Ruger No. 1 .25-06 question

[magothy1]

I have a No. 1 that I can't seem to get as consistent as I think it ought to be. It has a Douglas barrel, with a 1x10 twist. I size the brass to 2.485" with a Lee cutter and battery drill. I'm hoping to get a Wilson case trimmer, been looking around. I'm wondering if I've shot this batch of brass too much, I'm guessing it's 4 to 6 times. Not running super hot, I don't think, around 3,000 fps with 100's, just under with 115 BT's. The 100 BT's and 100 Sierra's seems to be most consistent. I'm using 52 - 52.9 gr4831 for 100 gr and less, 54 - 55 gr 7828 for some 100's and anything heavier.

I've gotten some new brass that's running 2.75 to 2.78", haven't tried it yet. My Vanguard seems to be a tad more consistent that this rifle, I had thought this one would do better. The previous owner sent along a very detailed shooting record, he has a number of good groups but not as consistently super as I might have thought. I'm not a super duper rifle shooter, but recently I've shot some .7" groups with 7 mm mag handloads, I think I ought to be able to get this rifle to do that right regularly.

Any No. 1 shooters have ideas ?

Thanks -
Steve

 

[FOTIS]

My 25-06's produced the best results at max loads!

100 gr with 56 gr of RL22.

 

[Guy Miner]

If shooting from a sandbag rest, consider moving rifle well forward on the sandbag, so that the bag is just barely ahead of the receiver.

You could play with the forearm screw, adjusting the tension, or even put a spacer in there to free-float the barrel. Also, forearm to receiver contact can be a problem. Relieving that might be appropriate, but I'd try the simpler solutions first.

Scrub out that barrel well - I don't know what shape the prior owner left it in. I'd use a real good bore cleaner on it, until it was down to bare metal and start from there.

Rifle aside, you can look at the handloads. Along with FOTIS, I've found the .25-06 seems to work real well at max and near-max pressures. I treat mine as though it's a small-bore magnum, and use slow burning powder, though the 100 gr bullet & either 4350 is also a very good combination.

With heavier bullets RL-22 and Retumbo are good bets. With either 100 gr or the heavier 115 - 120 gr bullets, H4831 is a great choice. The smallest groups my old .25-06 Number One ever shot were with 100 gr Sierras and H4831. It shot those into .3's - but that was a heavy-barrel varmint version.

Your brass is likely at the point where it needs to be replaced, or annealed. Annealing the brass, even if simply done over a candle, can bring new life back to the brass.

Consider neck sizing only. It's what I do most often. That keeps from bumping the shoulder and pretty well ensures that the brass fits the chamber very well. I have a set of full length dies and have used them, but I really like the neck-size dies.

Also I use an in-line BR type seating die. That, coupled with the neck sizer, really seats the bullet straight - which I personally believe is one of the most important steps in building consistently accurate handloads.

The .25-06 has great accuracy potential - a little fooling around with the rifle & your loads should help bring out that accuracy.

Also - it's a production grade hunting rifle - .75" or so isn't all bad!

Regards, Guy

 

[FOTIS]

A rubber washer can be your friend in a #1

 

[Vince]

I had a response typed up and it seems the internet ate it or my fat finger syndrome caused me to hit the wrong button.

I've found my 25-06 to be "finicky" in regards to powder and bullets. IMR 4350 with midweight flat base bullets has given me my best results after lots of trial and error. I shoot nothing but Hornady 87 Grain SP's and Nosler 100 Grain Partitions in my 25-06 and it gives me about 1/2 MOA all day long.

It can be frustrating trying to find a bullet/powder combo. Good luck.

 

[1Shot]

#1s can be hard to make shoot consistent. Forearm pressure is usually the problem. Like has been said I too have had best results with IMR 4350 and H-4831 with the 25-06.

 

[PJGunner]

I have twp #1B's in 25-06. One looks like it was rode hard and put away wet. It was a planned donor and as they say, don't shoot the donor. :roll: :lol: A cople of years later a fellow I knew at a gun show had a very cherry #1B in 25-06 plus a #1B in 7MM Rem. Mag. that was a 200th years rifle. Ended p with pretty fair deal for both rifles but the "new" 25-05 doesn't shoot worth spit. Gonna have to play with them some more. One thing I've found about Ruger #1's is most have fairly long throats. Dunno about the newer black pad guns with Ruger's in house barrels but I have 20 Ruger #1's in various configurations in my collection and every one has a very long throat. One rifle was so bad it hd to go back to Ruger to be rebarreled. That little #1A in 7x57 is one of my favorites of he #1's.
The first 25-06 did not like 100 gr. bullets but was .75" gun with 120 gr. Speer Hot Cores. Still have to work on the newer one.
It feels kind of awkward but I have mine seated on the bag right up against the trigger guard/lever which gives me good results. The big boomers have the forearm resting in my had to help control recoil. It may take a bit of tinkering here and there to get one shooting just how you want it but that's part of the fun of a #1. :lol:
Paul B.

