Ruger No 1 .450/.400 NE

[pacecars]

I hate Gunbroker sometimes. I put a bid for what I was willing to pay on a Ruger No 1 in .450/.400 NE with some Kynoch ammo and brass. Got outbid at the last minute even though I upped it once with an hour left. Oh well. Luckily I have a line on another one

[northerngos]

I think if you want it to go into the mode where it extends the deadline you have to bid with less than 15 min left.

[cas]

I sort of stole mine a few years back. Bought on gun broker from a pawn shop in Texas. I won a Ruger 22/45 they had listed for some crazy price like $125.00? I was half convinced I was getting scammed. Then they listed a No.1 450/400, something completely pointless that I'd wanted a while. (I did the "smart" thing and bought a different "more reasonable" caliber No.1 to scratch that itch. That never works for me, I always end up buying the other at some point as well.)

Anywho... I think I won the auction with a bid in the high $700s? Sent payment for that and hadn't even received the Ruger pistol yet. "Man, I'm pretty sure I'm getting scammed!" They both showed up. When I went to pick the No.1 up from the FFL, he opened the box, I looked at it and thought "Good lord, the barrel looks like a truck axle! Did they send me the right gun?" I thought for a moment they'd sent me a .458Win Mag or something by mistake. But no, it was the right one. What I didn't know, couldn't tell by the photos, I guess because I didn't know to look, and they apparently didn't know either since they didn't mention it, it's one of the 36 (? +/-) they made with the heavier barrel. It makes carrying a bit more work, but shooting a bit more fun.



I threw a thicker pad on it as well, didn't fit it, it was close enough as is so I just left it.





And what the heck, since the photo host is open, here's the .22 after I changed the trigger.

[northerngos]

Two sweet scores! But that no 1 looks like bad medicine for sure!

[pacecars]

This is one of those “don’t need it and have absolutely no use for it but just want it” kinda guns. I have got to quit reading Taylor’s African Rifles and Cartridges

[Encore64]

I've never met a Ruger #1 I didn't like.

Ronnie, good luck in this venture and I wish you well. Please keep us posted...

[sharps4590]

I played with a #1 in 450/400 for about 10 years. As with nearly all of us I had no need for a rifle in a cartridge suitable for dangerous game. I did work up a load with Hornady's 410 gr. bullet then set about working up a reduced load with the Lyman 400 gr., .410 cast bullet. Turned out to be the smokeless equivalent of the same load I shoot in my 40-70 Sharps. About 1200 fps. It was accurate, fun, no leading and it was a lot of fun to let youngsters shoot a "bona-fide elephant rifle." I'd sure like to have a double in 450/400 but, I believe a double in 9.3 X 74R will have to come first. As I finally determined no elephant or Cape Buffalo were going to raid my garden, I sold the rifle at auction last spring.

John "Pondoro" Taylor Considered the 450'400 NE the best all around cartridge for African game, until the 375 H&H came out in 1912.

[cas]

I suppose I should buy a box of 400gr bullets and try some traditional loads. All I've ever shot were "modern high pressure" loads. The Hornady 300gr bullet @ 2700FPS is my fun / plinking load. But since they're made for the 405 Win, I don't know that it would be a great idea to shoot any critters with them at that speed. So as a hunting bullet (whitetails, of which I've never even seen one when I had the rifle out), I shoot the Barnes 300gr STX that goes in the mid 2600s. They're absolute killers on a Rubbermaid container full of sand.

[gnappi]

Every time I see a No.1 or No.3 in 45-70 I drool.

[pacecars]

Not a bad looking gun.

[Encore64]

The 475 Linebaugh is another great one to have.

I've got them in 450 Bushmaster, 416 Rigby, 405 Winchester, etc too. All #1s are terrific fun.

[cas]

Jan 14, 2024 18:29:18 GMT -5 Encore64 said:

The 475 Linebaugh is another great one to have.

That's what I bought for an iron sighted No.1 instead of tracking down a .450/400 which is a silly caliber and harder and more expensive to feed. The .475 is readily available and affordable to load for and I could shoot it much more frequently.

Well as it turned out I've shot the .450/400 far more than I ever did the .475

I did keep it though, I know there will come a day when the recoil doesn't make me chuckle anymore and the novelty of humping a 10lb rifle through the woods will have lost its charm.

[Encore64]

Keep them all. Tastes change it it's nice to dig stuff from the back of the safe and try them again...

[pacecars]

My main deer rifle for a long time in my late teens and early twenties was a Ruger No 1 .375 H&H Mag with a 3x9 scope on it.

[bigbore5]

I've used my 458 Lott for groundhog before. They're tough but it proved itself.