TnTnTn

Like a lot of things I have wanted a Number 1 for years but the standard calibers did not excite me much. I always leaned toward the 45/70 or .375 H&H as it seemed to me the rifle begs to be in a big thumper caliber of some sort. When the 9.3 came out a few years ago I decided that that was it. It took me awhile and the first production seemed to dry up but when I recently found one in stock at an internet dealer I punched the buyitnow button without hesitation. The rifle came in a couple of days ago and it is BEAUTIFUL. I have had dies, brass, and bullets for over 2 years so I loaded some Speer 270s over Varget and have fired it a few times on my 25 yard range powdering some chert cobbles and osage orange fruits. Recoil is noticable and stiff but it is manageable. Here are some pix-I think I got lucky on this one. TnTnTn

The Rifleman

beautiful wood!

Polydorus

Very nice. My Number 1's are at the opposite end of the spectrum, a .22-250 and a .22 Hornet.

Fulldraw™

That sure is on purtiful NO.1!!!! Another mid-TN lover of NO.1 rifles! Who'd a thunk it?

captron

Very nice.

One eye

Beautiful gun! I love #1s and am on the hunt for one myself. Thanks for sharing.
Dan

BlkHawk73

The shop I frequent still has theirs and at $850 or so, proberly isn't a bad deal for this chambering. Just can't see a empty niche for it here though. No desire to add another cartridge to reload and ammo availability/price isn't great. (not that I'd shoot it that much anyways)
Still, it is an odd-ball chambering which I like and a #1 so there's two big +'s. Have to wait and see.
Not keen on recoil reports I've read either. :lol:

One eye

On the rifle itself or this particular caliber?
Dan

Metlhed57

Nice lumber.

nyefmaker

Beautiful, Beautiful Gun & Cartridge. I have the 9.3x74R in a Merkel Double Rifle and it shoots terrific. In the double, I can shoot 247gr, 250gr, 286gr to the same point of impact with open sites. I get about a 3" centered group ar 50-60 yds. Not bad for fixed open sites in my double, I have taken 7 whitetail with it to date. I love the 9.3 and see it is finally becoming more popular. I have a #1 in 375H&H. If I did not, I would definately have one in a 9.3. Congratulations on the 9.3x74R Ruger Number 1.

Boxhead

If you plan on hunting critters larger than deer/hog I highly recommend the 250 gr Barnes X or TSX. A proven killer for me and very accurate too. Nice rifle.

TnTnTn

Thanks for the kind comments. I like the rifle and caliber really well. I put a vintage Redfield compact 4x on it as I had one. It fit the rifle well and has decent usable optics. Anyway I got an old buck with it this season at about 110yards. I have a Burris 2x7x35 to put on it the future. Here is a pix of the rifle and old buck which appeared to be only slightly younger than me!! TnTnTn

nyefmaker

Congratulations on the nice buck. What did you think of the knockdown power of the 9.3x74R ?? I love this cartridge. I am glad its finally getting to be popular. What load are you shooting in the 9.3x74R, the 270gr speer ? I found the 270gr speer in my #1 375H&H to not open up to well. I switched to hornady which work quite well. I am interested to know what you think about the 270gr speer if thats what you used.

TnTnTn

Yes I was using the 270g Speer over Varget just because they are readily available and fairly cheap. I will get some Privi Partisan 286s before next season and try them. I was in a ladder stand and the buck was about 110 yards away, slightly angling to my left, and lower on the ridge than me. I was trying to hit him between the shoulder blades but hit him as a low Texas heart shot. The bullet broke the bottom of the pelvis on the left side, entered the body cavity at the root of the left tenderloin, punctured a lobe of the liver on the right side, entered the chest, broke a rib on the right side on the way out, and was found under the skin with a small puncture wound to the outside. It weighed 222.5 grains and had a great mushroom shape. This is a sample of one and not a great shot but the big heavy bullet did its job. It had traversed 2.5-3 feet of deer. Even at that I was surprised to recover the bullet. I was very satisfied with the bullet performance. He fell at the shot and rolled down hill(of course) 10-15 more yards. We have had some bad weather, rain, and snow during the season and I only took the #1 out one more time without any luck. There are still 2 days left but the weather is so cold, icy, and snowy I doubt I will carry it again this season. TnTnTn

Robert

The rife is a beauty and so is the caliber. You are set for anything from deer to polar bears. It is a very efficent caliber, one of those oldies but goodies, that is why they are still around.

hoser

How far out (assuming you have the skill to make it!) would you feel comfortable taking game? Is this strictly a 150 yard caliber? This seems like it's more of a close range double rifle caliber.

TnTnTn

Hoser it is pretty much a shorter range cartridge. Range is relative to what you are hunting of course. I haven't shot my rifle too much but it seems with the typical 9.3x74r load if you sight in at about 2.5"-3" high at 100 yards it should be close to dead on at 200 yds. If this is correct(and others feel free to chime in) it ought to be a 225-250yd cartridge for deer sized game I reckon. And 99% of the deer that I have killed with any caliber have generally been at much shorter range than 200 yds. So for 'me' and the type of hunting I do it should reach out as far as 'I' would be shooting. ymmv TnTnTn

nyefmaker

Its a great cartridge. I have a Merkel Double in 9.3x74R and I can get a 2-3" groups with it at 60-70 yds. The area I hunt with it for whitetails, most are pretty close ( under 60 yds ). So it works great for close range......... The longest shot I ever made with it was 152 yds. It was the first deer I shot with it. I aimed at its shoulder the best I could and hit it right in the middle of its back. It was by far the greatest shot I have ever made. More than anything, it was probably the "Luckiest" shot I have ever made also. Not bad for a fixed blade double rifle. I would Definately say you can cleanily harvest deer sized game with this cartridge out to 250 yds. with a scoped rifle. To date, I have taken 7 whitetails with it and all were one shot kills. It has mild recoil for a big cartridge. Its by far one of my favorite cartridges.

Aaron67Camaro

That is an absolutely beautiful rifle! I hope to add a No 1 to my collection sooner rather than later!

David

Beautiful #1!!!

Boxhead

You can handload that gun with the 250 gr Barnes TSX and have an easy 300 yard rifle for critters much larger than deer. Trust me. I took this guy with one of my ballistically similar 9.3x62's loaded with the 250 gr X at 2650 fps at just a bit over 200 yards.