I think I just died a little inside. Time to get looking for an Alaskan in .375R while there are still some around. This new one looks like an abomination to me. I mean, I could probably live with the laminate stock (MAYBE), but the factory brake??

http://www.ruger.com/products/guideGun/models.html

quote:

Originally posted by FFemt5287:
, but the factory brake??

It looks like they are putting brakes on everything.

I really see little to like in their current offerings.

According to my dealer, Ruger has stopped taking wholesale orders for any guns at all.

Thanks Diane !

Fugly
The only way to make this cool is to throw away the removable brake and Make the threads useful for a silencer along with a Kevlar stock to make this a 7lb gun. I'd rather have a silencer than a muzzle break not that a 20" barrel and silencer make much sense with these carts.

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 shooter:
According to my dealer, Ruger has stopped taking wholesale orders for any guns at all.

Thanks Diane !

Actually they did the same in 2009. Because they couldn't fulfill all the orders Go look at their stock price and read the 10k/q

I will be hiting the "email the CEO " on their website and calling investor relations. The lam stocks are ugly and the brakes- while functional, are a mistake to have as standard features

That is one butt ugly rifle!

What a stupid move... I hate muzzle brakes no matter what kind and what rifle... And the Alaskan black finish stainless steel model was NICE... Fortunately I got 3 of them, one kept in 375 Ruger the two others in 458 AccRel and 500AccRel

While I don't own any of those rifles, I'm guessing the muzzle blast gets your attention, hence the brake.

Guys:

This may not be everybody's cup of tea (not CRF) but Legacy sells a Howa with a Hogue stock in .375 Ruger in blued or stainless with either a 20 inch or 24 inch barrel and the price is sure right. Here is the link:

http://legacysports.com/products/howa_375ruger.html

I have often thought about picking one of these up cause they are really affordable. Never had a Howa or a Weatherby Vangard before. What do you think?

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 shooter:
According to my dealer, Ruger has stopped taking wholesale orders for any guns at all.

Thanks Diane !

Duh....

The cheapo muzzle brake probably costs $5 but they will add $150 to cost of the rifle I bet.

Oh crap, they put a muzzle brake on the African too. I hope it's removable.

My worst fears have been realized. There are only two models left of the RCM's called "Guide Guns." They both have breaks, ugly laminate stocks, and the same crappy butt pads as the Scout Rifle. I am so glad that I bought my little wood stocked .338 RCM when I did. Guys, please help me keep this little cartridge alive...

I can't believe Ruger did this...

A lot of people didn't like the hogue stock but it was sure made for Alaskan weather conditions. I believe you will have no trouble finding a used Alaskan in good condition, just look around.

The brake is removeable with thread protector or a counter weight. It is fugly for sure. After market stock and it won't be so bad without the brake.

The Hogue stock worked well for Alaska but many replaced it with a more stable stock for accuracy or just because they hated the stock.

Takes a little searching but the muzzle break is removable and can be replaced with a weighted cap of same weight as the break or it can be replaced with a simple unweighted thread cap - All three are included with the rifle.

Muzzle blast with the 20" barrel isn't an issue - a buddy cut his 20" Alaskan to 17" and the blast wasn't an issue at 17"...it chrono'd 2405fps with a 300gr Hornady RN soft point bullet with zero pressure issues. He also changed out the Hogue stock (due to accuracy issues at long range) with an earlier model Ruger synthetic stock that didn't move under recoil. It was a very light handy package with a 2x Leupold scope for Oregon woods but still accurate at 325yds for clear-cut shooting (as he demonstrated with some cross-canyon shooting of a known laser'd distance from shooting position to target position)...

I personally don't care for the 'look' of recoil pad setup for the laminated stock but at least it is setup for tee shirt shooting with spacer removal capability for cold weather coat wear shooting...or perhaps a better statement is that it allows the owner to personalize the rifle's LOP without additional cost...so it would be livable.

I do like the shortened forend length of the laminated stock. I do wish they'd have dumped the barrel band and forend sling stud and replaced both with something like the Brockman' sling stud the exits the forend tip for sling attachment...would be much less cluttered and a better compromise... Oh well...

I do notice the 416 Ruger is finally available in a wood stock with a 24" barrel...

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
Guys:

This may not be everybody's cup of tea (not CRF) but Legacy sells a Howa with a Hogue stock in .375 Ruger in blued or stainless with either a 20 inch or 24 inch barrel and the price is sure right. Here is the link:

http://legacysports.com/products/howa_375ruger.html

I have often thought about picking one of these up cause they are really affordable. Never had a Howa or a Weatherby Vangard before. What do you think?

