I finally reloaded some 400 Gr Barnes Triple Shock bullets for my Ruger RSM in 416 Rigby. Right off the bat, I got a good group at 100 yards with 100 Grains of H4831.


So then I went to shooting the rest of the rounds, some with the scope off, and then again with the scope back on. I fired five rounds with 101 grains and five rounds with 102 grains. Max load according to Barnes is 105 grains.

All was well and I was pleased with my groups and scope returned to near the same point of aim when remounted, just not as tight. I attributed this to the 102 grains and/or just my shooting. I was suprised that I could definetly feel more recoil with the 102 grain load.

Great day until I began to clean my rifle. I dripped some solvent on the stock behind the receiver, so I wiped it up with a patch. The patch caught on the wood. I looked closer, and the stock is cracked with a splintered V pointing to the butt showing.

Now what? Do I send it back to Ruger for a new stock or to a reputable smith for repair and then bedding?

Even if I send it back to Ruger first, I'll get it bedded afterwards. I want the best smith possible that has experience with this rifle. Who do you reccommend?

Damn shame. The rifle was really dialed in.

If it is new Ruger should handle it.

Probably will do again with a new stock, so get it bedded, relieving some back there, and away you go.

I bought it used, but it was perfect.

Here is the crack:

I'd relieve it a little behind the tang, glue it back together, and glass the whole thing real well. If you refinish, should not be able to tell. Great group.

Send it back to Ruger; let them make it right.

George

Back to Ruger for a new stock.

Then relieve and re-bed the new stock.

Same comment as before. Why ruin another stock? Like fla3006 and I said: Just fix it.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
Same comment as before. Why ruin another stock?

So that Ruger can see what happens when they don't relieve the tang, and so that he's having an uncracked stock bedded.

Every one I've seen cracks eventually. Take your pick. Not like Ruger would be surprised.

I had a similar experience with my Ruger 416. The dealer I got it from exchanged stocks with another 416 and returned that one. Saved on paperwork and I was going again in 15 min. I relieved the new stock and steel bedded it. The Ruger stocks seem better than the CZ's in the recoil department. Mine is nice to shoot.Mark

The first 416 I owned was one of the first Ruger 77 Magnums, a very beautiful and well finished rifle, had a highly figured full fiddleback "circassian" walnut stock. I owned it for a very short time and never shot it(traded it for a Brevex 416), but come to think of it, it had a repair around the tang (it was a second hand gun).

.

SBT,

Unless you love the way your stock looks (pre split!) I would send it back to Ruger for a new stock and then have it bedded pronto on it's return. I have a #1 458 Lott SS/Lam that started to split, sent it back to Ruger and in about two weeks received the rifle back with a new stock. No charge and strangely no letter letter/documentation or anything. I have two RSMs, a 416 Rigby and a Lott, have been careful to keep the screws snugged down and so far so good. BUT, I will have both these rifles bedded as soon as the ground squirrel season tapers off! I guess the factory's either don't care or they assume the owner won't shoot their big bores much if at all. I, and like others here at AR actually shoot their big bores for practice and the sheer fun of it. I wish the manufacturers would realize and plan for some of us owners to actually putting a couple of hundred rounds (each year!) through their product.

John

I'm with those who say send it back to Ruger for starters, then have a good 'smith bed it for you.

Great groups by the way. Looks like you may not need the sample pack of bullets I've boxed up for you.

I found that recoil increases rapidly once I got over 2,450 fps with my loads. There was a much bigger difference in recoil between 2,400 and 2,550 than there was between 2,250 and 2,400.

Are you going to load a solid or just use the Triple Shock? Without elephant on your wishlist, I think you could get by with just the one load. My only concern is they might not expand quick enough on a lion. Maybe someone here has some experience in that regard?

Thanks for the input.

Forrest,
I'd still be appreciative of the sample packs, especially solids as elephant is on the list. I'm hoping to find a load for solids with the same POI. I do not have a chronograph, so I have no idea of the fps of the loads, but I could definetly feel the difference. If anyone knows the approximate fps for the 100 grains of H4831, I'd like to know. Your comment about not opening fast enough for lion concerns me. I look forward to others opinions.

I would also like the names of competant smiths for the work I need done. I have only recently heard of steel bedding. Should it be glass bedded or steel bedded?

JKS,
My plan was to load some more rounds tonight and hunt chisslers over the weekend. They are now every where and would make for great practice.

SBT

Sorry to hear that your RSM cracked the stock. However, having shot mine about 350 rounds of factory or equivalent and numerous cast rounds, I found that if I checked the stock screws each time before going out with it, no problem. I agree that you should send it back to Ruger or if you have a dealer near you that you do regular business with, see if a stock switch can be made if they have one in stock. When you get the new stock, you could send it to Jim Brockman in Idaho. I don't have his addy on hand right now, but you can get it from Ray.

back to ruger.. they got all of like 25 bucks in the stocks anyways

then have a bigbore spec. bed it

jeffe

SBT,if you send it back to Ruger they will pull a stock out of inventory and screw it on and send it back to you, and it will happen again. Boyds is the answer to you problem. Order one, check the clearence at the rear tang area and bed it. If your handy with your hands epoxy a metal plate in the recoil lug area. it will take some wood removal, but is a somple job. They gun will weigh a tad more ,but it will help you out on recoil and probably tighten you already very good groups.Your potential warping problems will be eliminated and you will have a stock that will last a life time. My .416 was done this way ten years ago ( not with a boyds) and i havent had one problem since. Thats what i think. Charlie

quote:

ALF: From whence did Ruger get this wood that they call "circassian" ? Methinks they are dreaming of things and days gone by, long long ago !

Yes, I understand, that's why I put it in quotes. They may use Turkish, which some call Circassian nowadays, even though the two are not interchangeable.

Yes, get a new stock from Ruger. It could be fixed if you couldn't get a new one ... BTW, my second generation RSM .416 Rigby Ruger shoots like yours does with 380 grain GSC FN and 105 grains of H4831 Extreme (long cut). Good to see that the Barnes .416/400grTSX is capable of it with a good shooter.

If returning the stock to Ruger doesn't work out for you and you'd like to simply have the gun repaired, John Garvin of Garvin's Gunstock Shop does remarkable work. He can take a stock that has been splintered and make it look like it is brand new again. He does work for people all over the country and has an amazing accumulation of before and after pictures of his work that I think you'll find quite impressive.

Sorry to hear about your stock. I also had my stock crack on my 416 Rigby (Dakota M-76 African). I sent mine back to them and they fixed it (replaced the stock).

Send it back to Ruger and than bed it, Way to go.

Roland

quote:

Originally posted by Roland1:
Send it back to Ruger and than bed it, Way to go.

Roland

I second that. I had my gunsmith bed my Ruger .416 Rigby (and my Ruger .375 H&H). I had not shot it very much before he worked on it. 3 or 4 boxes of ammo was all. When he pulled the action he noticed some slight "chipping" of the wood around the inletted area of the action. The tang appeared fine but the metal was touching the wood. It would probably have cracked eventually.

New stock and bed it. Or repair the stock you have and bed it. Either way, IMHO, rifles in this recoil class need a good bedding job.

-Bob F.

Get a new stock from Ruger..then send it to Jim Brockman in Gooding Id. thats close...and have him glass the new one and add cross bolts. releive the tang .020 in back...add a second recoil lug if it does not have one.

I had that happen several years ago with a new Remington 700 "Safari Grade" in .458 Win. Mag. After contacting Remington they told me to "send it in and we'll take a look at it". I didn't. Instead I purchased a H&S Precision Stock with the full length Aluminum bedding block. The gun has been running fine ever since. If you send it back to Ruger they will put another .10 cent stock on it and the same thing will happen after a few boxes of shells. Like the other poster suggested, Boyds is another good option. They sell Walnut stocks fitted with full length bedding blocks. Thats the only way to go with heavy recoiling guns like the .416. billt

SBT, what have you done

First step is to get Ruger to replace the stock. Then, get it to a good gunsmith and have it bedded. I wonder if the screws may have come loose at some point. I also wonder if I did anything to contribute to it . I never noticed if there was a crack starting, but I never really looked for it either. I'm very sorry that it happend.

Most important thing is that it happend BEFORE your hunt. Hopefully you can get it replaced and bedded very quickly and well before your hunt (when are you going?).

On the bright side, that rifle can SHOOT!!!!

Those are great groups! Pretty impressive considering you are also using a 1.5-5x Leupold. Are you sure that is a 100 yard group and not a 25 yard group

Heck, you may be able to use that rifle in a benchrest competition.

