Ruger no1 gunsmithing

[pepperC]

I have a ruger no 1 that is not ejecting cases, spent or still loaded. It apears that wen the lever is lowered, the extractor slips slightly sideways instead of pulling straight back and thus slips it's grip on the case rim thereby not ejecting the case from the chamber. Wen the breach block is lowered I can use a knife as a guide on the outside of the extractor so that as the lever is lowered further the extractor travels straight back thus ejecting the case. Gun is otherwise in excellent condition <500shots.
Anyone recommend someone who specialises in no1 to have a look at it for me. Not fussy where as I can post it via my lgs.
Thanks in advance

[Gnome]

I'm no smith but sounds to me like it needs a shim placed in there to keep the extractor from going sideways. That or the pin holding the extractor itself is worn.

[Rabbitz]

I am not familiar with the Ruger No. 1 but here is the manual for it:

https://ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/_manuals/no1.pdf

On Page 17 it shows there is some adjustment for the extractor/ejector.

It could be that a simple clean and adjustment may have you back on your way.

[Gadge]

G'day pepperC,

Don't know offhand what smiths there are in your area. But two I can highly recommend in Vic for rifle work are Bob DeVries at Kudu Services in Montrose, Tel (03) 9728 5430, and Kevin Sharp of RE Sharp & Sons in Bairnsdale, Tel (03) 5152 6999.

Both of these blokes are 'by appointment only' if you want to visit them, BTW. They don't have, or need websites, as word of mouth recommendations keep them flat out. So they ain't cheap, but they know smithing inside out.

For info on who is around local to you, you could cross paths with the bloke who owns the Cooma Subway shop.
Seriously; he's a gun enthusiast, who posts over at AHN under the handle 'Machine'.

[dashooter]

Hey, you could try Russell Le Maitre in Canberra. I know he’s done a few builds/mods on Ruger No. 1’s.
Should be able to help find the cause and fix it and he’s only a 75 min drive from Cooma.


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[pepperC]

Thanks guys those were just the sort of helpful leads I was hoping for. I'm especially grateful to you rabbitz for being so kind in assuming I'd be able to follow a manual and fix the problem myself......I can't even think were to begin telling you wats wrong with that idea ha ha
Cheers guys I'll let you know how it pans out
Thanks

[Tony Z]

Ruger missed the boat on Number 1s in regard to their extractor. With a bit of thought they could have had the extractor engage 90 degrees or more of the cartridge rim instead of less than a third of that. That was a major oversight by Ruger.
The problems are, the edge of the claw rounds off from age and wear or is poorly cut at an angle that induces side load. If the extractor pivot bore or journal are worn it leans out and off the rim. It requires very little wear or a poor fit from new to cause this.
But before i go further, how smooth is the chamber wall? I highly polish the chambers on Number 1s as any resistance from high pressure load affected cases is fed directly to the extractor. Normally i never polish any chamber as the case grips better and lowers bolt thrust. Number 1s slide the bolt away with some serious leverage so bolt thrust is not an issue. Usually.

There are multiple cures, all of which have led me to never own any Ruger falling blocks. The extractor can be softened, reset or offset to counter lean, twisted to get proper claw bite and then re-hardened. Sounds easy but investment cast crap does not like reworking and any of the above are really just temporary bandaid fixes. It can be shimmed to set proper position and prevent it sliding left and away from the rim.
It can be bored, bushed then reset onto a new or reworked pivot screw. This removes any side lean and is the best fix providing the claw is in good condition and the extractor plays the game and softens up a bit. The best of all fix is a pivot screw machined from good tool steel and hardened to 60 RC or more. Fitted to a new proper extractor this will never fail and will not wear out in a lifetime. It will break the claw or rip off the rim, but never slip off the rim. There may be a requirement to shim the off side of the extractor pivot to get the exact positioning right but it is the only way. If you look at the extractor as a shift fork in a gearbox, you can understand why this is a requirement as the cartridge rim is not very wide. All this is expensive work for a cast object that costs about $15USD new.

Then there is the general fuck up causes of incorrect extractor groove cut, over rotation of the barrel where either causes the extractor to lean out if inside clearance is minimal. The leverage advantage of a Number 1 is huge where errors like this are not felt through action cycling. Wear marks give it away. The rule here is overcut a tiny bit to illiminate this possibilty.

