jhilde

awhile back I bought a new number 1 in 204 Ruger for the local groundhogs---About a month ago, I sold it to a good friend and ordered a replacement ,#1, heavy varmint barrel in stainless, laminated stock, then drove up to Bass Pro and bought a $300 Leopold, 3-9x40 in silver for it--the new one was considerably heavier than the first one and has no checkering--My buddy saw it and we agreed to trade them, he likes heavier guns, it's a beauty and I got back the one with checkering and less weight--problem is, the first one is an absolute tack driver and the heavy barreled with the laminated stock won't group under two inches at 50 yards. Any ideas on where to start looking for the problem? We are going to see if a different scope is the answer and free-floating the barrel has also been mentioned. I know there are some of you on this forum that are real whiz kids when it concerns the #1's accuracy--I really want to help him get this thing shooting straight because I really like having the first one back and he is a good friend along with the issue of trust and fairness, so I need some suggestions--thanks --John

Hairtrigger

You can use a small rubber o-ring between the fore arm and the action to free float the fore arm. Make sure the bolt holding the but stock is tight. Check your rings, and mounts if you have them for tightness. Try another scope.
Back in the day the No.1 was a hit or miss in the accuracy dept but the new ones seem pretty good.

Maine Shooter

Along with the above, try different ammo. VERY possible the two guns can favor different bullet weights and loads. Try the #1 discussion group on Yahoo.

jhilde

Are you saying put the o ring between the bottom inside of the forearm and the small barrel shaped part with the threaded hole in it for the forearm screw? Another firend of mine with a couple #1's altered the forearm length and in the process, eliminated the pressure ridge, it shoots well enough for close in work, but it's not real accurate so free-floating may not be the answer. I think we'll try another scope and different ammo and thanks for the ideas and suggestions, I'll get with some of the Yahoo guys on the number ones and see what they suggest--------John