Good luck with getting everything fixed and squared away.

Tim

quote:

Shumba: On the bright side, that rifle can SHOOT!!!! Those are great groups!...Are you sure that is a 100 yard group and not a 25 yard group

That was my first impression, that rifle (and the shooter) really can shoot. Wish I could do nearly as well with my LIGHT rifles! So much for Rugers having crappy barrels.

Shumba,

No, it wasn't anything you did. I checked my screws and both of the forearm screws were loose. Not much, but loose.

That group even impressed me. I have never done that well even with my '06. And yes, it was a 3 shot 100 yard group.

I just packaged the rifle and am off to town to send it back to Ruger. When it comes back, I'll get it bedded. I don't go to Tanzania until the fall of 2006, but I want to shoot chisslers with it this summer and elk this fall.

quote:

have two RSMs, a 416 Rigby and a Lott, have been careful to keep the screws snugged down and so far so good.

On one of the .458 Lott stocks that broke on me (by the way 2 of the 3 broke exactly like SBT's), Ruger told me I had caused it to break because I tightened the screws! Can you believe that one?

did you send it back?

If you send it back then that will tie your gun up for who knows how long..Its a factory stock so I wouldn't bother...That damage can be fixed to hardly show if at all...then glass bed the stock and I would drill under the damage and glass in a 1/4 inch threaded bolt (hidden), then glass the gun from tang to forend tight and add a couple of crossbolts...That seems to work best on big bores..

That is great accuracy and you should be able to deliver a killing shot on a buffalo at 40 yards or and elephant at 12 yards! My varmint rifles won't shoot that good...you got a keeper...

BTW, you may, in fact, loose a bit of that kind of accuracy by fully bedding the rifle, but I would opt for the strength and dependability over accuracy on a DGR...

The stock might be destorted after the crack but easy to see why it did crack, by the look of it, it was not "if" but "when", the tang looks like it was touching the wood at the back of the stock inletting.

This looks like a classic case of a BLOCK SPLITTER crack

I think the lesson to learn here is to make sure on ANY Ruger that the action tang DOES NOT touch the woodwork, cross bolt the webbing and bed it well

regards S&F

I'd get a McMillan and not look back.

Totally predictable! Get a new stock and as others have said cross bolt it and steel bed it correctly. Consider doing it yourself. Its not hard and I can easily talk you through it if your so inclined. -Rob

Rob,
What would you suggest for reinforcing between trigger and magazine on a B&C Carbelite stock? I've decided to slip my 470Capstick (Rem700) into one and have inletted for the larger recoil lug ... but have no idea what I'll do at the rear as the stock literally has a bar of material running horizontally that may be total 2mm in thickness. Considering running a threaded rod through and then using epoxy to keep it in place?? There's heaps of space above th bar of material and between it and trigger.

If it disintegrates I have nil dollars into it so I'm not fussed to experiment a bit. I'll also be cutting into the butt and forearm to epoxy in some lead to bring its total weight upto 10 - 10.5lb from its current 8lb8oz.
Cheers...
Con

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
Back to Ruger for a new stock.

Then relieve and re-bed the new stock.

Exactly my thinking ... Tight wood and flawless wood to metal fit is nice for safe queens but in certain places the wood needs some give room on ant thing 375 and up ...A friend of mine had the MacMillan stock on his 416 break lengthwise afrter a couple hundred rounds I have ruined 2 stocks on 416s one a Taylor and one a Remington Mag ...one wood ,one fiberglass ......Unless the stock is made from metal it can break ...

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
Shumba,

That group even impressed me. I have never done that well even with my '06. And yes, it was a 3 shot 100 yard group.

I just packaged the rifle and am off to town to send it back to Ruger. When it comes back, I'll get it bedded. I don't go to Tanzania until the fall of 2006, but I want to shoot chisslers with it this summer and elk this fall.

.......

SBT;; I wish I could transfer this post to the Alaskan Forum , along with the pic of your target .... Too many short bussers on the Alaskan Forum who think it impossible to shoot anything but an 06 ................

Nice shootin by the way

Contact Ruger, they will email you a shipping label for UPS, they will check each component (wood and iron, and this is important) before repairing the stock, then take it to a good smith and have him do the rest. It took about 2-1/2 weeks to get mine back from Ruger. Glad I did.