If it ever gets here I am getting.a stainless Ruger 77 338 win mag .It got sent to the wrong.place suppose to be here tomorrow .I guess I will buy a Boyds stock.for it .The other one I had was a paddle stock and kicked like a mule .It is a smooth shooter with that laminated stock on it kicks like a 20 ga!Ruger quit mAking them to make the Ruger American which was a huge mistake .They are turning.into a cheap as possible gun.company not what they use to be .I might not.shoot.this one wish I had bought five of them .It was a mainstay rifle in Alaska ! They are super accurate and rugged as heck .I still have a model 70 Winchester so called stainless it was a coating that flaked off .These Ruger 77 stainless rifles are about as good as it gets for tough hunting and and super accurate .My.other one has shot many 3/4 inch groups at 200-yards with factory ammo with just a 3x9 Nikon scope on it!

I would be interested in purchasing your discarded boat paddle stock if your amind to selling it..If so please reply to my email below.
Ray

dgr416 — I hope it arrives when it (now) should. WRT the rifle itself, I hear you.

I have one of those old stainless Ruger .338s with a canoe paddle stock and an old VarX 3 2-8. I don't find the recoil all that bad even when I shoot off the bench.

I bought it with the idea of having a rifle that was "accurate enough" for elk @300 yards and the rig would be impervious to bad weather.

Imagine my delight when it turned out to be a MOA rifle! I love that rifle.

Ray I.sold that boat paddle stock last year .I came today someone in Montana almost got it .They sent it there by mistake I was thinking I am not going to get one if the last ones left .It has that parkerized finish on it an awesome trigger .I am buying the Boyes stock for it .My cousin and I about 18 years ago.shot my Ruger stainless and Winchester stainless 338s just over 300-times in one day with two past pads and standing shooting off a 60 pound bull bag on a milk crate on.top of the bench. THE Scope blew off the Winchester in.weaver rings The Ruger kept on.shooting They are tough guns .I have a tang safety Ruger 77 338 win mag that someone in Louisiana cromed and I had to replace every screw in that gun and the stock .It shoots good but I put it in a single six stock and it's way too light .I added 3/4 a pound of lead shot in.the forend to help recoil .I thought I would wear out or break my original Ruger 77 338 but it has seen 31 years of hunting and had had a couple of thousand rounds through it .I just reloader 500 more 338 shells on.My.dillion ..I.loaded all the 225 grain accubonds I had and all the 200-grain Speer bullets My guns won't shoot hornady bullets at all for some reason .Hopefully it cools off some so I can shoot some more soon.I.might put a bigger scope on my.338 I hunt with my.eyes are not like they use to be !

If you can find one I recommend putting a H&S Precision stock on the 77 Hawkeye. It sure tamed my 338 Hawkeye down from the factory plastic stock it came in and the Hogue mold over I put it in after the factory stock. The stock that could be better might be a McMillan but I've never owned one of them to know.

The trigger on this new 338 is awesome crisp .It has that parkerized finish and if I shoot it I will Smooth it out .I might put a boss system on this one or my.other stainless 338 Ruger .I shot the other day and got a head ache not good so may have to do it .Then I can switch it out for hunting without the muzzle brake .This getting older thing is no fun !

quote:

Originally posted by dgr416:
The trigger on this new 338 is awesome crisp .It has that parkerized finish and if I shoot it I will Smooth it out .I might put a boss system on this one or my.other stainless 338 Ruger .I shot the other day and got a head ache not good so may have to do it .Then I can switch it out for hunting without the muzzle brake .This getting older thing is no fun !

It is always a good idea to stop shooting if you develop a headache. That was the right call.

And a 338. What a sweet caliber. I got a 338WM Ruger last year. I did put a Limbsaver on it and it is very comfortable.

I really like that old boat paddle stock, its stout as a sledge hammer, indestructible, and can take all the abuse in the world, Its an Alaskans dream stock...Ive never noticed it recoiled anymore than any other stock, but recoil is an individual thing for sure..

what is under the stainless "coating" on the MOdel 70 Winchester?

That stainless coating on my Winchester 338 is a joke .It looked stainless don't know why.They.coated it .That gun was a pain in.The butt ! A friend shot seven moose with it in.Alaska though .It's a light gun kicks like a mule without boss middlebrow.My Ruger 77 stainless out shot it at 200 yards .Both guns shot well but the Ruger kicked less and was way more dependable .That is probably the last stainless Winchester in ever buy !

I just bought an unfired Sako AV in .338 WM w/ iron sights. I already have one, an early AV with the short bolt handle and knurled knob, Garcia era stock, checkered base iron sights. The new one has the tear drop bolt, sleeker sights, metal follower and much nicer hunter style stock. I hope it's as accurate. Not a Ruger, I've always liked the Tang safety 77 RST's, but they are getting almost as much as I paid for the Sako.

It snowed day before yesterday and I went after elk with the boat paddle stock on my Ruger African .338, windy and hard to see past a half mile, stuck it butt first in the snow and made some coffee, that was nice. didn't get my elk but saw plenty of them, but that's another story, I like that stock...When no snow or rain,off comes boatpaddle, and on goes walnut..and the zero doesn't change at all, I got lucky there. but before hunting I tested it real well changing out between stocks..

I hear you Ray, I have my 7mm RM AV classic nestled in a McMillan Hunter. I've got an OEM laminate for the .338. I'll have to compare zeros and accuracy with both as you did. Back in 1980, I spent a month N of the Arctic circle prospecting. I took my 77R in .270 (all I had at 18). After swamping our canoe 3x's going down the Birch creek and being rained on frequently, the stock on that gun swelled 1/8th of an inch all around the pad. It never shrunk back after getting back to WY and I had to refinish the stock. We shot a couple beaver to feed the camp pup, so it at least kept m.o.b. accuracy.

I have a couple of boat paddle stocked Rugers the stocks are very tough for sure.

My brother bought the l a laminated stainless 338 ,model 77 but it won't.feed right .He may have to send it back to Ruger .They sprayed some kind finish on the stainless barrel and action .My other older stainless 338 Ruger 77 and both my Ruger 77 rifles feed fine .The actions on the last made 338 win mags are really rough with this spray over finish .