The usual gunsmith fix is new screw, new extractor. That is a lottery as the bore and journal fit is usually factory loose and the claw position is close, never perfect. Very early Ruger falling blocks were virtually custom shop fit by craftsmen that are probably all dead now. Not so anymore, i would never buy any current Ruger anything. Or Marlin. Or Remington. Seddo has the right idea, buy custom.

I am doing a Number 1 for a good mate known to many of you by the name "woob" as we speak. A 17 Rem fitted by Ron Webb like a 100 years ago, never fired stainless Shilen removed to fit a stainless Walther barrel to 17 Fireball just to be different?? The extractor in this action has zero side movement as it has been shimmed and the claw has the correct angle for proper bite and should have nil side load. The auto eject seems to be still factory set and the action and trigger have been worked over to cycle like butter. Ron did a first class job.





The 17 Rem barrel is for sale if anyone is interested and can fit to any inch 16 TPI action like M55, T3, Ruger 77 etc. The extractor groove machines away completely (1/8") when normal turnbolt actions are used so only a bit of thread needs to be turned and barrel then headspaced. No further reaming is required.

[trevort]

Thanks guys those were just the sort of helpful leads I was hoping for. I'm especially grateful to you rabbitz for being so kind in assuming I'd be able to follow a manual and fix the problem myself......I can't even think were to begin telling you wats wrong with that idea ha ha
Cheers guys I'll let you know how it pans out
Thanks

We may be related


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[Camel]

Thanks guys those were just the sort of helpful leads I was hoping for. I'm especially grateful to you rabbitz for being so kind in assuming I'd be able to follow a manual and fix the problem myself......I can't even think were to begin telling you wats wrong with that idea ha ha
Cheers guys I'll let you know how it pans out
Thanks

We may be related


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When I read his reply yesterday evening, I was wondering if you two could possibly be related,

[kickinback]

Ruger missed the boat on Number 1s in regard to their extractor. With a bit of thought they could have had the extractor engage 90 degrees or more of the cartridge rim instead of less than a third of that. That was a major oversight by Ruger.
The problems are, the edge of the claw rounds off from age and wear or is poorly cut at an angle that induces side load. If the extractor pivot bore or journal are worn it leans out and off the rim. It requires very little wear or a poor fit from new to cause this.
But before i go further, how smooth is the chamber wall? I highly polish the chambers on Number 1s as any resistance from high pressure load affected cases is fed directly to the extractor. Normally i never polish any chamber as the case grips better and lowers bolt thrust. Number 1s slide the bolt away with some serious leverage so bolt thrust is not an issue. Usually.

There are multiple cures, all of which have led me to never own any Ruger falling blocks. The extractor can be softened, reset or offset to counter lean, twisted to get proper claw bite and then re-hardened. Sounds easy but investment cast crap does not like reworking and any of the above are really just temporary bandaid fixes. It can be shimmed to set proper position and prevent it sliding left and away from the rim.
It can be bored, bushed then reset onto a new or reworked pivot screw. This removes any side lean and is the best fix providing the claw is in good condition and the extractor plays the game and softens up a bit. The best of all fix is a pivot screw machined from good tool steel and hardened to 60 RC or more. Fitted to a new proper extractor this will never fail and will not wear out in a lifetime. It will break the claw or rip off the rim, but never slip off the rim. There may be a requirement to shim the off side of the extractor pivot to get the exact positioning right but it is the only way. If you look at the extractor as a shift fork in a gearbox, you can understand why this is a requirement as the cartridge rim is not very wide. All this is expensive work for a cast object that costs about $15USD new.

Then there is the general fuck up causes of incorrect extractor groove cut, over rotation of the barrel where either causes the extractor to lean out if inside clearance is minimal. The leverage advantage of a Number 1 is huge where errors like this are not felt through action cycling. Wear marks give it away. The rule here is overcut a tiny bit to illiminate this possibilty.

The usual gunsmith fix is new screw, new extractor. That is a lottery as the bore and journal fit is usually factory loose and the claw position is close, never perfect. Very early Ruger falling blocks were virtually custom shop fit by craftsmen that are probably all dead now. Not so anymore, i would never buy any current Ruger anything. Or Marlin. Or Remington. Seddo has the right idea, buy custom.

