Good walnut in this stock. It's light, and the grain is perfectly aligned for a hard kicker. You can tell Ruger hand selected the right stock for the hard recoilers. They relieved the wood back near the tang, a little less the 1/16” gap around the rear areas of the tang and two crossbolts.
I personally like the paper thin red recoil pad. Boxing matches in the Army, or a brawl on the street, I always smiled when a man actually threw a jab with something behind it. This rifle's recoil is the only one that brings me ah smile......
My son bought one of the first 30-06 Rossi's that our now closed Gander Mountain got in. It was to be his one forever rifle. It probably weighed 5 and a half pounds. I loaded some 220 grain bullets for fire forming loads. I shot it 5 times and my arm went numb. He was able to shoot it a few more that 5 when it became too painful.
I can only imagine shooting that 416. I can see my shoulder blades clapping together and the screws from my 12 vertebrae fusion unscrewing. I'm not that tough anymore. I do like to read your stories.
