doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Ruger No 3 .30-40 Krag Project

I've been looking for years for a No 3 in .30-40 and I just picked one up. It's all original in new condition. Now I'm agonizing with the idea of modifying an original gun in this condition but I'm not waiting any longer to get started. So I'm going to try to preserve its original condition, but configure it to my tastes. I'm going to remove the stock and fore end and replace them with factory No 1 wood and then send the No 1 back to Ruger for new wood. I have several candidates, but probably the wood from a 1A will be the closest fit. Does anyone know if 1A wood will fit the No 3? I don't mind opening up inletting but I don't want to have to fill in inletting. Also, I want to mount a rear aperture sight as near the receiver as possible. Is there an aperture sight that will mount in the scope mount screw holes already in the barrel? To avoid changing the front sight's originality, I'll have to live with the factory band-type base. It has a standard 3/8 dovetail for the front sight. Can someone recommend a tall partridge sight blade that will fit?

I have a No. 3 in .30-40 Krag that I bought new in 1979. It is a very nice little carbine. It still looks new and I have left it original with the addition of a Weaver K2.5 scope in Redfield mounts that were made special for the No. 3 at that point in time. I thought of fitting it with a No. 1 stock and forearm at one time, but I'm glad that I didn't now.
The No. 1 stock will fit, but the lever tip will be very close to the pistol grip.
For sights check with Marbles or Lyman.

http://www.marblearms.com
http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/sights/

Not sure about peep sights that will fit the rear scope mount holes, but I sure someone will know.

P.S. I saw a No.3 in .375 Win. at a gun show a couple of months ago. Wish now that I had bought it, as they seem to be scarce.

The same fellow has a bunch of No1s and No3s. No3s remaining were .223 and .375, maybe .45-70. Also No1s in .458, .405 .257 and about six more. He's supposed to be sending me a price list. I'm interested in the .405 and the .257. PM if interested.

VOL423,
NECS makes a peep sight that clamps on to the original Ruger M77 and No.1 rear scope bases/rib. You can see it at http://www.newenglandcustomgun.com/

Brownells sells a similar clamp on peep sight that will fit the Weaver bases that were available for the No.3. THOP

I have a NECG sight on my .45-70 No 1 and I don't like it. In order to make the aperture large enough I drilled it out as far as I could without touching the sight frame and it just isn't large enough. The sight needs to be nearer my eye or the aperture bigger. I'm going to find a Weaver base for the NO 3 and put a sight intended for a shotgun ghost ring on it. I have a ghost ring sight mounted on a Weaver base on a slug gun, so I'll borrow it for the .30-40 to see how that works. I know NECG makes a sight for a weaver base, but the same problem with too small an aperture exists on that sight as well.