I've heard all kind of stories about cracking wood and binding bolts. Does anyone have some suggestions as to what I need to fix prior to hunting?

Hello,
I also own one and have shot it now well over 400 rounds and no problems whatsoever. I heard and spoke to people having cracked/split stocks prior to purchasing mine and called and had lengthy conversation with the Factory about this supposed problem and their answer was that they have had no problems with their RSM's of any sort when no one has tampered/bothered the rifle stock in any way. To begin with, you will find the stock screws extremely tight/torqued and absolutely are not to be tampered with by anyone other than the factory. Regardless of how skilled the 'smith is, do not bother the stock or your warranty will be voided. Do I think that is a good program, no, but what I think is of little value since I did not build or warrant the rifle. Leave it alone is my best suggestion. In the event it does give problems/crack/etc. the factory will take care of it. Personally I think the RSM's offer more value than anything currently on the market, but we all know what opinions are worth. Like some other things, we all have them!! Good luck and enjoy the 458Lott for I find it a great round and very accurate.

What is RSM? Mine is a CZ458 Lott Safari Classic
It puts two bullets into the same hole. It is one sweet rifle. I have put a bullet 500 gr thru 6" of OAK and it kept on going at 50 yds.

RSM is the Ruger Safari Mod. I love mine. Shoots
like a dream. Mine is also a .458 Lott.

jro45,

The "RSM" comes from Ruger's model designation which is M77RSM MKII.

see:
http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdResults?function=fa...m&bct=Yes&type=Rifle

-Bob F.

I have one, and have used it without problems of any kind. It's a wonderful rifle.
Very good product for the money.
Good advice, as above, it to NOT do anything to void the warranty.
Mine was ready to hunt right out of the box, except for sighting in the iron sights.
After that, it's ready for anything on the planet.
Best value (for the money) in a DGR today.
Of course, there are better rifles, but they will not be found at the Ruger price. For the next step up in quality, look for 3-4 times the Ruger price of the RSM.

Caretaker,

Great choice of rifle and caliber! I have RSMs in 416 Rigby and 458 Lott and really like them (my Lott is just about my favorite rifle). My rifles are very accurate and are ones you want to keep!

I really believe you need to check on the stock/action screws often when breaking in your rifle. Both my RSMs needed constant attention to the screws, especially for the first 20-30 shots. The owners manual describes the snugging sequence so I can't imagine this is a warranty flag. I still monitor the action/stock screws to be sure they are snug.

I still believe I may be lucky...having shot my Rigby 300+ and my Lott 500+ (it is my ground squirrel rifle par none) and my lovely stocks are in great shape.

I have said this in the past but this year I AM going to send my RSM Lott to Roger Ferrell for a full going over, including a "bullet proof" bed job. I will feel better knowing I have done everything I can do to protect this stock from failure. Of course he will put on a propper Limbsaver pad instead of the slip on I use now. While he has the rifle I will have him work on the feeding of flat nosed bullets, esp the 405 Rems I use for squirrels. Stock, these hang up on the feed ramp way more than I like.

I Love the RSMs...the generally great wood. the intregal quarter rib and general fit and finish of these rifles. BUT one NEEDS a better pad and IMO keep tabs on the stock/action screws. I will let you know how my "finshing" of my Lott goes.

John

Hello JKS,
I own three of the RSM's and might point out that the torque setting on the stock screws have in excess of 100 lbs/in torque on them and why yours would come loose is hard to imagine?? Be advised it is most definitely a warranty issue and a quick, free call to the Ruger Service Dep't will confirm that position of Ruger. What might "break" on the RSM and make you wish you had a warranty is beyond me, but Ruger is very stringent on their waranty paramaters. By the way, speaking with a custom builder recently, it took him and his assistant to loosen the screws and for a while did not think they would be able to do so. They are on there tight!!

My friend has a RSM in .416 Rigby. It is a beautiful gun, but IMHO the barrel is too heavy and the rifle balance is too far forward.

I suppose this weight/balance does help control recoil. In comparison I have a CZ-550 .458 Lott and a ZKK-602 .416 Remington and the Brno's have a much better balance.

I've killed two buffalo with mine .... very accurate, and the stock configuration helps tame the recoil better (in my opinion) than that of my Remington (rebarreled) or CZ in .458 Lott.

Also, mine got soaked on a recent hunt, I removed the stock to dry it out, & if that voids the warranty, so be it ...... I'll not pay for a rifle, and then let someone tell me I can't keep it from ruining in bad weather. And, yes, the torque on the recoil lug screw was pretty stubborn.