Dave

Howa have a good name and I have seen one over here and liked it - actually thought of getting one myself and I am a 375H&H person !!!

They sell heaps of Howa's and all are good.
Just pick the right stock.

The last good bolt gun Ruger made was the RSM, it's been downhill ever since.

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 shooter:
The last good bolt gun Ruger made was the RSM, it's been downhill ever since.

Correct, but business is business. Just take a close look at the "Rugers Sensation" the American.

It will do what it suppose to do. It will shoot and because it is cheap it will sell.

Ruger is a business, that is no different to any other business. It has to make profit.

Pyzda

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
The brake is removeable with thread protector or a counter weight. It is fugly for sure. After market stock and it won't be so bad without the brake.

Ok, that's a relief. Still a REALLY ugly colored lam on a factory gun. I recall CZ offering an equally gaudy colored lam on their 550 mags a few years ago. Wasn't there someone on the boards with a boat paddle synthetic on their Alaskan?

For some reason, I like the looks of the Guide Gun. Same stock as the Scout Rifle which fits me really well, but I'm going to have to see that color combo in person.

Glad to see that the brake is removable, I wonder if it really comes with a sling stud on both fore end and barrel?

We'll probably never see one around here anyway...

quote:

Originally posted by FFemt5287:
... Wasn't there someone on the boards with a boat paddle synthetic on their Alaskan?

Yes, one of them was me. I like a 1.5# boat paddle better than a Hogue. It will take a pound off the rifle weight with Hogue,
and does not collect navel lint like the sticky, rubber-coated Hogue.
It is even prettier than the Hogue, though that is not saying much.

I also like the gaudy new laminate better than a Hogue. And it has spacers to adjust LOP, yes, just like the Scout Hawkeye in .308WCF.

Now we have an ebony forend tip and a .416 Ruger chambering in the African model with walnut stock,
paid for with the addition of a muzzle brake.
Not bad.
Won't hurt business.

quote:

For some reason, I like the looks of the Guide Gun. Same stock as the Scout Rifle which fits me really well, but I'm going to have to see that color combo in person.

I like it to I am much more into funtion then looks.

Agree with most of the comments above. I thought the recoil pad in the picture is ugly also. Can't find enough wood so they put in ugly plastic spacers???

After looking at them for a while, it isn't all that bad. The The Guide gun is just an Alaskan with a really ugly stock and muzzle brake.
The stock can be replaced with the Alaskan Hogue if you wish and the cap can be put on the muzzle to lose the brake.
Not too bad except for the cost of a new stock. Wish they kept the 416 chambering though.

The African is nice. I like the 23" Bbl., Same goes for the brake. But, who's idea was it to put a short butt pad on a big bore?
Will the stock hold up in 416?

I like the 30.06 version. Sad they are dropping the .416 Ruger Alaskan.

I see they ruined the African series but at least have a 416.

I'm intrigued by the 30-06 too. I wonder what the velocity loss is shooting a 168 grain TTSX?

I'm guessing I'd have to get the 300 Win Mag to get 30-06 AI/300 WSM speeds...

quote:

I like the 30.06 version. Sad they are dropping the .416 Ruger Alaskan.

I see they ruined the African series but at least have a 416.

Definitely a stupid idea to drop the 416 Ruger in the new Guide gun for Alaskan use.

I don't think they ruined the African series - don't want the muzzle break just remove it and screw on the included thread cap. And yes, finally the 416 Ruger offered in the African series, it’s long overdue.

I thought that when the African originally came out, they didn't offer it in .416 due to problems with the wood stock splitting.

What has changed? I think the new African looks decent (without the brake), and would like one in .416 if it could be trusted not to destroy itself.

I replaced my Hogue stock with a Macmillan and i'd do the same with the laminate. The laminate looks ugly but if they ha used a brown laminate it would have probably looked good. Happy to see the brake is removable. I predict a fantastic future for the NEW KING of the 375 calibers!

Ruger stopped making fine bolt action rifles when they dropped the RSM. It's all gimmicks and annual model year changes. Heck a lot of PHs won't even take a client with a stupid mizzle brake. The brake killed the BOSS (which with the solid end works great and doesn't wreck your ears) and it will bury these as well.

