dogcat, this thread has brought out some really fine picts!! Thanks

A lot of stocks crack on the .458 Lott. One of the guys said his was because the guard screws got loose. One of the others was cracked between the mag box and trigger. A lot of the big bore rifles are cracked there and you might shoot them for ten years and never know it. It's not quite the same as being cracked behind the tang! I have an old Sako 7Mag that has been cracked there for years, the wood is only about a quarter inch thick there.

Just an update on cracked stocks on the Ruger .458 Lott. Bwanna called me this afternoon to report that his custom stock maker in Montana had called him to report that his THIRD Ruger stock (which was finally being replaced by a custom stock and custom bedding job) was cracked also. The crack was between the magazine and the trigger guard. My initial stock was cracked at the time of its removal with only 20 shells through the gun. Ruger has a problem and they should acknowledge it and correct it through a redesigned stock before someone gets injured. It's just that simple.

I guess I might as well put in my .02 worth.

I had one of the first .416 Rigby bolt guns that Ruger put out. It had a beautiful piece of wood and was very accurate. It shot 400 grain Hornady softs and solids best (and they did perform well on game!). It also shot Swifts well.

As others have said, they were very chunky. Really did not like carrying it. With scope, sling and ammo, it was far heavier than I wanted to carry for long walks day after day.

Bought a CZ 9.3x62 and I love it. Don't miss the Ruger. I have a .450/400 for when I want something bigger, but I feel very confident in the 9.3.

I would love to see Ruger come out with a .450/400 on their double shotgun frame for $3000-$5000 or so. I've always felt I'd get a lot more use out of one of these in a double than any other caliber.

Beins the RSM is quite affordable why not send it off to have a MPI / Mcmillan / Lone Wolf , ect. And have a synthetic stock put on for work and keep the wood in Brand new condition ......Even tho I,ve destroyed a couple glass or resin rifle stocks ..The ones that broke were either from not haveing a 2nd recoil lug under the barrel, and too tight at all angled rearward projections..........I fixed them with Marine Tex or JB Weld and a variety of bolts ..... On the whole they are tougher than twisted cougar poop.......I think the Ruger canoe paddle stock is the toughest stock on the planet.. My 458 has been thru at least 3000 rounds of 338 win mag and mostly 458 Win mag. It just keeps working...But its uglier than a mud fence..... Utterly reliable tho...

Wow, this thread has succeeded in really pissing me off. The reason is I was going to post the other night about how my RSM in .458 Lott has never missed a lick in about 100 shots fired. But I got distracted and never made the post.

Then this afternoon, I was shooting my FN .375 H&H and decided to check zero on my Lott. I put a round in, chambered it, laid the forend on the sand bag, gripped the pistol grip, and my thumb noticed that something didn't feel right. I looked down at the tang, and damn, just damn, there's a slab of wood poking up where metal meets wood.

Crap! This rifle has a hand-selected stock with a ton of character. The thought of sending it back to Ruger who will replace the stock with a pice of North Georgia white pine is more than I can bear. Upon inspection, it appears that the crack, or rather sheared off slab is across the grain and does not carry longitudely (sp?) into the pistol grip. If this is the case, I might be able to get it repaired by relieving the wood around the tang and epoxying the slab.

I'm going to take it to Roger Ferrell, a gunsmith who is good with wood, later this week. I'll report the results.

My Ruger RSM Stock FS
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageNam...31&item=320081872186

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
My personal experience with Ruger long guns is so poor that I wouldn't consider one for plains game to say nothing about dangerous game......I'd far rather take a Remington instead.....or a Howa...hell, I'd even use a Weatherby first!

Hmm, I sure wouldn't use a Remington for any DG rifle...or any hunting rifle exc maybe prairie dog guns. OK, you were kidding right ? )
I've built quite a few 375/338's on Ruger 77 (tang safety) std actions and they all loved them. A couple stayed in Africa because the guides fell in love with them & I had to build a replacement for my customer. I make a new safety button that's rounded & checkered to save the thumb web.
Greg

Then there the bolt binding problem, not sure which models this affects but it does happen on their current African Express model.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
Then there the bolt binding problem, not sure which models this affects but it does happen on their current African Express model.

Never had any problems with bolt binding on 77's. I'll admit I haven't worked on all that many mag actions, but enough. Hundreds of std 77's for 30+ years though. They are not real close on tolerances, which is a plus in nasty conditions. The later ones are rough but can be smoothed out. I use a die profiler on them. I think the 77 is the best designed action for the money, though the workmanship has suffered in recent years.
Greg

I had an issue with a binding bolt in my Ruger 416. A quick trip to Mark Penrod fixed taht rather easily. jorge

Jorge - do you know what he actually did?