Frank- I just got my RSM in 416 Rigby back from Ruger with a beautiful new stock. The original stock had a small crack between the magazine well and the trigger guard. I also soaked my rifle in Africa and had to take the stock off in the field. I did not discover the crack until I returned home when I took the stock off again for a thorough cleaning. I shipped the gun to Ruger and they replaced my stock at no charge and with no questions asked. They are a great company with a great warranty.

dsiteman,

Maybe things have changed since my RSMs and a friends were built but all three had stock/action screws that needed attention. Others on this forum have also had stock issues with the RSMS. If you have had good luck with the factory program great! I am wanting to shoot my RSMs a couple of thousand rounds (PLUS!) apiece and believe that a good bedding is insurance. Factories tell you not to mess with their products, but especially with heavy recoiling rounds their track record isn't that great in keeping their products in one functional piece!

John

Hello,
I can certainly understand being concerned about the rifle being soaked in rain,snow,dust,sand, etc. and wishing to completely clean the rifle and would hope Ruger would understand that as well. What they probably will not listen to is someone anticipating a problem, removing the stock, bedding, having a failure and asking Ruger to make up for a non authorized repair/"fix." That will probably result in a very short conversation from the Ruger warranty folks.

Frank, do you know how much torque to apply to your action screws when you reinstalled the stock?? If it is on the light side, you will have a failure/split I fear. Might want to try and determine the proper torque and apply accordingly. There is a very definite reason the torque is as high as it is on the RSM rifles. Just a suggestion.

quote:

Originally posted by dsiteman:
Hello,
I also own one and have shot it now well over 400 rounds and no problems whatsoever. I heard and spoke to people having cracked/split stocks prior to purchasing mine and called and had lengthy conversation with the Factory about this supposed problem and their answer was that they have had no problems with their RSM's of any sort when no one has tampered/bothered the rifle stock in any way. To begin with, you will find the stock screws extremely tight/torqued and absolutely are not to be tampered with by anyone other than the factory. Regardless of how skilled the 'smith is, do not bother the stock or your warranty will be voided. Do I think that is a good program, no, but what I think is of little value since I did not build or warrant the rifle. Leave it alone is my best suggestion. In the event it does give problems/crack/etc. the factory will take care of it. Personally I think the RSM's offer more value than anything currently on the market, but we all know what opinions are worth. Like some other things, we all have them!! Good luck and enjoy the 458Lott for I find it a great round and very accurate.

The person you spoke w/ either misled you and/or you misunderstood him/her:

Look in your owner's manual; instructions for taking the barreled action out of the stock and replacing it is part of owner maintenance. This does not require a smith much less sending it back to the factory.

I've had over a half dozen on my work bench that had at least 100-200 rounds fired. All had the starting of a crack or a complete crack going thru the thin webbing between the trigger and mag box inlets. My personal RSMs, including my 375H&H were kept at factory torque specs and also began to crack at around 200 rounds.

If you examine the stock inletting, you'll see that there is very little material in the webbing and it matters not if the action screws are torqued properly. Forces of recoil will push outward in this area from the mag box inlet to the trigger inlet w/ the only thing holding the stock sides together being that thin strip of wood. In addition, if you neglect your action screws on the RSM factory wood stock, they will eventually work themselves out of proper torque and you risk the chance of additional damage to the stock.

I examined my new Hawkeye African stock and noticed that it had less material removed in this webbing area and therefore appears stronger. Never the less I'm intalling a pin thru the webbing same as my RSMs.

GVA

Hello GaryVA,
If my memory serves me correctly you stated very nearly the same statements some months ago and if that is your experience, so be it, but call the factory yourself and perhaps you will understand more clearly about not 'smithing your stock on the RSM. Perhaps I did misunderstand and then you can help clarify this issue for all of us. Look forward to hearing from you.

PS Made the call for you, just got off the phone with person named Julie and if you remove the stock for cleaning purposes, that is not a problem. However, if you attempt to modify, "glass bed..," etc. the stock in any fashion, the problem is yours and yours alone. ALL RSM stocks must be factory fitted according to Julie. Again, the Ruger employee tells me that the RSM stocks are not a problem for them in any way regarding a series of cracking/breakage, etc. Now, you can decipher that info only so many ways, but very clearly stated that if you modify, glass, change the bedding on the stock, no warranty. Would be helpful if you also called and see just what they tell you????

quote:

Originally posted by dsiteman:
To begin with, you will find the stock screws extremely tight/torqued and absolutely are not to be tampered with by anyone other than the factory. Regardless of how skilled the 'smith is, do not bother the stock or your warranty will be voided.

