Caribou Gear

Found One….#1 that is

not that there are flies on a No 1, but why not a more elegant (in my opinion) Winchester 1885 or even a Sharps? Rugers are fine guns, but they aren't all that refined to my eye and there are not many simpler or more reliable rifles than the 1885 Win or the 1874 Sharps.
IYDKYDK...
 
Oooh….Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder….not taking anything away from those….there’s just something about these that I have loved since literally early childhood, sitting on the toilet reading/looking at my father’s gun magazines….as someone else told me on this forum, “since before I could afford one” n I told myself, when I could, I would get some….to me, there isn’t more of an elegant rifle
 
Oooh….Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder….not taking anything away from those….there’s just something about these that I have loved since literally early childhood, sitting on the toilet reading/looking at my father’s gun magazines….as someone else told me on this forum, “since before I could afford one” n I told myself, when I could, I would get some….to me, there isn’t more of an elegant rifle
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Pure Elegance
The falling block rifles are beautiful in their simplicity. Far more elegant than break open single shots, suggesting the evolution to lever actions but still insisting the shooter make this shot count. Friend carried a Ruger #1 in 7RM for elk. It was on the heavy side, but it balanced between the hands so that it felt lighter, tempting one to snap it to the shoulder and see the reticle instantly before the eye. I think the short, solid action gives the falling blocks their balanced, nuanced proportion and handling.
 
They, at least a couple of mine took quite a few rounds to break in the barrel. Be patient. With my 300 HH I ran the Tubbs lapping bullets through and had great results. With my 7x57 I replaced the trigger and installed a Hicks accurizer. She went from stringing predictable up and to the right to getting shots touching at 300 yards. That was worth a few hours on the work bench.
With most my number ones you get three shots and then a little stringing. Kind of a reminder not treat her like a bench rest rifle.
One of the things I like to do is overlay targets from one range session to the next, fire a couple of shots and then get off the bench. Target on the left is the 7x57 at 300 after the work was done. Wouldn’t do that at 100 prior. Target on the right is the 300 HH, some where around six or eight rounds, 2 shot groups, three range sessions after the modifications. Didn’t a do the minor adjustment because I wanted to test my overlaying target theory. Point being they can and will shoot, sometimes a little work is needed. Nope, not the overlay plan, just put my glasses on. It is the 300 but just a simple three shot group at a wet target I think. No notes :(
 

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Well, this isn't a very good picture but the top Winchester 1885 is also a Wyoming Armory rifle and one of the very first ones they made after the split with the ill-fated Ballard Rifle Company in Cody.

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My knees just got shaky, beautiful pieces of art.
Not sure about the art. they are "working rifles". Always hated that term, but the top one is a dedicated competition target rifle, the next target competition and squirrels, and the third a pure hunter.

If you like nice custom American rifles, you might find a copy of Stephen Dodd Hughes' book, "Custom Rifles in Black and White". It has many different types of rifles, including some pretty stunning Ruger #1s, but nothing holds a candle to the Winchester 1885s. Anyway, the rifles are done by a fair number of well known Gunmaker Guild members. They will give you ideas that you might actually act on one day. I know I did. That middle 1885 was inspired by a couple rifles in that book. It is a great place to start learning what's possible. There are used copies on Amazon right now and probably on Ebay.
 
Trying to put a scope on a rifle w detachable mounts w two hellion grandsons is proving to be impossible
Going to have to wait
We’ve got an intense game of in the dark laser tag going on rt now…cats n wife are not impressed
Pretty hard finding 30mm rings for a #1 rib. How is the relief on that Vortex?
 
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