OldRugerMan
Blackhawk
Here is an interesting No.1 S26M Alex Henry No sights 22-250. I think it's interesting anyway as you don't see many of this configuration around. That's because Ruger only made about 75 of them. If you follow Lee Newton's www.ClassicSportingArms.com you'll find a wealth of information on the Ruger No.1. His table shows the gun as a BH (Rare) which accounts for 6% of the 7500 non prefix rifles made. Of the 450 rifles in the 6% category only 75 were chambered in 22-250. I like Lee's tables and believe they are the most accurate means of evaluating an early No.1.
The rifle has a nice piece of wood on it as a lot of the non prefix No.1's did. The 26" barrel adds to the velocity figures as well. I got on a Barnes 36 grain .224 kick for a variety of calibers awhile back and decided to see what they would do in this rifle. Let me tell you, this gun doesn't like maximum loads! I tried to fire my prairie dog load that I use in my M77V Flat Bolt and had to pry the case out with a screw driver! Very carefully of course. Anyway, with out even trying, I clocked the 36 Barnes bullets at 10 feet and got these velocities: 4054, 4173 and 4122. They weren't particularly accurate though, only about a 2" group at 100 yards.
The rifle was shipped in January 1970 and has a fairly high serial number - 8197. As written in the No.1 book by Joe D. Clayton and on the Classic Sporting Arms web site the highest serial number shipped was 8437 in May 1972. The fact that it has the Vertical rings tells me that the rifle was assembled long before it was shipped. Most rifles with the Vertical rings were shipped by late 1968. The fact that a non prefix No.1 doesn't have the vertical rings doesn't necessarily mean it came with them. Check the shipping date with Ruger Records before jumping to conclusions. The 130- prefixed No.1's were being shipped in 1970 as the last of the non prefix guns left the factory. None of the Prefix rifles had the vertical split rings. The checkering on the forend is of the early type going to the Alex Henry Schnabel and wrapping around the bottom. The lever pin is not slotted on the right side as all non prefix No.1's and some early 130- prefix guns should be. Another early feature was the rounded butt pad which carried into the early prefix rifles.
To sum it all up, the rifle is an unusual configuration in a very useful caliber, a pleasure to look at and fun to shoot to boot!.
The rifle has a nice piece of wood on it as a lot of the non prefix No.1's did. The 26" barrel adds to the velocity figures as well. I got on a Barnes 36 grain .224 kick for a variety of calibers awhile back and decided to see what they would do in this rifle. Let me tell you, this gun doesn't like maximum loads! I tried to fire my prairie dog load that I use in my M77V Flat Bolt and had to pry the case out with a screw driver! Very carefully of course. Anyway, with out even trying, I clocked the 36 Barnes bullets at 10 feet and got these velocities: 4054, 4173 and 4122. They weren't particularly accurate though, only about a 2" group at 100 yards.
The rifle was shipped in January 1970 and has a fairly high serial number - 8197. As written in the No.1 book by Joe D. Clayton and on the Classic Sporting Arms web site the highest serial number shipped was 8437 in May 1972. The fact that it has the Vertical rings tells me that the rifle was assembled long before it was shipped. Most rifles with the Vertical rings were shipped by late 1968. The fact that a non prefix No.1 doesn't have the vertical rings doesn't necessarily mean it came with them. Check the shipping date with Ruger Records before jumping to conclusions. The 130- prefixed No.1's were being shipped in 1970 as the last of the non prefix guns left the factory. None of the Prefix rifles had the vertical split rings. The checkering on the forend is of the early type going to the Alex Henry Schnabel and wrapping around the bottom. The lever pin is not slotted on the right side as all non prefix No.1's and some early 130- prefix guns should be. Another early feature was the rounded butt pad which carried into the early prefix rifles.
To sum it all up, the rifle is an unusual configuration in a very useful caliber, a pleasure to look at and fun to shoot to boot!.