 

[magothy1]

Thanks for the help. Interesting about the forearm, this one's forearm is a very tight fit. To mount it, I have to have the butt on the floor and press down hard for the screw to get aligned. Might need to relieve it at the rear end ? I have a friend who's very good with that sort of thing.

As the the rubber washer - I'm guessing that would be between the forearm and rifle ?

Guy, I'm using Lee dies, full length resizing, I go slowly, using Lee case lube. I have a collet neck sizer, too. I had some improvement using it after I ran the brass thru the full length sizer. The Lee instructions say to rotate the case 180 and cycle the handle again, doing that did seem to help.

I'll have to do a count on my rounds and double check the number of times I've loaded the brass. I have some once shot stuff I'll prep and try. I can get a few loads to shoot well now and again, but if I load those for another session, the results aren't consistent, that's what's frustrating.

I did notice with increasing bullet speeds that the groups got better. I was advised to start slow and low, so I started with 48 gr of 4831. That was slow sure enough.

My FFL had some old ammo, Winchester 90 gr HP's he'd gotten from a Western Auto that was closing. Those things were so old the box had the slotted cardboard dividers. That ammo ran 3300 fps and shot better groups than almost anything I've been able to load.

And yes, it does seem as tho The One likes long OALs, much longer that the Vanguard.

Thanks very much for all the help, I'll keep at it and hopefully keep learning.

Steve

 

[Wincheringen]

My 25/06 B is relegated to coyote duty with the 90 grain Barnes Solid, which it shoots very well. I've also loaded the 90 grain Sierra and it shot that well. IMR 4350 is a go to for the lighter bullets, RL22 with the heavier ones and a little more speed than IMR 4350 can give.

 

[SJB358]

RL22 is working really well with the 120 A-Frames and RL19 works well with the 115 PT's too. I imagine there are a slew of good ones that'll work well though.

 

[onesonek]

I agree to all of the above.
As fickle as the No. 1 can be, once shooting, they are a fine rifle. Still my favorite overall.

 

[1Shot]

One thing I forgot to put in my earlier post is that I have found that most 25-06s like to really shoot right on the ragged edge of MAX pressure. my go to loads have been with 100 gr bullets 52 grs IMR 4350 with CCI BR2 primers and with 115/117 gr bullets either 49 grs IMR 4350 with Mag CCI 250 primers or 52 grs H-4831 with CCI BR2 primers. My currant 25-06 does not like boat tail bullets but shoots bug holes with flat base bullets. I use it for deer hunting with 117 Sierra Pro Hunters. BANG FLOP on 99.9% of the deer shot with it which is well over 200.

 

[PJGunner]

"Interesting about the forearm, this one's forearm is a very tight fit. To mount it, I have to have the butt on the floor and press down hard for the screw to get aligned. Might need to relieve it at the rear end ?"

That just might turn the trick. I remember when Gun Test Magazine did a test of a #1 and complained about a slight gap between the back of the forearm and the receiver. They felt it should be a tight fit. Not so from people I've talked to who play with the #1.
One more thing to look at. The rib attached to the barrel may have the back contacting the receiver. As the barrel heats up and expands even the slightest, the rib will press harder against the receiver and change the vibration pattern of the barrel.
IIRC, the gun they tested was reasonably accurate.
Paul B.

 

[BeeTee]

I have a No. 1 that I can't seem to get as consistent as I think it ought to be. It has a Douglas barrel...

You mentioned your #1 has a Douglas barrel. I once owned a #1 in 25-06 back in the early 1990s that I bought used, which I wanted for use as an antelope rifle. They are cool looking and there's a lot to like in the #1, and some that I didn't like. For one, the barrel on mine had an oversize bore for 25 caliber. Group size was inconsistent, and shots would walk as the barrel heated. I tried everything I knew of, read about, or was told to address the walking - nothing helped. The last nail was when I discovered that the breach block either wasn't square to the bore or it flexed and allowed the bases of fired cases to form out of square (bases of fired cases wobbled when rolled on a tabletop). The accumulated problems forced a sale.... Please don't take any of this as my opinion about all #1s. It's just about the one example I had, which was probably outside of the norm. BT