L.H. 1 turn in 10"
Bore Dia - 0.303"
Enfield Rifling Depth at muzzle - 0.0065
Enfield Rifling Depth at breech and to within 14" of the muzzle - .005
Enfield Land Width - 0.0936

From book "The British Service Lee" by Ian Skennerton Page 158
3) Short Magazine Lee Enfield Mk 4 & 5:
Barrel Specification:
Barrel Length 25.2"
Rifling Enfield - 5 groove L.H. 1 turn in 10"
Bore Dia - 0.303"
Enfield Rifling Depth at breech - .005
Enfield Land Width - 0.0936


BSA made factory bore gauges in sizes .3025, .303, .3035, .304, .3045, .305. .305 being considered worn out!

It would seem from this data that an Enfield 303 could be .303" over lands and a bore of up to 0.314" at the breech and to 0.316 at the muzzle.

My Martini 303's shoot best with a .314 dia projectile which would seem to fit with the above specifications and bore diameter of .313"

[Haggway]

I switched to a .314299
This made my groups tighten up greatly. Now I have a fun shooter, taht I hope to get pp boolits into it soon.

[grullaguy]

I switched to a .314299
This made my groups tighten up greatly. Now I have a fun shooter, taht I hope to get pp boolits into it soon.

I have been shooting paper patched in mine for a year now.
I was out on a fun shoot with a friend today.
We were shooting at 1/2" diameter sticks stuck in the ground at 100 yards and knocking them down frequently.

[Four Fingers of Death]

The article mentions No4s converted to 7.62/308W. I am sure the 303 would not bump the pressure up too much if rained on. The 308 is in the upper limits of the action's strength range at the best of times.

[EDG]

Skennerton is not really the ultimate reference for this information.
This information should come from original fully dimensioned and toleranced arsenal drawings from the British MOD. I have never seen such a drawing and wonder why this information is so hard to find.


According to the Small Arms Identification Series by Ian Skennerton "Magazine Lee-Enfield Rifle" Page 29

1) Lee Metford and Lee-Enfield Mk1:
Barrel Specification:
Barrel Length - 30.5"
Rifling Metford - 7 groove L.H. 1 turn on 10"
Rifling Enfield - 5 groove L.H. 1 turn in 10"
Bore Dia - 0.303"
Metford Rifling Depth - 0.004"
Enfield Rifling Depth - 0.0055
Metford Land Width - 0.023"
Enfield Land Width - 0.0936

From book "The British Service Lee" by Ian Skennerton Page 86
2) Short Magazine Lee Enfield Mk 3:
Barrel Specification:
Barrel Length 25.2"
Rifling Enfield - 5 groove L.H. 1 turn in 10"
Bore Dia - 0.303"
Enfield Rifling Depth at muzzle - 0.0065
Enfield Rifling Depth at breech and to within 14" of the muzzle - .005
Enfield Land Width - 0.0936

From book "The British Service Lee" by Ian Skennerton Page 158
3) Short Magazine Lee Enfield Mk 4 & 5:
Barrel Specification:
Barrel Length 25.2"
Rifling Enfield - 5 groove L.H. 1 turn in 10"
Bore Dia - 0.303"
Enfield Rifling Depth at breech - .005
Enfield Land Width - 0.0936


BSA made factory bore gauges in sizes .3025, .303, .3035, .304, .3045, .305. .305 being considered worn out!

It would seem from this data that an Enfield 303 could be .303" over lands and a bore of up to 0.314" at the breech and to 0.316 at the muzzle.

My Martini 303's shoot best with a .314 dia projectile which would seem to fit with the above specifications and bore diameter of .313"

[selmerfan]

I traded into a SMLE #4 for about $50 last year. :grin: It's got a GREAT bore, mics at .312, fires jacketed projectiles MOA at 100 yds and loves 314299 boolits with 2400 behind it. It's a very fun gun to shoot with just the standard battle sights, hasn't had any modifications to mount a scope and I don't intend to do so.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Great find.

[selmerfan]

It was a friend of mine - I had a benchtop drill press that I picked up for a dollar and need the motor mounted back on, so I took care of that. He lusted after it for about a year until he asked if I'd be interested in trading the press for his rifle. Stupid question. :grin: I still bring it along when he comes so he can shoot it. :)

[BruceB]

There is a scope mount for the #4 made by "ATI", as I recall. It requires no modification whatever to a #4.

I have one of their mounts somewhere, which I used in load development for "Miz Liz", my new-condition 1955 Fazakerley #4 (named after Elizabeth Hurley, another fine-looking Brit). The ATI mount worked fine, and left no marks behind.

