Ruger No. 1

The History of Sturm, Ruger & Co.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., more commonly known as Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company headquartered in Southport, Connecticut. Founded in 1949 by Alexander McCormick Sturm and William B. Ruger in a rented machine shop in Connecticut, the company has since become one of the largest firearm manufacturers in the world - shadowed only by Remington and perhaps Smith & Wesson.

Ruger is widely recognized for producing firearms that span a broad spectrum of uses such as bolt-action rifles and pistols, semi-automatic rifles, single-shot rifles, shotguns, and revolvers. As recognition of its quality products grew so did the public’s interest in investing in the company’s shares. Ruger went public in 1969 and grew exponentially since then, and it is on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:RGR) since 1990.

In 2020, Ruger made another big move with their acquisition of Marlin Firearms from Remington Outdoor Company.

For decades now both newbie and seasoned shooters have been consistently trusting Ruger’s guns for their excellent accuracy and superior long-term performance as evidenced by its continued success over all these years.

Today, Ruger’s most popular products include the Ruger 10/22 semiautomatic rifle, the .22 rimfire semi-automatic pistol Ruger MK IV, the bolt-action Ruger American rifle, the tried and tested Ruger No.1, and, of course, the timeless Ruger Security-Six revolvers.

Ruger No. 1 Rifle Review

Figure 1: Ruger No. 1 in 6.5 Creedmoor (Source: Ruger)

Ruger No. 1 was introduced in 1966. It went into production the following year and it is still being produced today. It is a single-shot rifle that is appropriate for both right- and left-handed shooters, and since so many different variants have been made during its long history, there is almost no chance you couldn’t find one appropriate for your hunting task.

It operates on a Farquharson-style hammerless falling-block action which is operated by the under-lever. Basically what this means is that when the lever is pulled down and forward, the action block opens up the bullet hole in the barrel. When the lever is then closed, the action closes again and the rifle is ready to shoot. This type of action is one of the safest out there, and it’s perfectly suitable for powerful cartridges. Naturally, No. 1 also has a safety, and it is a sliding tang safety, typical for single-shot rifles and shotguns.

Modern Ruger No. 1 variants feature a beautifully designed quarter rib, and most of the past variants had it too. The rib has an integral scope mounting notches machined directly on it. This mounting system is unique to Ruger, so most Ruger rifles have scope mounts interchangeable with each other.

Since the rifle has some sort of legendary status, especially among American shooters, it would be almost blasphemous if it were available in any stock option other than the classic American walnut version. The wooden feel and look give it sort of a vintage feel, further adding to its allure. No matter the model, a stylish and traditional rubber recoil pad with a black spacer completes the buttstock.

The barrel of the Ruger No. 1 is cold hammer-forged, and its length depends on the variant, but it ranges from 508 mm to 711 mm (20 and 28 inches, respectively). It has a blued finish, which is preferred by a lot of hunters since the glare from the stainless steel barrels can sometimes spook the animals in the wild.

One area that potentially leaves something to be desired is the trigger. To our knowledge, the older models had a more adjustable trigger, but this feature is seemingly gone for good now. The modern Ruger No. 1 has a standard non-adjustable trigger that breaks at around 1.8 kg (4 pounds).

Ruger No. 1 Calibers

Because Ruger No. 1 has been in production for so many years, it is chambered for plenty of calibers:

• .204 Ruger

• .218 Bee

• .22 Hornet

• .22 PPC

• .22-250 Remington

• .220 Swift

• .222 Remington

• .223 Remington

• 6 mm PPC

• 6 mm Remington

• .250 Savage

• .257 Roberts

• .257 Weatherby Magnum

• 6.5 mm Remington

• 6.5x55 mm

• 6.5—284 Norma

• 6.5 Creedmoor

• .264 Winchester Magnum

• .270 Winchester

• .270 Weatherby Magnum

• .275 Rigby

• 7x57 mm

• 7 mm-08

• 7 mm Remington Magnum

• 7 mm STW

• .280 Remington

• .280 AI

• 7.62x39 mm

• .30-30 Winchester

• .30-40 Krag

• .30-06 Springfield

• .300 Winchester Magnum

• .300 H&H Magnum

• .300 Weatherby Magnum

• .303 British

• .308 Winchester

• .338 Winchester

• .35 Whelen

• .357 Magnum

• 9.3x74 mmR

• .375 H&H Magnum

• .375 Ruger

• .38-55 Winchester

• .404 Jeffery

• .405 Winchester

• .416 Remington Magnum

• .416 Ruger

• .416 Rigby

• .44 Remington Magnum

• .45-70 Government

• .450 Bushmaster

• .450 Marlin

• .450 Nitro Express

• .450/400 Nitro Express

• .454 Casull

• .458 Winchester Magnum

• .458 Lott

• .460 G&A

• .460 S&W Magnum

• .475 Linebaugh

• .480 Ruger

Ruger No. 1 Variants

These are the Ruger No. 1 variants we were able to find. If we missed any, please make sure to contact us at info@optics-trade.eu. We will gladly update our database:

• Ruger No. 1 Light Sporter

• Ruger No. 1 50th Anniversary

• Ruger No. 1 International

• Ruger No. 1 Medium Sporter

• Ruger No. 1 Special Varminter

• Ruger No. 1 Stainless Varminter

• Ruger No. 1 Standard Stainless

• Ruger No. 1 Tropical

There were also many exclusive variants and limited editions of this rifle that hold a significant collectible value.

Figure 2: The receiver of Ruger No. 1 with the integral Ruger scope mounting standard (Source: Ruger)

Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Ruger No. 1

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Ruger No. 1

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension.

Unfortunately, due to insufficient data, we do not know of any rifles that would have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with the Ruger No. 1.

If you happen to have any information regarding the scope mount interchangeability of the Ruger No. 1 rifle, we kindly ask you to contact us at info@optics-trade.eu. We will gladly expand our database.

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable with Ruger No. 1

For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary.

These are the rifles that have – at least to our knowledge – two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with the Ruger No. 1 rifle:

• Ruger 77/44

• Ruger 77/357

• Ruger 77/17 (.17 HMR)

• Ruger 77/17 (.17 WSM & .17 Hornet)

• Ruger 77/22 Centerfire

• Ruger 77/22 Rimfire

• Ruger 77/50

• Ruger Mini Thirty (Ranch)

• Ruger Mini-14 (Ranch)

• Ruger 99/44 (Deerfield Carbine)

• Ruger Police Carbine

• Ruger Model 96/44

Best Scope Mounts for Ruger No. 1

Fixed Scope Mounts for Ruger No. 1

Warne produces all kinds of quality scope mounts, especially for American rifles. It comes as no surprise, then, that they also offer a great fixed scope mounting solution for Ruger No. 1.

We recommend these Warne Maxima Vertical-Split Fixed Rings for Ruger No. 1. They are made of steel and come with a 10-year warranty.

Check out Warne Maxima Vertical-Split Fixed rings

Weaver Base for Ruger No. 1

One simple way to solve a lot of scope mounting problems on the Ruger No. 1 is to install a Weaver base that requires no drilling. Burris has a solution for that.

We recommend this Ruger to Weaver Base Adaptor from Burris. It is made specifically for the Ruger integral mounting system, and it’s made of steel.

Order Burris Ruger to Weaver Adapter

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Ruger No. 1

With the aforementioned Weaver base installed, you can then proceed to mount this detachable repeatable 30mm Innomount for Weaver scope mount.

It is made in Germany and also comes with a 10-year warranty.

Click here for Innomount Weaver Scope mount

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu