…some quick random book geekery. “Quick” because I bought two copies of the same book, for reasons.
Ruger No. 1 Rifle, Joe D. Clayton (ed. John T. Amber). Blacksmith Publishing, Southport, CT, 1983. This is a first printing in hardcover, and seems to be signed by the author (as “Joe”).
Ruger No. 1 Rifle, Joe D. Clayton (ed. John T. Amber). Blacksmith Corporation Publishers, no city, 1983, revised printing 2007. This is a softcover printing, also signed by the author (as “Joe Clayton”).
I’ve heard that folks thought Bill Ruger was crazy to introduce a single-shot rifle in 1967. “Who would want that?” Answer: lots of folks. It continues to be popular. For all his flaws, Bill Ruger seemed to have a pretty good idea of what the market wanted.
(The Hornady Reloading Guide 11th edition has three sections for the .45-70. One for “Trapdoor” Springfields and other older rifles, one for the lever-action Marlin 1895…and one for the Ruger No. 1.)
It has been chambered in a wide variety of calibers. I mentioned the display at last year’s NRA convention of No. 1 rifles chambered in every known caliber, which was truly impressive.
This is Mr. Clayton’s guide to the No. 1, and as far as I know is the definitive book on the subject. At least as of 2007.
The cover on the hardcover is kind of ratty, I admit, though the underlying book is in good shape. I’d say the hardcover is maybe “good” or “very good in a fair jacket”. The softcover looks near perfect, except there a crease in the front cover towards the bottom edge. You can’t really see it very well, but you can feel it if you run your finger across it. “Very good” on that one, perhaps.
Why two copies? I paid $12.49 each (plus tax) at Half-Price books for these. When I first saw a listing for this book, it was going for $185. There are three copies of the softcover listed on ABE as I write this. None specify which edition, but all are marked as “new” “in shirnk wrap”. The cheapest is $220, the most expensive is $292.51, and none are signed. This is one of those times where I feel like I got one over on Half-Price Books.
(“Dwight, do you have a Ruger No. 1?” No, not yet. But both Mike the Musicologist and I are actively looking on GunBroker for No. 1 rifles. I would very much like one in .45-70. I’ve also been looking for a rifle in .22 Hornet, and a No. 1 would do for that. It’d go well with the .22 Hornet revolver I don’t have yet. Not for lack of trying: these were all over GunBroker for a while, but now the pickings are slim and kind of expensive. There’s currently a listing for a No. 1 in .257 Bob on GB that I’m watching, because my imp of the perverse wants something in .257 Bob. That one is reasonably priced, but it has also been re-barreled with a non-Ruger barrel. And a No. 1 in .416 Rigby or .375 H&H also appeals.)
The J.M. Pyne Stories & Other Selected Writings by Lucian Cary, edited by Guy Lautard. Little Lake Technology, no city, 2023.
This is a new book you can get from Amazon. I’ve written before about Mr. Cary, and about the “J.M. Pyne” stories (“J.M. Pyne” is a thinly disguised version of the legendary barrel maker and gunsmith H.M. Pope.)
Terry Wieland mentioned in his most recent Handloader column that this was back in print, so of course I immediately bought it. Tragically, there’s no such thing as an Amazon affiliate link in a print column.
Next time…I just don’t know. I promised to talk about the unintended consequences of giving a silly person money, and I still want to do that combined gun/book post. But that got overtaken by events. In a short time, I will be going out of town for almost a week and I need to get ready for that trip. I also want to get my taxes done, or at least make some progress on them. I expect them to be more complex than usual this year. Not that I’m complaining, because good things came out of what makes my taxes more complex, but it does cause me some agita. I use the H&R Block tax software, because I dislike Intuit and their products, but it still takes work. For the government. That I’m not paid for.
While I plan to keep up current event blogging, including obits, gun blogging and gun book blogging may take a back seat until after Easter.