Vertical Stringing

[dale2242]

Back when Ruger first introduced their #3 rifle, I bought one chambered for 22 Hornet.
It never was a real tack driver but would shoot at MOA with the right loads.
I have fired a few thousand rounds through it. Mostly shooting at sage rats.
My biggest issue with it was to get it to shoot round groups. Most groups opened up vertically
.It now has begun to vertical string my favorite load that shot 23/4 inch round groups.
My deer rifle is a #1 in 25-06. It does not have the vertical stringing issue.
I have read that the Ruger single shots have problems with vertical stringing.
What do you people know about this issue and have you heard of a solution.
Enquiring minds want to know....dale

[FergusonTO35]

I remember reading an article on them in Rifle magazine. It said that forend tension was the usual culprit with these rifles. One solution offered was to experiment with different size o-rings between the forend and barrel, slipped over the forend screw.

[Texas by God]

I've had 2 - a 223 and a 4570.
I wouldn't do it now but back then I discarded the barrel band and contoured the forend into a Sporter configuration. Without the barrel band tension both guns shot quite a bit better.
You can remove the barrel band and shoot some groups without it to see if it helps. The forend is held on by a screw from underneath if I remember correctly. The barrel band is just decorative.

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[Silvercreek Farmer]

Check the torque on the action screws. If that doesn't help, check for wear points in the stock/action it and in the lockup.

[dale2242]

I took some black tape and placed several layers under the barrel at the tip of the fore end to apply upward pressure on the barrel.
It stopped the vertical stringing.
I only shot 2 groups at 50 yds but they were nice tight round groups with no vertical stringing.
I am going to bed a nut in the fore arm with a small bolt to put up pressure on the barrel.
This will be adjustable so I can try different up pressures to see which will give me the most accuracy.
The tape trick worked but I don`t think it is a long term solution....dale

[country gent]

The forend may have shrank or change slightly over the years with age and or humidity.

Some win 52s had the screw tension ( tuner) in the forend. I was a 2 threaded inserts and 2 screws that were click adjustable. these were bedded into the stocks forend to form a vee under the barrel. They did work. With the barrel vibration Handling and other vibration and a single free turning screw you may have a hard time keeping it set. Clocks or a o ring in the insert to provide tension will help here. I converted a continuity tester into a screwdriver, This allows me to back these screws out. Turn one in to where the light just lights up then back out 6 clicks, turn other in to light comes on and turn first one back in 6 clicks. I now have a consistant touch to work from turning in a couple clicks at a time on each to tune groups.

If the layer of tape has it shooting to where you want it might be easier to just bed the forearm with epoxy ahead and behind the tape then fill in after the first cures. This would fix the problem with out altering the looks of the rifle. The #1 uses the ruger style action screws that are angled to pull back and down when tightened.

[GBertolet]

I put a Hicks Accurizer on my #3, it fixed the problem. It was originally a 22 Hornet with the same issues, but I rebarreled it to a more useful (at least to me) 357 magnum. I cut off that stupid barrel band and recontoured the forend also.

[pietro]

.

FWIW, I recontoured a #3 forend to Ruger's Alexander Henry pattern - w/o the checkering, of course.

I was only able to do it because I had an AH forend on a #1-S to work with as a pattern/template.


.

[Wansingct]

While not a Ruger I’ve been playing with a couple “new to me” H&R single shots that have the same concerns. Vertical stringing in single shots is most related to forearm issues. In the H&R typical solutions are dampening harmonics with rubber o rings around the forearm screw and pressure at the tip with bedding or electrical tape as mentioned. My H&R’s are a bit more tricky as I try to make any adjustments to the individual barrels because I swap barrels pretty regularly into the same receiver (45-70 is primary but really enjoy the 270 and 30-06 and have a 20 gauge rifled slugger I have yet to shoot).

[dale2242]

I am hoping that by making a U shaped pad from High-Moly plastic that the one screw will do the job...dale

[Larry Gibson]

I've pretty much shot the barrel out of my #3 Ruger in 22 Hornet. I got it in the mid '70s and have shot thousands of sage rats, rock chucks, coyotes , magpies, crows, etc. with it. When I first got the #3 it also gave vertical stringing as you describe. I removed the front barrel band and discarded it. I reshaped the front of the fore stock to a semi Schnabel shape and bedded the fore sock to the hanger. I then free floated the barrel so it doesn't touch the fore stock. That cured the vertical stringing problem and the rifle would shoot 40 and 45 gr Hornet bullets into less than moa when loaded over 11.8 gr H4227, or later, 12,5 gr Lil'gun. Neck sizing the fired Hornet cases to the depth of the seated bullet also greatly improved accuracy. A NS die should be used as "partial" sizing with a FL die resulted in the thin necks being very crooked after sizing.

Here is a picture taken long ago up in the Mountains just south of Eagle Cap Wilderness area. I'm spotting with the binos and the #3 is on the stump with 6 "red diggers" I had got with it. Also is a picture of the rifle.

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233453

[bobthenailer]

I removed the barrel band and my #3 hornet it now shoots excellent

[dale2242]

We drilled a hole vertically in the front of the forend under the barrel band.
We then epoxied a long , fine threaded nut in the hole.
A slotted head screw was threaded in the nut.
I started applying up pressure on the barrel with the screw 1/4 turn at the time.
At first, 1/4 turn was the magic up pressure, stopping all vertical stringing.
More pressure just caused the POI to move upward and string came back.
I turned it down to 1/4 turn and reshot my group.
All was well until I put the barrel band back on. Vertical stringing again.
I reshot my groups just before a recent sage rat shoot [without the barrel band] and came up with nice round 3/4 inch groups at 1/2 turn of barrel pressure.
This appears to have been a simple and cheap solution to my problem....dale

[oconeedan]

Everyone talking about screw torque, pressure on barrel, etc...
No one is thinking inconsistent velocity?
For me, vertical stringing is something inconsistent in ammo, such as primers, powder, NECK TENSION, etc.
Horizontal stringing usually points to loose sight or scope mount.
Dan

[MGySgt]

Bed the Fore end to the hanger and free float the barrel - working in my No 1 in 45/70

[knifemaker]

MGySgt. is right about what to do with the Ruger #1 single shot. When I was building rifles I heard that same information from custom gunsmiths that bedding to the hanger and free float was the correct procedure to cure the vertical stringing they were famous for doing. I used that procedure on one I worked over for a customer and it went to shooting 5 shots groups of 3/4 to 1 inch at 100 yards.

[izzyjoe]

Nice rifle Larry, I had to zoom in on the pic, I noticed the fellow in front of you shooting southpaw on a RH rifle! An old guy that I used to work with had a #3 in 45-70, said it 2 shot to change his mind. It now wears a Douglas barrel in 257 Roberts, very nice little rifles!