Incidentally, my as-new Canadian-made Long Branch #4 is named "Shania".... need I explain?

Those are the ONLY two firearms I've ever named. Both the #4 Rifles and the ladies must have made an impression!

[Huvius]

Grand old cartridge the 303 and a classy rifle the #1. Me, I'd love to have a 303 in a Lancaster oval bore double rifle!

I must say that the 303Brit is my favorite smallbore to load and shoot too.
Don't have a No.1 in 303 but do have a Jeffery Farquharson, two Gibbs Farqs, a Fraser falling block and a Lee Speed which shoots just about any 303 load you can come up with.

I once had an oval bore Lancaster in hand which I was thinking of buying but it wouldn't shoot for anything. The bore in the right barrel was .004 bigger than the left so there was no reasonable way to carry appropriate ammo for the rifle short of a pocketfull of each for each barrel.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Brass cases for one barrel, nickel for the other? Nice batch of rifles. The Ruger No1 was aimed squarely at us plebs that like the look of the Champagne level Farquharsons, but have a beer budget.

[Huvius]

Brass cases for one barrel, nickel for the other? Nice batch of rifles.

That would have been an option but neither barrel shot well enough to buy the gun anyway.
Normally, when I have shells for both smokeless and black, I color the primer black with a sharpie to indicate that a case is loaded with black. That said, all of my vintage big bores are BPE rifles anyway but I do load black and NfB for them and that is where the sharpie is used.

I have been very fortunate to be able to collect the rifles I have but I do have a couple Ruger No.1s as well. There is nothing really wrong with them that cannot be tuned and I have never had one that didn't shoot. The heavier calibers recoil much worse than a good classic or custom in the same chambering but that comes down to proper stock design.
A 303 No.1 wouldn't have that issue of course and if I get into another, it will be a 303 for sure.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I'm off downstairs to give the new No1 303 a good clean before a run in session at the range tomorrow. When I looked at the bore when I got it home, it looked like the bore was dirty, I hope it was just preservative ****. We'll soon see.

[rollmyown]

Keep us posted FF, we want to see a tight bore. small groups and a big grin.

[Four Fingers of Death]

A bit of an update, I was speaking to my friend at the range on Sunday and he said that his 303 No1 (the one I mentioned earlier) delivers the first shot exactly where you aim it and the next one within an inch of that and the third shot starts to string (which he thinks may be bedding anyway). He doesn't cast, but found that the Hornady 174Gn RN the best performing bullet in his rifle. He is a deer stalker who hunts the timbered areas mostly and usually stalks within a hundred yards or less, so the rifle is plenty accurate for his needs and has accounted for a lot of game.

I have been slack and haven't got around to slugging mine or even reloading for it yet (silly old fart buying too many rifles at once, can't get to them all).

Watch this space, lol.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I slugged the bore today, maximum dimension of the slug was 0.313" I was not able to get other dimensions. It will be fine with cast, but may be iffy with jacketed. I can't imagine why Ruger turned out a hammer forged barrel over the desired 303/311 measurements.

[truckjohn]

They made it the dimensions they did because it has to meet CIP/SAAMI spec...

Have a look for yourself... http://www.saami.org/pubresources/cc_drawings/Rifle/303%20British.pdf

[Four Fingers of Death]

My bad, I thought that it was 0.303" / 0.311" so it should be ok.

[Idaho Mule]

Mine measures .303 by .313 as well. JW

[Four Fingers of Death]

I'd best be opening that Lee sizing die to 0.314".

[swamp]

I have a #1 in 303. So far I have not done much load developement with it. Just some fun plinking. Have been using a 235gr. cast plain base and so far it seems very good. Got the mould from a member. oversize 300 blackout mould. Need to put on a scope and see just how accurate it is.
swamp

[Four Fingers of Death]

My mate is using a Lee Black Bart or whatever you call it mould. I must ask him what they drop at.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have been liberating brass from factory loads (I had a big credit at a shop some years ago, my mate worked there and I walked in the day before they were going to close and my mate that worked there tipped me off. He said I'd get my money, but it would take months by the time the lawyers worked things out and he suggested that I take the credit in goods. I didn't fancy anything on the shelves and then the Remington Rep walked in. I ended up with a 7600 Police Patrol 308Win and 120 rounds each of Remington 308Win, 303Brit, 30-06, 300WM, 338WM). The 303Brits are just about gone and I loaded some 150Gn Privi Partisan bullets today. The cast boolits will be following shortly.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Well........, I was running the rifle range today and the Club Armourer (also a gun dealer catering to the members under our system) appeared on the scene. We were chatting and we were joined by th e other guy who has a No1 in 303. The Armourer mentioned that he had been trying to sell a 303Brit No1 which was part of the original order. The previous range captain, now deceased ordered and paid for it and died of a heart attack a week later. The rifle was forgotten until it turned up more tan a year later. I made an offer which was half of the new price (and only $100 below what he had been trying to sell it at for two years. So I am now the proud owner of two 303Brit No1s. One scoped and one with peep sights perhaps?

