Every flavor of No. 1 I've purchased new has included rings.
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While Leupold and Warne do make rings, they are a different color than factory Ruger rings. They generally match new matte finish scopes fairly well.
444, mostly because I already have one. Mine is pretty accurate and it's fun to shoot. I don't have anything against the 45-70. It's a good choice also.
Some guns are just really picky about bullet weight. I have a 308 that shoots 150s into about a 5" group, 180s into about 3" and 165s into half an inch.