I just sealed a deal on a Ruger M77 in .338 Win Mag, (Tang Safety) with the intention of turning it into a 22" barreled .416 Taylor. I had a Taylor not too long ago but a good friend of mine caught me in a very weak moment and....well, he has it now. The moment it left my hands I was sure I would have another somehow.

Anyhow, I basically want stick a 22" tube on it, probably PacNor because the last Taylor wore one and it shoots EXTREMELY WELL. The only other thing I would like to change is the stock and I was thinking of a nice looking Acrabond laminate.

What contour barrel would look and handle well? I really don't like thick, chunky looking barrels but I also don't want a really thin one that has no weight to it.

Also, are there any problems I should expect in this project? I figured it would be a basic barrel swap and a little bit of stock work.....anything else I need to keep in mind? I will have someone else do the work because I don't have the tools, equipment or 'real' know-how to tackle this myself.

Any other thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

I am having a no.5 contour put on mine that was the smallest douglas I could buy most well not go much smaller in dia. I am going with a 25 in barrel better balance and a lot eaiser to get the vel you want with out pushing the pressure up there. Should have mine back from the smiths in a few weeks.

TXPO,

I rebarreled a .458 Win Mag Ruger M77, used the same barrel contour and had it Magna Ported, so didn't need to do any wood work to make it fit plus I have the recoil lug of the M77 which is a plus I think. I like the balance for a big bore. It's not a mountain rifle by any stretch of the imagination but serves me well here for the bears. I got a big (54") moose a couple of years ago with it and it worked quite well on it too.

Good luck with the project you picked a fine caliber and a great platform to build it on.

John

TXPO,

I am back the new system dropped me.

I built a Taylor last year using the same donor rifle Ruger M77 Tang Safety 338 WM. I used a Shilen barrel @ 26" for balance and some added weight, NECG sights, Barrel band, Pillar bedded with two cross bolts, floated barrel, re-worked trigger, Leupold 1x4x20. Rifle loaded comes in at just over 10lbs.

All in all the re-barrel went smoothly no issues with feeding and I can get 2400 FPS with 400 gr Hornady's .


Good luck with your project.

BD

TXPO,

My Taylor sports a #5 Contour Douglas, 1 in 12" twist, finished at 23 inches. I am real pleased with mine in terms of performance, balance, handling and price.

FWIW,
Canuck

Great looking rifle Canuck! Looks like a Boyds laminate but what action is that?

Here's what a #5 Douglas (I think, it may be a four?) looks like at 23 inches. It has NECG sights, a 2.5-8 VariX-III, and a cheap Winchester factory plastic stock.

I'm hitting 2400fps, but only with 370gr North Forks and H4895.

It's a S.E. Alaska 'skiff' gun, and leads a rough life.

TXPO, The stock is actually a Richard's Microfit laminate, and the action is a Browning BBR (Browning's pre-A-bolt offering, as George so aptly recognized). I used a BBR action mainly cuz I just happened to have one layin around, and cuz I kinda like them (they are basically a Weatherby knock-off). NB: For those who shun push feeds for big-bores, please note that this is my moose rifle. My 470 Mbogo is my DGR.

Cheers,
Canuck