Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ruger Boat Paddle .30/06 FS at LGS

I stopped in to my local gun store today and they had a Ruger 77 stainless boat paddle (Zytel) .30/06 on consignment for $550.00. I did not handle it but the floorplate had some marks on it, so it is not NIB. However it seemed like a good price to me, and it might be possible to dicker a bit. I already have one or it would have probably followed me home. If anybody is interested, here is the website: http://www.jssportsupply.com/index.html

Not too many years ago the pawn shops had them piled up, with 350 as the going rate.

Then everyone decided they were cool and now I don't see them anymore.

Good thing I bought mine when they were cheap!

Let's face it - the Zytel boat paddle Rugers suck.

They suck so bad I have three of them, .30-06, .300WM and .338WM.

They were $349.00 when I used to buy them. That was the "new in box" price... The one I really regret not buying was a like new/used stainless boat paddle 270 win for $270.00......

The crappiest excuse for a stock I've ever seen... but as HL Mencken opined; "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence (and/or taste) of the American public."

My first new rifle was a boat paddle in .308. It's still in the safe, wearing a Boyd's JRS classic. The stock is hung in the basements floor joists. $550 was more than the rifle cost new, and I'd not consider it money well spent for another one.

Everybody does not love PURPLE, just an example.

1 mans junk......

I think it's GREAT that everybody does NOT love the SAME things. BORING !

Jerry

On second thot, I think the Boat Paddle stock would go well w/the Creed.

Jerry

For whatever reason 1. I liked the looks - skeletal like -, 2. I never got around to getting one.

THE biggest objection I had to them was the FRONT, sling RIG. They would click side to side. I'm sure I could have solved that fairly easily but didn't get a rifle. That was NOT the reason I didn't get one.

Jerry

So you've never owned one, but have posted three times on this thread?

Good grief.

The reason they suck so badly is how they handle recoil, not how they look. If you'd owned one you would know that.

Limbsaver recoil pads have taken the hurt out of the hurt out of shooting. The stocks are very stiff and the recoil pad it comes with is just plane hard. Maybe men were more rugged back then. The limbsaver pads fit perfectly. I have two rifles and an extra stock in waiting. The 260 I lucked into. The other and the stock I got here. Perfect for me since I don't want to worry about scratches or dings. A working instrument and not furniture. A lot of people don't like that. It is their right to have pretty rifles. That makes the economy keep working and people keep reading items here. Have a good day.

Also I have two lab pups for sale in the classifieds. Appreciate it if you take a look.

Ok ? I guess that looking, handling, examining, and having friends that have them DOES NOT give me 'FREEDOM, LIBERTY, & RIGHT' to talk about them. ---Happy 4th of July !!

Sorry I did NOT ask your permission......NOT!

Jerry

If you see one in the shops around here they are no higher than the guns with newer style stocks.

Shops will give $400-$450 on trade and have them for sale for $475+/-, maybe $500+ on a minty one.

I have shot a few and never thought recoil was any worse than any other stock whether wood or synthetic. Bud had a 300 that was fairly tame and a 7mm Mag that got traded back to the shop the same day he bought it, one kicking SOB.

You should stick to talking about things you know something about, like goat hunting...

The stocks are sturdy, tough, and dependable. They also have horrible ergonomics, heavy, they are slick and hard to hold on to, the sling mounts suck big time and the tiny hard butt plates magnify recoil. They have gained somewhat of a cult like following and can be sold at a premium. I've had a couple over the years. If the negatives don't bother you they simply work. The last one I ended up with I replaced with a newer synthetic made for the Hawkeye that I bought straight from Ruger and sold the boat paddle stock to one of the loonies that like them. I sold my old boat paddle stock for more than the new replacement cost me and made 2 people happy.

The newer design proved to be every bit as durable and accurate. It had real checkering to hold on to, real sling swivel studs, a wide soft butt plate that tamed recoil, and was lighter.

I bought a 243 stainless the second year of the MKIIs. I call it "the ugly stick" because of the stock. I hated the stock and planned on changing it for a laminate stock. The more I used the rifle the more I appreciated the stock. Yes, it is ugly but is functional and I can't do much to make it uglier!!!

If anyone is looking for a boat paddle stock I have one sitting here from a .30-06. It has an added sling swivel on the fore end for a bipod.

I passed up a .270 at a gun show. Thought if I waited until the next day I might get it for $315 instead of the $325 the seller was asking. Got to the show right after it opened then next morning and some guy was filling out the paperwork on it..

That was one of two rifles I regret not buying on the spot. The other was a pre-WWII 8mm Mauser with a Berlin crest on it. The owner was German and brought it over to the US in '56. It had been sporterized with a new stock and trigger work and was a gorgeous rifle with a slick action. Passed on it at $225. Dumb. Live and learn...

Take a good look at my ..30-06, the one on the right. Picked it up used. Someone did a nice job of installing studs.

My three are .338WM with a Limbsaver recoil pad and a .300WM and .30-06 with factory pads, Recoil isn't really an issue compared to my other rifles, in part because I rarely shoot them without wearing hunting clothes or a shoulder pad to provide about the same LOP as when wearing the hunting clothes. In any case, replacing the factory pad with a Limbsaver really reduces felt recoil.

What I do really like about them are the light weight and stability and the fact that I don't give a flip if they get scratched or dinged. And no hollow sound.

While I understand why people don't like them, I;m looking to get more.