Ruger #1 Accuracy
Thursday, August 27, 2009 (17:45:38)

Posted by SwampFox

Ruger #1 Accuracy
by Ed Harmon

First a notification: Ruger takes the position that any modification to their guns voids their warranty. They also consider hand loads a no-no. If you return a gun for work that has been modified they may just return it without work being performed and charge you shipping, so be aware and consider the potential consequences before you modify your Ruger firearm.

Forearm

The #1 and the #3 Rifles, upon examination, are obviously designed to have the forearm separated from the barrel otherwise the forearm would be screwed to the barrel, like a Martini or Martini Cadet. The two actions are the same without the levers and both will take the same barrels. Why are the barrels not free floated from contact with the wood of the forearm at the factory? Forget the hype, it is purely economic. To get the correct clearance under the barrel and along each side of the barrel, takes time and time is money in manufacturing.

Ok, we start by removing the forearm from the rifle. You can, if you wish, try the O ring trick by buying a couple of O rings at the hardware store to fit the shank of the forend screw. Before any modification, put one O ring at a time between the hangar and the wood. This sometimes will work. Otherwise we continue.

If you are familiar with glass bedding a rifle to start with, you relieve the wood to provide an even line down both sides of the barrel; a barrel channel rasp helps to make this job quick and easy. If you have not done a glass bed for a barrel channel before, put the forearm back in place, run a pencil down the wood, alongside the barrel and cut the wood back to the pencil line using a barrel channel rasp. Go slow; it is difficult to stick wood back on. Use a fine cut flat wood rasp or a course flat steel file to straighten the lines if needed. Then use a sanding block to finish. You will need one layer of Duct Tape on each side for clearance. Stick a layer of duct tape on the barrel lengthwise and when the forearm fits back on the barrel just a bit snugly, you are about right.

Once you get the sides cut you can start on the bottom, where the hanger makes contact. With an oil burner, soot up the hangar and barrel, pressing the forearm into place. With the barrel channel rasp remove all marks in the barrel channel. Then go back to the hanger contact area and with a motor tool and small carbide router bit, remove the marks or the contact points made by the hanger. You only need to rough up three points because the will need to be extended or built up in any case.

In the attached photos an arrow points to the three places that require glass. All you need do is rough the surface of the wood so the glass will stick, without peeling or flaking off. Put two layers of duct tape only along the bottom of the barrel then coat the metal and the tape with Johnson

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