I am doing a Number 1 for a good mate known to many of you by the name "woob" as we speak. A 17 Rem fitted by Ron Webb like a 100 years ago, never fired stainless Shilen removed to fit a stainless Walther barrel to 17 Fireball just to be different?? The extractor in this action has zero side movement as it has been shimmed and the claw has the correct angle for proper bite and should have nil side load. The auto eject seems to be still factory set and the action and trigger have been worked over to cycle like butter. Ron did a first class job.





The 17 Rem barrel is for sale if anyone is interested and can fit to any inch 16 TPI action like M55, T3, Ruger 77 etc. The extractor groove machines away completely (1/8") when normal turnbolt actions are used so only a bit of thread needs to be turned and barrel then headspaced. No further reaming is required.

Haven’t seen woob on here in years. Hope he is well.


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[trevort]

Ruger missed the boat on Number 1s in regard to their extractor. With a bit of thought they could have had the extractor engage 90 degrees or more of the cartridge rim instead of less than a third of that. That was a major oversight by Ruger.
The problems are, the edge of the claw rounds off from age and wear or is poorly cut at an angle that induces side load. If the extractor pivot bore or journal are worn it leans out and off the rim. It requires very little wear or a poor fit from new to cause this.
But before i go further, how smooth is the chamber wall? I highly polish the chambers on Number 1s as any resistance from high pressure load affected cases is fed directly to the extractor. Normally i never polish any chamber as the case grips better and lowers bolt thrust. Number 1s slide the bolt away with some serious leverage so bolt thrust is not an issue. Usually.

There are multiple cures, all of which have led me to never own any Ruger falling blocks. The extractor can be softened, reset or offset to counter lean, twisted to get proper claw bite and then re-hardened. Sounds easy but investment cast crap does not like reworking and any of the above are really just temporary bandaid fixes. It can be shimmed to set proper position and prevent it sliding left and away from the rim.
It can be bored, bushed then reset onto a new or reworked pivot screw. This removes any side lean and is the best fix providing the claw is in good condition and the extractor plays the game and softens up a bit. The best of all fix is a pivot screw machined from good tool steel and hardened to 60 RC or more. Fitted to a new proper extractor this will never fail and will not wear out in a lifetime. It will break the claw or rip off the rim, but never slip off the rim. There may be a requirement to shim the off side of the extractor pivot to get the exact positioning right but it is the only way. If you look at the extractor as a shift fork in a gearbox, you can understand why this is a requirement as the cartridge rim is not very wide. All this is expensive work for a cast object that costs about $15USD new.

Then there is the general fuck up causes of incorrect extractor groove cut, over rotation of the barrel where either causes the extractor to lean out if inside clearance is minimal. The leverage advantage of a Number 1 is huge where errors like this are not felt through action cycling. Wear marks give it away. The rule here is overcut a tiny bit to illiminate this possibilty.

The usual gunsmith fix is new screw, new extractor. That is a lottery as the bore and journal fit is usually factory loose and the claw position is close, never perfect. Very early Ruger falling blocks were virtually custom shop fit by craftsmen that are probably all dead now. Not so anymore, i would never buy any current Ruger anything. Or Marlin. Or Remington. Seddo has the right idea, buy custom.

I am doing a Number 1 for a good mate known to many of you by the name "woob" as we speak. A 17 Rem fitted by Ron Webb like a 100 years ago, never fired stainless Shilen removed to fit a stainless Walther barrel to 17 Fireball just to be different?? The extractor in this action has zero side movement as it has been shimmed and the claw has the correct angle for proper bite and should have nil side load. The auto eject seems to be still factory set and the action and trigger have been worked over to cycle like butter. Ron did a first class job.





The 17 Rem barrel is for sale if anyone is interested and can fit to any inch 16 TPI action like M55, T3, Ruger 77 etc. The extractor groove machines away completely (1/8") when normal turnbolt actions are used so only a bit of thread needs to be turned and barrel then headspaced. No further reaming is required.

Haven’t seen woob on here in years. Hope he is well.


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Yeah, say hello to the Woob for me
Too


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[morerams]

There should be a spring, and cap on it, to keep the extractor in place. Could it be missing or faulty? that would be the first thing to check.