Wheneer the subject of recoil comes up in connection with the Ruger No. 1 in .375 and larger calibers, there seems to be a consensus that the factory butt stock and its worthless recoil pad get most of the blame for accentuating the punishment of the shooter. I've seen photos here of custom No. 1s with proper buttstocks designed along the principles perfected by the British sporting arms manufacturers at the turn of the 20th century. Anyone know who might supply such stocks? My thinking is that if Ruger would redesign the butt on the Tropical, and extend the barrel to 26 inches with a bit more taper, the company would have a well-balanced wand to sell rather than the current club.

I have Ruger No. 1's in most all of the big bores they are presently making. I do not have the .450 3 1/4 NE which is suppose to come out within the next 12 months.

On my .458 Lott, .416 Rigby, .375 Ruger, .45-70 Govt.,.450/400 NE,.375 H&H, and .405 Win. I have had a gunsmith install Kick EZ shotgun recoil pads. First of all it gives me some additional length of pull, as well as reduce "felt" recoil.

The .416 Rigby still has a nasty bite and it gets worst the more rounds shot a one setting. But shooting four or five rounds from the bench is bearable.

Ehg: I had a Decelerator on a .416 Rigby and on a .458 rechambered to .450 NE, and a Limbsaver on a .458 Lott. They helped take some of the thump out, but I'm convinced a straighter, fuller butt with a deeper, broader buttplate profile would considerably improve handling and recoil absorption, along with the aforementioned change in barrel dimensions.

If you redesign the Ruger butt stock with a much wider piece of stock and a fit a F990 pad it will make a very serious difference in felt recoil. Basically spreading the forces over a wider area results in reduced felt recoil. We have used this principal to tame much harder kickers than anything that can be built on a Ruger No. 1.-Rob

quote:

fit a F990 pad

OR...an XLT Ultra-Soft...a hydraulic damper...and a juice can sized brake...

Woosies.

I shoot a Ruger No.1 in 500A2 with a slip-on pad and a muzzlebrake, and my trigger hand only occasionally goes numb and useless.

.458 Lott and smaller are fine with the current stock and a better pad.

Some are even graceful and well balanced,
especially my 400/.395 NE with 26" barrel (pictured below), as well as the factory .338 WinMag that came with a 26" barrel.

I used a slip-on pad and no muzzle brake on these Ruger No.1's with perfect comfort:

450NE3.5"
.458 Lott
.458 WinMag
.416 Rigby (water buffalo at 50 yards and fallow deer at 342 yards)
450/400 NE 3"
405 Win
400/.395 NE (The only true, aboriginal 400 Nitro Express)
9.3x74R
.338 WinMag

The slip-on pad gives me the correct LOP whether the extra cushioning is needed or not.

Contact this guy:

http://www.treebonecarving.com/id18.html

If there is enough demand he may start making them. I would be in for one.

Maybe something on the order of this.
Project in the works.
[IMG]]

Michael J

Michael: Thanks for the photos. Please post more when you complete and shoot your project.

Will Do

IMO, Ruger factory recoil pads are garbage. We've got a handful of M77's ranging from a 270 to 416 Rigby, and the first mod we did to all of them was chuck the "brick" they screw to the back of the stock and replace it with a Decelerator.

Even the "new and improved" pads they give with the Hawkeyes are the same old thing: too thin and too hard.