Ruger No. 1 in .45-120 - Close Inspection & History

This video takes a close look at an unusual Ruger No. 1 - chambered for the .45-120 cartridge - and shares some of the history behind its making and the method of reloading ammunition for it.

The .45-120 was a cartridge developed near the end of the buffalo hunting era (the one in the "Quigley Down Under" movie was a .45-110 - classified as "experimental" at that time). In addition to the custom chambering, this rifle also has a hand-made stock and custom engraving with gold inlay.

In spite of those visual enhancements, I use this rifle the most for hunting moose, deer and bear (it works very well). The smokeless load I developed gets the 535 grain cast bullet going to about 1,600 fps; facilitating a fairly flat trajectory (which is what I want when hunting).

Due to the incredible strength of the Ruger No. 1 falling block action and the large case capacity (originally designed for black powder), I could easily make this load more powerful than a modern .458 Winchester Magnum, but that would be more punishing than is necessary for my purposes. The rifle weighing about 11 lbs, with a muzzle velocity of 1,600 fps applied to the 535 grain, the recoil comes in at about 33 ft-lbs, which is not too bad.

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