Your original statement is what I disagree with. When I read it, I took it as bad advice as it goes against the Ruger published manual. Neglecting the action screws and neglecting routine maintenance on the rifle is not a good thing. I was concerned that leaving that statement unchecked, someone may take it as being correct.

quote:

Originally posted by dsiteman:
PS Made the call for you, just got off the phone with person named Julie and if you remove the stock for cleaning purposes, that is not a problem. However, if you attempt to modify, "glass bed..," etc. the stock in any fashion, the problem is yours and yours alone.

Your modified/corrected statement I agree with and is true to the best of my knowledge. But, I'm aware of individual cases where Ruger replaced a broken part for free even when the part had been previously modified.

quote:

Originally posted by dsiteman:
Again, the Ruger employee tells me that the RSM stocks are not a problem for them in any way regarding a series of cracking/breakage, etc. Now, you can decipher that info only so many ways, but very clearly stated that if you modify, glass, change the bedding on the stock, no warranty. Would be helpful if you also called and see just what they tell you????

I've taken my own course of action on this. The empirical evidence from my experience on the RSM, the CZ, the M70 and the 98 is that they do need reinforcemnt in the webbing area on a wooden stocked heavy magnum. I do like the route that Winchester took on their later Safari Classics by including it and I don't like the route Ruger took by omitting it.

I vet the rifle to ensure it is free of any major issues requiring it to be sent back to the factory. If it is free of such defects, I then reinforce the web area and bed the rifle. At this point I'm no longer concerned w/ the stock and move on.

GVA

Here are a couple of personal staring points:

1) I have no (o) faith in factory firearms warranties. Living in Canada means you can kiss your gun goodby for months. I prefer to do repair work at my own expense using trusted gunsmiths

2) I do not intend to be told that I cannot take the action out of the stock. This is the most basic of maintenance steps and is essential for cleaning, especially after being wet.

I think Ruger is just looking for an escape hatch.

I recently purchased a RSM and I really like it, with the exception of the recoil pad, which I think they made from an old tire. I asked my gunsmith to put a Decellerator pad on the gun. He removed the action from the stock to do so in order to not risk damaging the action, barrel or scope. I thought this was a good idea, and still do. The smith did have a devil of a time loosening the action screws, as others have had. While he had the gun apart, he glass bedded the recoil lug.

The new pad makes a noticable difference, and I don't know why Ruger puts such a crappy pad on an otherwise fine rifle. If this operation voids my warranty, so be it.

I have fired nearly 60 rounds through the gun with no problems yet.

I bought a .30-06, took it to the range, and the stock split: screw was loose. I have paid close attention to the screws ever since.

My .458 Lott in RSM stock screw was very tight when I bought it, but after the wood settled after a year, the stock screw was not tight... I've gotten paranoid about that now!

Don't tamper -- but check it. If its loose, its loose, and that can be bad news.

Dan

Not to start a match but IMO there are two ways to go with trying to "save" a stock on a hard kicker. Go with the factories advice (leave it alone) and hope for the best or have a good smith give it a working over striving for a long, healthy big bore life.

In my business I deal with factories all the time (not firearms I admit...) and getting one to admit they are building a faulty product, or even a very nice product with some FAULTS that need to be addressed is like pulling teeth
Hey, my livelyhood depends on a good dependable product and when I get the "we've never seen that" only to see the product in question discontinued or modified greatly soon after I express my thoughts lets me know I'm not the only one that has had problems.

Back to rifles. My Ruger #1 458 Lott Lam SS started to delaminate in the grip area after about 150 rounds. Ruger was great about replacing it, but RIP here on AR was spot on and said that the Ruger Lam stocks on a hard kicker could/would start to delam if not glassed before shot a lot. As said before, my RSMs are still up and running after many rounds, but I attribute that to keeping the screws "snug" and a little luck. Your MMV.

I LOVE my RSMs, and I'm not Ruger bashing at all! It just seems the factories producing off the shelf big bores don't seem to get it, or at least feel most shooters put through a box at most a year and call it good.

If you shoot a bigger bore production rifle_I_feel one could do a lot worse than have a good big bore smith give it a going over. Stock issues notwithstanding both my RSMs need feed work with flat points. Yes not your normal fodder but if your going to shoot them they better feed!

One of the things AR has beaten into me is that your rifle should be as close to 100% reliable as possible. If this involves a GOOD smith then I'm all for it. If this violates the factory warranty (and I'm sure it would) then so be it.

John

Just enjoy your RSM and do not fret about the stock breaking. There is more unfounded bs about this subject floating around than can ever be substantiated. I subscribe to damn little of it. I have manr RSMs that are shot a plenty. When there is a problem of any type Ruger is first cabin at attending to it, end of conversation. Dr. C

All one needs to do is tell Ruger you purchased the rifle used and they will repair any defect with no further questions asked...........JJ