[rollmyown]

FF, I thought I had issues!
:bigsmyl2:

I've still not fired mine and I've had it for almost 2 years. I did check it and clean it today, I hope to shoot it soon (with cast)

A new England or Skinner peep sounds like the business on this fast pointing single shot.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Saved from myself. I have missed out on the second 303, a last minute bid came in, way higher than mine and I stepped down to make sure the widow got the most out of the sale. So back to the original 303, haha.

[Four Fingers of Death]

What? Arguably one of the best bolt action battle rifles ever designed, and it's got problems with rain?

Fussy Target shooters I reckon. I carried a SMLE as a cadet and one two week camp it rained continually and we carried our rifles everywhere. We had a range shoot towards the end of the camp and with twenty or so teenagers blasting away, It looked like an outdoor sauna.

Our diggers didn't seem to have any problems in the jungles of New Guinea and the Brits didn't have much trouble in rainy old Europe. The weather for WW2 was pretty much the worst for the century.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I loaded up some PPU / Highland 150Gn soft points using AR2208 (Varget in the States) today and got terrible results at the range. I moved back to 50 yards and one of the loads I was working up went 1.5" for three shots, the rest were at least 2-3" back to the drawing board.

[Lance Boyle]

My favorite powder for my No4mk1 loading is IMR4064. Last week I shot my long branch that I restored from a sporterized ugly to a fighting rifle again.

I have never had any military surplus .303, good or otherwise to try so mine have always been Winchester cases, IMR 4064 and sierra .311 150 grain pro hunters. An old policeman of Scottish descent nudged me in that direction with the pro hunter bullets. The long branch shot 2" with the iron sights at 100 yards.

Wish some more HXP surplus .303 would show up again. Last time it wAs available in the states no one would ship to NY.

[Eldon]

Yet another score by Ruger to sucker in the "I must have every one collector". These "black pads" have blah wood, poor wood finishing and are typical of Ruger standards since Bill passed.

The only way to salvage one is to buy a red pad with good wood, swap the wood and sell on the donor. Usually break even or a bit worse. That's how my 450-400 ended up with a red pad. (4th one down)



204532

[Four Fingers of Death]

Good thinking Eldon, I have a couple of red pads with excellent timber and am thinking of letting all of My No1s go apart from the 303Brit. I'll keep that in mind, it is yet to prove itself in the shooting department yet though. Off to the range tomorrow with it.

[Eldon]

If you want to sell any red pads, pls PM me.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I'm in Australia.

[Eldon]

I sold a Browning custom highwall in 40-82 to an Aussie in 2015 with no problem.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I tried some Hornady 174Gn RN bullets on Sunday. They got 2" groups, but the aiming point on the target was a 1" red dot and not as visible as I'd like with the 6x Leupold. That is the only jacketed bullet I have tried that is close to a reasonable group. The range is closed for a few weeks (we are attached to a big race track and there is a bf race week preparations, race week and clean up). I will try and get some more of these and a target with a better aiming point and try again. Once that is sorted I will concentrate on cast boolits. I only have a Lee mould at present, I will start with that.

[Idaho Mule]

I have not tried the Hornady 174's in mine yet, but I did procure some recently and will try them soon. I have been using the Speer 150 gr. HCSP with pretty good luck. I have gotten them as tight as 1.5" at 100 yds for 5 shots, but the norm is closer to 2.5. I wonder if Hornady's .312 will make any difference with Speer's .311. Only trying it will tell for sure. With that being said, I LOVE my Ruger #1 in 303 British. I just killed my second elk with it the other day, and I think it is up to 5 or 6 deer (wife steals it sometimes) by now, all using the Speer 150 grainer and Varget powder. JW

[Four Fingers of Death]

I was using Varget as well. It is made here and sold as AR2208, but Varget everywhere else (except NZ). The range is open next week, but when I was at the big gunshop in Brisbane recently, I plumb forgot to buy the Hornady bullets.

I ended up walking out with 1000 Federal American Eagle 45ACP cartridges, at cheaper than brass prices, so all was not lost, haha!