SBT: Sure don't. Sorry The bolt wound bind on the left side right about at the las 1/4" of travel unless you purposely "pushed" the front end of the bolt by pushing in on the bolt handle. Make sense? jorge

Beware of the Lead Sled,and not just with Rugers, I think this useful tool is a wolf in lambs clothes when it comes to scope and stock abuse

No DG experience, but so far I've been lucky putting 200+ rounds downrange from my RSM Rigby and many more from my RSM Lott without incident. I have been careful in tightening the action screws, so that may be a part of it. However, when I get around to it both my RSMs will be bedded/gone through to help the stocks live. The RSMs are IMO a great rifle, but in the heavier calibers I think help is needed. I know the factorys (whether Ruger or CZ) expressly prohibit modifications...but in the bigger cartridges it seems a question of not if but when a failure occurs.

I wish the factory rifle was spot on as sold, but unfortuneatly this seems to be not the case. I do agree with those that say if a manufacturer is selling a rifle (at $1000+) that is known to be hard on stocks they would take action to circumvent the problem, but alas they don't. Maybe they think the big bore rifles they sell aren't shot much and are OK with the failure rate?

John

quote:

Beware of the Lead Sled,and not just with Rugers, I think this useful tool is a wolf in lambs clothes when it comes to scope and stock abuse

In all honesty, I really can't see why one would want a lead sled. Recoil is part of the overall experience. I'm no macho guy, but it doesn't make sense to me to insulate oneself. Just know/push your limits. I do not shoot my Lott from the bench. I use sticks and it's not bad. As for stock splitting and the sled - good point. I never thought of that but I suspect doccash is right!

Would bedding solve the stock failure issue?

I hope so, because mine split and I have had a new bastogne walnut stock turned and it will be aluminum bedded. The stockmaker told me that he thought that one reason for the stock failures in the Rugers was because they lacked proper bedding. He showed me the evidence of movement in the stock, and the damage when he took the original stock off of the gun. Now, my screws were tight and everything was proper and in its place, so the cracking and damage was not from loose screws or anything else that could be attributed to lack of proper maintenance.

I have a new Ruger African Hawkeye in .375 Ruger that I am preparing to be "DG qualified". So far I will be shooting factory ammunition and looking for any glitches to emerge.

jim

After 3 stock failures on my .458 Lott (M77 Safari), I am having a custom stock built by Canyon Creek Custom Gunstocks in Montana. LeRoy there has been excellent to keep me informed. I'll post pictures when I get it back, but he's going to fully bed it and install additional recoil lugs and crossbolts. I am anxious to get it back as I think it's going to be the ticket with the Rugers.

By the way, his website is www.canyoncreekgunstocks.com.

Not trying to hijack this thread but I've been seriously looking into buying a RSM in either .375 or .416 lately for my 2008 trip and it looks like prices have really gone up. What's a reasonable benchmark price for a used RSM in 90% or better condition.

I think the new 375 Ruger is the way to go with getting into a new DG game rifle......






This is a composite target, 3 270 Sp's and 3 300gn RN.

I think it works well....................JJ

doccash

Why do you think the Leadsled may cause stock or scope failures?

I originally bought mine to pattern a turkey gun and now use it only to sight in rifles, NOT for practice.

Thanks

Woodhits

My .416 RSM NEW was $1,550 in Atlanta. Only complaint so far is weight - 10 lbs 13 oz unloaded with Leu 1.5 X 5 scope, glass bedding and Kickeez Magnum pad.

The weight on these guns is not unusual. I think any heavy magnum caliber is going to be that heavy.

JJ - was that 100 yard group with open sights? What's the recoil like on the .375 Ruger compared to the .375 H&H?

Bwanna and I are both looking forward to getting our new re-stocked Ruger .458 Lotts back, and returning to doing some serious shooting again with them!

Bwanna

Interestingly, the RSM as received from Ruger, with the factory tire tread recoil pad and with no scope or mounts, weighed 9 lbs 9 oz.

After bedding and recoil pad it weighed 9 lbs 15 oz, again no scope or mounts.

Bwanna, no the 100 yrd group is with a Leupold 1.5x5 German #4 dot retical. The dot in the retical completly covered the target dot. So it was the best I could shoot with it. The rifle will shoot within the area the retical covers up on the target. The group is 1 5/8 inches. A crosshair type retical would tighten up the group considerably.The recoil with the 270gn Sp's is a tad sharper than my 375HH, its still very manageable. Its still less than my 416 Rigby or 458 Lott...........................JJ

Oldcoyote: Because there is little or no felt reciol to the shooter, so there is little or no backwards motion of the gun. The gun is against something solid, a hell of a jolt to the rifle and scope.

quote:

The gun is against something solid, a hell of a jolt to the rifle and scope.

I can buy the logic that it would be harder on the stock (ie. not as much "give" or cushion...like dropping on the floor vs dropping on some pillows). I'm not sure I can picture how it would necessarily be harder on the scope though??? The scope is affected by the recoil velocity (positive and negative) of the firearm...if the firearm moves that much less, one would think the force on the innards of the scope would be less too. To the extent that it does gain speed in recoil, it would stop faster, but my gut feel is that the rearward acceleration would be so much less that the more sudden stop would be insignificant.

Does anyone have any actual experience with a lead sled wrecking scopes, or stocks for that matter?

Cheers,
Canuck