Ruger No. 3
I have an opportunity to pick up a no. 3 in .223 cal. Question is if it doesn't shoot 1 moa, or better as is, Would I end up with a really good shooter in .223, if Bbl was replaced with say a Douglas Premium, air guaged in a 3-5 contour. Then bed the forearm such that the Bbl is free floated. Fun proj, or waste of time ? THX Hawkshaw
0
-
Keep it in original ,,,and sell it IF it doesn't shoot to your specs.. They are quite a nice little carbine that has a following. 0 -
Im curious as to the answers your going to get about this. I owned a Ruger #1 in .223 and sold it not long after. Here were my problems with it. It was heavy for a varmint rifle. It was not as accurate as I expected. Two MOA groups in a varmint rifle is unacceptable in my opinion. Instead of spending money to make this already expensive gun shoot properly I sold it and bought a much cheaper Remington 700 bolt gun. I like the looks of them but now use them for older calibers (45-70) where nostalgia is good and pinpoint accuracy is not needed. I have a number three that needs to be rebarreled. When extra money is available Im going to chamber it in 38-55 Win. 0 -
A thing about the #3 was that they used the same barrel profile
for all calibers. Hence, a hornet or 223 was a semi bull barrel
and a 45-70 was the lightest of the lot. There is an aftermarket
forearm hanger sold by I believe eabco that I have been told tightens
the groups up considerably although my K-hornet shoots very nice
groups so I haven't tried one. My 223 wears a fixed 10x Leopold
and is more accurate than I am. As with any rifle, each is a little
different.0 -
I had #3s in 22 Hornet and 45-70. Never could make the Hornet shoot MOA and the 45-70 hit back pretty hard with 45-70 handloads. Had much better accuracy (1/2 MOA) with a Browning 1885 in 22-250; and switched the #3 45-70 for a #1 same caliber. I'm much happier with the Browning and the #1 than the #3 Rugers. However, I agree with the earlier posts that there is quite a bit of interest in the #3s. If you can get the #3 for a good price maybe it will shoot well. If not, sell it and look for another 223 option; maybe a Browning or Winchester 1885. 0 -
I have a #3 .223 that I bought new in, I think,'82.
From the get go I was disappointed with the accuracy, but I was able to get to MOA by fooling around with handloads till I found one she liked.
50g bullets work best in mine. I believe the rifling is 1/10", but it's been a long time since I checked.
I eventualy ended up tensioning the barrel on mine by drilling /tapping the forearm hanger and installing a tensioning screw. I also DX'd the barrel band at that time. after endless experimentation with barrel tension I got her down to well below MOA.
It was great fun if you like that sort of thing, but my #3 is now a safe-queen. Any of my ARs will outshoot my old Ruger right out of the box .0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
5 comments