Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only .416 Ruger

Phil do they come from the factory with the boat paddle stock?Or that newer synthetic like the 375 Alaskan?

I think the boat paddle is a consumer added option.

I'm starting to see a trend maybe. The only time I went to Alaska for brown bear, my guide out of Trapper Creek was toting a 338 Win Mag in a Ruger canoe paddle stock. He swore by it for the same reasons.

utah: Thanks!

BobInNH - there maybe another reason the "boat paddle" stock style is so popular with Alaskan guides. Has more to do with function then making the rifle lively as Phil mentions. Think boat...engine quits miles away from camp, forgot the extra paddles. "Row, row, row your boat..." LOL Regards from warm sunny Florida (just had to do that Phil...) Homesteader.

Homesteader....they like those stocks up there.

They are tough!

BobinNH -I believe you as they must have other "redeeming" features going for them besides their lack of cosmetic appeal. Sort of like the barmaids at Octoberfest...may not be the prettiest BUT can sure haul those big beer mugs! Regards, Homesteader.

.............Ruger won`t chamber the 416 Ruger in the African version until it first solves all the stock cracking issues with the 375 Ruger African. Up to this point, I dont know if Ruger has completely solved the cracking issues.

Though sooner or later, we`ll see the 416 Ruger chambered in the African.

I'll go out on a limb and say that the .416 Weatherby would give you all the oooomph that you need.
whelennut

I am wondering if their recoil lug design means that cracking cannot be entirely eliminated. I am not sure old Bill had a .416 in mind when he came up with it.

You know, I had the very same thought. But then I regrouped a bit. The recoil lug on the Hawkeye African is no different than the recoil lug on the M77 RSM - the RSM being chambered in such calibers as the 375H&, 416 Rigby, and so on. The difference is that the RSM has a beefier stock and employs a second recoil lug on the barrel. Maybe Ruger should consider a barrel lug on the Hawkeye as well.

The small recoil lug on M-77's is an issue with larger calibers and since Ruger chose to retain it even on their magnum action makes me think they are not likely to change it. Their choice to use a steel hanger on the larger calibers works OK and I imagine they will either do something like that on the 416 Ruger or else use a stock with a metal bedding block.

I have an old version of the RSM in 416 Rigby (24" barrel and no barrel band) with the metal hanger as Phil describes. I too was worried about stock cracking as there were a few stories out there. I had the steel block glass bedded and have had no issues and that was in 1993(?). Anyhow two trips to Africa and two buff with no problems. Ruger knows what they are doing and I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I'm not so sure about that Jorge. How long has the 375 African been out, and they still have issues with cracked stocks, let alone manage a wood stock on the .416 Ruger? I'm left with more than a hint of doubt.



A metal bedding block would certainly help. However the down side is cost. Unless Ruger stikes a helluva deal with someplace like Accurate Innovations, a wood stock with a metal bedding block is probably not in the future.

Would some steel bedding plus crossbolts help prevent the wood stocks from breaking?

Steel bedding and a crossbolt fixed my son's 375 and kept it from splitting. I even dropped the 416 in it an fired it a box or so from the bench and it held up to that but I would prefer a bigger bite from the lug.
It would not be hard or expensive for Ruger to add a metal hanger to the stocks they already have.

Whelen nut, it will not only give you the ummmmmmph but wear your frigging arms out from totting that heavy arse rifle with muzzle brake on the end. The new one I shouldered at the gunstore was something like 12 pounds.

How much lighter is the old stock than the one that comes on the Alaskan?

The older stock is about half a pound lighter than the Hogue but of more importance it balances better and places the weight more up front and is slimmer around the action and carries easier. The old canoe paddle stocks are also tougher than a woodpecker's lips.

Tonk,
My friend had a .378 Weatherby on a Schultz and Larsen action with 2 mercury recoil reducers in the stock and a muzzle brake.
His friends goaded him into it at a gunshow. He couldn't sell it fast enough after he had fired it!
whelennut