Preferred Ruger #1 chamberings for cast boolits

[6string]

Hello,
I hope some of you experienced Ruger #1 guys could offer some advice.
What do you consider the preferred chamberings for cast boolit shooting?
Off the top of my head, I would guess some of the rimmed or belted medium bores and up. Maybe 303 British, 9.3x74r, 45-70, 38-55, 375 H&H, 458 Win Mag...? Or, are the old standbys like 30-06, etc. OK?
Are there preferred eras of manufacture to look out for?
It seems accuracy can be a bit unpredictable with many #1s. Anything to keep an eye out for?

Thanks for your thoughts,

Jim

[pworley1]

For me, it seems that as bore diameter increases the sweet spot for accuracy decreases. The 243, 257, and 7mm were easiest, and the 338 and 458 are still work in progress.

[6string]

Is that a characteristic of the Ruger #1 in particular?

[sharps4590]

I've had four #1's, all in different cartridges and, I never tried cast bullets in any but the one I have now. Don't laugh. It's a 450/400, 3 inch. I have two, .40 cal. bullet molds, an Accurate 270 gr. for my 10.5 X 47R and a 410 gr. Lyman for my 40-70. The light bullet shoots pretty good with a nearly full charge of Trail Boss. The big bullet....it's amazing with a nearly full charge of Trail Boss. The 400 gr. bullet just about duplicates my Shiloh in 40-70 so it's pretty mild. The 270 gr. is a little faster but not nearly as accurate.

That probably isn't a chambering on your list but, it does shoot remarkably well.

[gunther]

Found a 338 win mag with the intent to convert it to a 32-40. Shot it first, with the Lee bullet. 2 inch groups at 100 yds off a bench, scoped. Put iron sights on it and never looked back.

[Fishman]

I've had some good luck with my 45/70 short rifle. Shot several deer with cast at trap door velocities. I don't have a lot of experience but I wouldn't shy away from unrimmed cases as a rim really doesn't make things any easier. I have played around with my 9.3x62 using only cast but so far I haven't used it for deer. The one I really want to shoot a deer with is my .357 mag, but it is collectable and so far I haven't even shot it. Now that I type that, it just sounds dumb!

[megasupermagnum]

The things I look for are a generous case neck (straight wall being great too), moderate pressure (say 45,000 psi or less), and a relatively slow twist rate. There's nothing wrong with cast in say a 300 win mag, but the short neck, high pressure, and fast twist rate means you will not be able to reach full potential of the cartridge. Certain cartridges like the 30-06 or 308 Winchester actually work out decent since a lot of bullets were designed just for those. Most larger bore cartridges work fantastic with a cast bullet, but with that comes recoil. 9.3x74R is a great middle ground. For lighter recoil cast bullets, it's going to be hard to beat the 30-30 Winchester. Any of the straight handgun cartridges will allow even lighter recoil. You don't hear about 22 hornet too often, but I think that has a lot of potential as well. I don't see rim or rimless as a factor at all. I don't own a #1, but I use rimless in single shots and see no problem. I do think rimed cartridges are a little more forgiving with headspace, and overall just seem better to work with.

[rockrat]

My 375 H&H was easy to find a load it likes. 278gr @2000ish fps

[6string]

Thanks for all the great input. Sharps4590, the 450/400 was one I'd forgotten about. Seems like Ruger has done a lot of limited runs of some great cartridges!
Thanks for the thoughts on rimmed vs rimmless cases.
I do like the general idea of loading down a "biggie" to duplicate a milder cartridge of similar or identical bore, vs. the idea of uploading, say, a 45-70 into 458 territory.

[dverna]

Do you want to hunt or shoot paper?

[shell70634]

My favorite cast bullet #1's are 303 british, 375 H&H, 9.3x74R, 45-70, 458 Win Mag. They were the easiest to work up good hunting loads. Still working on the 450 Marlin loads.

[MOA]

9.3x74R is another almost straight walled case for cast boolits.
Here's a rcbs 375 cast boolit I normally use in my Marlin 375 Winchester (on the left) run through a .369 sizing die for trial in the 9.3x47R.

https://i.postimg.cc/XJJQgkc6/20170813_153840.jpg (https://postimg.cc/d7b2sdx5)

[Good Cheer]

MOA, you got the propeller on my thinking beanie spinning.
There's a heavy .375 hollow point mold in the fun box and if it would size down OK for the 9.3x74R...
[smilie=w:

[MOA]

MOA, you got the propeller on my thinking beanie spinning.
There's a heavy .375 hollow point mold in the fun box and if it would size down OK for the 9.3x74R...
[smilie=w:

Just be sure you lube it while it's still a 375 or all your lube grooves will collapse.:-o

[marlinman93]

I had one of the Ruger-Lyman Centennials in .45-70 with full length Lyman scope. It never saw any jacketed bullets when I owned it, and was a very accurate cast bullet rifle using 405 gr. cast bullets.

[MOA]

Here's a few thoughts on calibers.

L-R

45-70, 45-120, 450/400, 300 WBY, 9.3x47R.

https://i.postimg.cc/SRBP7pDr/20190725-125918.jpg (https://postimg.cc/n91TpN8j)

[Char-Gar]

The only #1 I owned in 30-06 did very well with both jacketed and cast bullets. I have a #3 in 45-70 and likewise it does well with both jacketed and cast bulled.

[6string]

Do you want to hunt or shoot paper?

Hi Don,
So much of my shooting has been for competition. This will be more for fun: shooting, reloading and casting. So, mostly paper, 100-200 yd steel, etc. Any hunting opportunities would most likely be hogs using a .44 or .45 revolver for back-up.

[6string]

292990

Some great recommendations, including a few surprises (300 Weatherby!).
Yeah, the Ruger Lyman centennial was a nice package.

[Noah Zark]

I've had success with cast boolits in No. 1 rifles chambered for 6.5 Swede, 30-30, 30-40, 30-06, 405 Win, and 45-70. I've had exceptionally good results using Unique powder in charges between 11 and 15 gr depending on the cartridge and boolit. The trajectories may be parabolic, but the group sizes from 50-150 yds are most satisfying, and "only accurate rifles are interesting," ain't they?

I could not get a No.1 in 44 Magnum to shoot 44 Specials as well; I attributed it to the increased boolit jump. Tried different crimps, powders, loads, etc. The only thing that seemed to consistently improve group size was loading the boolits out of the case a bit to increase OAL.

Noah

[skeettx]

I really like my Factory Original 38-55 Ruger #1

also

I have two Ruger-Lyman Centennials in .45-70 with full length Lyman scope and
they also shoot well

Mike