Looking at a Ruger African in 375 that a coworker is selling. He mentioned that Rugers in 375 Ruger have had many problems with their wood stock splitting. Has anyone had a issue with this? Looking at potentially using it next year in African and kind of have a thing for blued/wood rifles for Africa.

Bed it right and no issues if you don,t you probably will!

Shouldn't have any problems if you glass bed it before you shoot it...

I have my 'Smith bed the recoil lug, tang, floor metal, and the big bolt in lug midway up the forearm on all my big Rugers BSA, never had accuracy or splitting issues, also have him relieve a bit of wood at the rear tang and refinish the clean up, happy pounding for years so far.

Gunner, thanks for bringing up the rear of the tang. You should have a little clearance there. Some guys don't know that.

Yo welcome BSA, specially if you're gonna re-bore a 416 Rigby to a 505 Gibbs!

This.

No sane person would do such a thing...

Hey, I come here to read these pages for things I don't know.

That little tip has let that Ruger walnut withstand 600 gr Woodleighs to 2450 fps Ed, damn, she really boots at those speeds.

That is good to know about the tang area. Any recommendations for a good smith who knows large bore rifles?

My Ruger African .375 Ruger split in three places after 80 rounds.
Rather than fuss with Ruger with a new stock, I just ordered a McMillan Magnum fill, which I am very happy with. It eliminated another problem I had with the wood stock- every shot would drive the bolt back into my knuckles. No issue whatsoever with the McMillan.

Plenty out in your direction. If you don't find one to your liking, I'd recommend Roger Ferrell in Fayetteville, GA.

http://www.acgg.org/index.php/member-by-name/userprofile/Rferrell

Roger's a great guy and a fantastic riflesmith. A veteran to boot.

The laminates are known for splitting on .375 Ruger. First time I've heard of it getting away from the walnut.

There's also the Hogue full-bed stock. I've seen the B-barrel channel (for magnum calibers) pretty affordably priced online.

Yes, have experienced this, and have corrected this with good resulted.

It has been two fold for me:

Looseness of bedding that allows the barreled action to get a running start. Ruger placed a video online, which stressed the importance of using Ruger's high torque specifications, 90 in-lb off the top of my head, because many customers would reassemble their rifles at a lower setting, which resulted in cracked stocks. I have personally bedded several, and I have found that once properly bedded, I could lower the torque setting without seeing any movement.

Regardless of bedding, the thin area of wood between the mag box and trigger inlets can easily split over repeated firings. Even if properly bedded, the forces of the barrelled action driving the stock into your shoulder, also causes the sides of the stock to bellow outward along the mag box and trigger openings. The only material that holds this together is the thin strip of wood, which can easily split. A properly installed cross pin or bolt will hold the sides together and prevent this breakage.

STS45,

If you decide you need a synthetic stock for your .375, I have a Hogue stock that fits your rifle- will sell at a reasonable price. PM if interested.

I tested on of the very first Ruger 375's and the stock did split but was easily repaired with accra glass. Ruger now puts a cross bolt in their 375's, which helps a lot but they still need a good solid bedding. Get that done and you should have a great, reliable rifle

HHmmmm, should I be worried?? Have a 375 laminated ruger that I've only fired a couple times maybe I need to get it bedded before I fire any more.

That would be a good idea, the one I had was shifting in the stock before I bedded it and relieved the tang. Super accurate though.

Guess I'll talk to the smith up the road, wouldn't attempt it myself. Never had one bedded in 40 years but then again this is my first and only 375, just because (since I have no practical use for one).

I had my first laminate stock on my 375 Ruger Guide Gun crack in the tang area. Ruger replaced it. Then I had my gunsmith relieve the tang, free float barrel and bed action. With my 300gr. Nosler Accubond handload I am getting 1/2" 3-shot group at 100yds and getting 2590fps out of it 20" barrel.

If this is happening with the 375s I would think the 416s (and maybe the 338s) would have the same problem, but I guess there's not as many 416s out there. Haven't heard anything about this with 338s though.

I normally find that sporter rifles chambered up through around 30-06, or so, to have few, if any, issues w/ stock failures. Bedding on these are more intended toward repeatable accuracy. But when talking big bore chambered rifles, especially sporter weight, it is likely a good idea to have a non shifting, solid bedding, free of stress, with attention to detail in common areas of breakage, such as adding reinforcements, eliminating wedge splitting contact points, etc. Effort spent on this from the beginning, is well spent, and will save much effort, time, and headache dealing with stock breakage down the road, if ignored.

Ok then, took mine to a local custom gun builder for bedding and better recoil pad. Should be good to go. Wish I had more use for one but it'll be a good black bear gun for PA and Maine. Thanks for the info here guys.