Insofar as the 375 Ruger being the new king of 375s. LMAO !
The 375 H&H has been around forever, feeding is far better and headspacing on the belt can allow the use of smaller bodied cartridges which has been and can be a lifesaver in places where dirty chambers and corrosion (ever heard of African, Alaska and India) can be an issue unlike Wyoming.
Go ahead and jump on the latest fad. It'll be gathering dust along with your 5mm Remingtion and 7MM SAUM. It's a shame that 99.9% of "experts" have no idea how belted cartridges came to be.
Unlike most American gun companies, Holland and Holland listens to actual hunters, not some bunch of marketing MBAs whose idea of "going afield" is hunting hich fence deer in Texas.

quote:

Holland and Holland listens to actual hunters

lol H&H would not know a hunter if he kicked them in the butt. Most H&Hs are safe queens that at best get hunted with by a guy with a freaking guide. No one that had to hunt with a guide can be called a hunter - that is what you call a dude.

No, for a lot of game in a lot of places, that is what you call a "non-resident".

quote:

Originally posted by jwm:
No, for a lot of game in a lot of places, that is what you call a "non-resident".

Or a "non-resident alien".



Especially applicable in countries where the hunter may often seek or encounter animals known as "dangerous game".

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:

quote:

Holland and Holland listens to actual hunters

lol H&H would not know a hunter if he kicked them in the butt. Most H&Hs are safe queens that at best get hunted with by a guy with a freaking guide. No one that had to hunt with a guide can be called a hunter - that is what you call a dude.

You know you are a real piece of work.
How many H&H gun rooms have you visited ?
How many H&H shooting schools have you attended ?
How much time have you spent reviewing the files at H&H containing letters from some of the most famous hunters to have walked this earth ?
Do you have any idea why belted cartridges were invented ?
Even ever been to England ?
I think we all know the answers.

Sorry you cannot afford an H&H, even an old magazine rifle, or you would not make such uninformed comments.

Seems to me Ken Waters was quite impressed with his H&H magazine rifle ..... you have heard of Ken Waters ?

The NEW KING feeds excellent. Just as good as an H&H. Not surprising though, since making bottleneck cases feed was figured out long ago.

Sales have been very good, especially as a bunch of gun makers have started chambering it and Nosler has started making ammo as well as Hornady...so I expect it to be around for a very long time.

Man, gun nuts are quick to blow a gasket over piddly stuff they see instead of reading.

The brakes come off....simple. Don't like it? Take it off. Want the barrel to be flush with the band? Cut it off.

Ruger is usually pretty on-the-ball about listening to hunters and doing as they're asked. Why else have they recently chambered the 280? The 35 Whelen? The 358 Win? Those 3 were available in wood/blue or SS/Synthetic because people wanted them. The 9.3x62 in the Afican? Sure they might not be permanent runs, because they probably don't sell well enough to take up dealer space and production space. But, they still took the time to listen and make what some of the true loonies wanted. Same here, obviously they heard enough feed back to change things up a bit. Ruger, to me at least, has always come across as a gun maker who makes guns to sell guns, based on what the public has asked of them and not simply what the bean counters mandated. If the public said they wanted brakes, and the guns don't end up selling well, I'm sure we'll see a return of the Alaskan style guns before long. The 416...who knows, maybe that was the only way they could make the African actually work. If anyone buys one, see if the warranty is negated by removing it.

I guess I am boring, but for me the most important regarding a gun is how it shoots and how well it manage tough weather and lots of beating and abuse when I am out hunting.

How it looks like is way down on my list.
Laminate stocks are often good for practical use, but they tend to be rather heavy.

That said, I do think the break is VERY ugly, but that doesn't matter as I hate breaks anyway and would take it off at once if I would buy the gun.

quote:

Originally posted by Norwegianwoods:
I guess I am boring, but for me the most important regarding a gun is how it shoots and how well it manage tough weather and lots of beating and abuse when I am out hunting.

How it looks like is way down on my list.
Laminate stocks are often good for practical use, but they tend to be rather heavy.

That said, I do think the break is VERY ugly, but that doesn't matter as I hate breaks anyway and would take it off at once if I would buy the gun.

+1

31 years with.460Wea. and some 28 years with .375 H&H. That was all that I ever needed for virtually all of my hunting and culling. More than 30 years of hunting with 2 calibres.

I like things to be simple.

Pyzda

The laminate stock in and of itself is not a bad idea. Just not one that will win many over, IMHO. To me the fitment of the recoil pad looks like someone's first attempt at grinding a recoil pad off the stock and without a jig.