I have many guns so some might go for more than a year between uses. I pulled out the Ruger No.1 in 270 and took it to the range yesterday. This gun had originally had the Ruger No. 1 problem of vertical stringing which I fixed more than 15 years ago. The fix was a tensioning screw on the front hand guard support tang that is part of the front of the receiver. The screw forces the tang down by pressing against the barrel bottom. Also the hand guard is free floated away from the barrel and bedded to the tang. These are the "known" fixes for these guns and tests many years ago proved it worked on this gun.
So I set up and did a five shot string. There it was again, a six inch long vertical string of five shots. I tired again and the same thing. For the life of me I could not remember where the gun needed to be supported on the hand guard and I initially chose as close to the receiver as I could get. Next I slid the gun on the bags to the point on the hand guard where the checkering comes to a point on the bottom (about half way out on the hand guard). Behold two 1 1/1/4 inch five shot groups at 100 yds.
I love the look of this gun, the fit and finish, but most certainly NOT the susceptibility of how it gets supported on its hand guard. All the work I did and there is apparently only one place that it works out. This is so strange as the Winchester single shot rifle has an excellent reputation for accuracy and apparently no susceptibility to how it is supported. At least my Browning 1885 in 223 shoots accurately without this support susceptibility.
I don't hunt but if I did this has to be the last gun I would take on a hunt. What are the chances of even getting a kill if the gun has a six inch long potential hit point at 100 yds?
This gun was bought used about 20 years ago and is marked as a USA 1976/1996 USA Bi-Centennial model. Has Ruger ever fixed this problem?
LDBennett
So I set up and did a five shot string. There it was again, a six inch long vertical string of five shots. I tired again and the same thing. For the life of me I could not remember where the gun needed to be supported on the hand guard and I initially chose as close to the receiver as I could get. Next I slid the gun on the bags to the point on the hand guard where the checkering comes to a point on the bottom (about half way out on the hand guard). Behold two 1 1/1/4 inch five shot groups at 100 yds.
I love the look of this gun, the fit and finish, but most certainly NOT the susceptibility of how it gets supported on its hand guard. All the work I did and there is apparently only one place that it works out. This is so strange as the Winchester single shot rifle has an excellent reputation for accuracy and apparently no susceptibility to how it is supported. At least my Browning 1885 in 223 shoots accurately without this support susceptibility.
I don't hunt but if I did this has to be the last gun I would take on a hunt. What are the chances of even getting a kill if the gun has a six inch long potential hit point at 100 yds?
This gun was bought used about 20 years ago and is marked as a USA 1976/1996 USA Bi-Centennial model. Has Ruger ever fixed this problem?
LDBennett