I wasn’t going to buy any more guns this year. Hell, the last two I bought haven’t even been shot yet for want of free time to get out to a rifle range. Then Ruger had to go and build something I’ve wanted for about 20 years, and only make one small batch…
2 1/2 years ago, in a post about things Ruger really ought to build, I said:
“And finally, build the No. 1 in .303 British, with a 26″ light-contour barrel, open sights and Alex Henry forend. Well, at least build one gun like that. Just for me. Please?”
Well, Ruger didn’t do exactly what I asked for, going with a 22″ tube instead, but otherwise my wish came true. A small batch of No. 1-As in .303 British was produced, mostly for export to Canada and Australia. Scuttlebutt on the ‘net holds that only 50 of the guns were kept here in America, for distribution by Lipsey’s.
So much for not buying any more guns this year. I dashed over to Top Gun Shooting Sports and asked them to check with Lipsey’s. The .303s were allocated, but fortunately Top Gun was able to snag one for me. Pix will follow as soon as I find some free time during daylight hours.
Frankly, I’m damn surprised that Ruger made these guns at all. The .303 calls for a groove diameter of .311″, vs the .308″ common to American .30 calibers. That means Ruger either had to tool up to make appropriate barrels or order them in from a vendor. Curiously, Ruger’s Mini-30 uses .308″ barrels instead of the .311″ usually used for 7.62x39mm. It’s odd that Ruger wouldn’t make proper barrels for the Mini-30, which has been in regular production for at least 20 years, but apparently they went to some trouble to get a very small batch of .303s right. In any case, I’m very, very happy to finally have my .303.
That’s a very nice score. Be a very nice stalking rifle. Why a .303, or just because?
Actually, the Mini 30 has had a .311 barrel for many years. Only the earliest ones had the .308 barrel.
I was looking at one just yesterday, on GunBroker. Very, very tempting.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=182297274
Uh-oh — it’s contagious. Now I’ve got it too!
Holey moley! Is that sucker pricy. Much fun as it would be I can get a Garand for that money! Let us know how it shoots.
Now that’s pretty cool.
Since they apparently read your blog, maybe now they’ll do a batch of No.1 RSI’s rollmarked “.275 Rigby”…
See comment by “Ed Harris”:
http://forums.handloads.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=18358
Whenever anyone makes a claim about bore dimensions, ask him to post a photo of the bore slug being measured.
Wow. Thanks, TJP. Nice to see someone who was part of the design team for the Mini-30 confirming my suspicions. With the help of a friend, I had the bore of my Mini-30 slugged and it came out as .310. I did it specifically due to the concern I had kept hearing that they were built with a .308 bore size.
And might I say that I’m also envious regarding the No. 1A in .303? But, yeah, it’s bit pricey.
I stand corrected on the Mini-30 bores!