Just wondering-what is it about the Ruger boat paddle stock that people like? I have an all-weather synthetic rifle with the tupperware stock, and although it is kinda plain, I'm not sure what the difference between it and the boat paddle is?

I thought the boat paddle stock was from the H&R handi-rifle? Oh wait, that's the fence post stock---2MG

Hahaha! Yes, the fence-post stock on the Handi is what you use when you weren't able to reload quickly enough! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> The boat paddle stock on the Ruger is the one that has the molded in letters saying RUGER in the buttstock area and is hollowed out/thin in cross-section. It has loops installed in the stock for a sling but no swivels. I've just heard a lot of folks that seem to like that stock but I wondered if there was any reason other than aesthetics...

I have a 260 in that configuration. I do not see what people like about the stock either. Am awaiting the day when I find an available SA Ruger laminate to replace it with.

I am almost convinced that I will have to buy a stainless/laminate 243 for the stock and then give the 243 away with the boat paddle attached.

Not sure but it sure to them long enough to realize most people didn't like them at all...

Yeah, you have just as good a chance throwin' the whole rig at 'em---2MG

People liked that stock?! Who?!

1.) Ugly
2.) Recoil pad made from a piece of retread tire
3.) No studs for swivels
4.) Ugly
5.) Some say it increased recoil dramatically (no personal experience here).
6.) Ugly

I like it because the .280 and .25-06 I had shot extremely well and believe it or not the stock fits me and feels better in my hand than the newer ones.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />It weren't me---2MG

The same people that liked Yugos...


SS

Maybe the people who liked it were worried about their rifles being stolen. This way they didn't have to worry... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


SS

They could have just all bought handi-rifles. Built in anti-theft design...........2MG

The "boat paddle" stock may be short on looks but it is long on utilitarian value. It is very stiff and durable. It holds up to recoil very well on the factory 338WM and on the bigger wildcats such as the 375/338WM and 416 Taylor. It has a very light, trim and low profile that works well w/ iron sights and low scope rings. And, many Rugers shoot very well w/ this stock.

It is no way near as pretty as the factory Lam stock nor as easy on the shoulder, but it is far tougher and quite a bit lighter. The current Tupperware stock may be the best such factory stock going, but it may not be quite as useful as an emergency boat paddle or as a pry lever as the older stocks were.

GVA

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


SS

Ok I will bite. What is not to like about it? All plastic stocks are ugly imo. The boatpaddle is sturdy, light and rugged. The loop sling keepers preclude easy changing of slings but my grey 1$ East German sling stays on my .260 all the time and the deer and coyotes don't seem to mind. I just don't take
it to the local Mannlicher Schoenauer gentleman's shooting fest. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Recoil is not an issue in the .260 so I can't address that aspect.

Now I also have one in 7.62x39 that has the goncalo alves wood inserts in the pistol grip and forearm indents; surely that will satisfy you purists. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Plateau Hunter

Kind of like tryin' to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, ain't it? Do the deer and coyotes prefer it with the new wood also? Congrats, you've found a way to make the ugliest stock even uglier <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The Boat Paddle has all the advantages of synthetic without getting bogged down in beauty. It's almost military in that respect.


Okie John

IS
I bought a Boyds for my Ruger. It dropped right in and works like a charm. Mine is the thumbhole but the Jr. would do the same I'm sure. As far as the boat paddle, It is just plain ugly!!!!!! works fine but UGLY.

2mg-I am afraid I can't take credit for the beautification of the boat paddle. It came that way(wood inserts) from Ruger in a special run of 7.62x39 for Davidsons in the early 90s.

I will have to admit I don't care for the big flaming Ruger logo in the stock but it isn't going to be pretty anyway. Beauty is more than skin deep seems an appropriate way to describe the bp stock. Or as Forrest Gump et. al. said 'beauty is as beauty does'. Plateau Hunter

Cain't use beauty and the Ruger boat paddle in the same sentence.I've seen some SKS stocks look better.

It's like a bulldog: so ugly that it's cute.

I once had one and to date it's the only synthetic stock I ever had. But I definately have a soft spot in my heart for the old canoe paddle.

And yes, it's pure utilitarian value was part of what attracted it to me. It's afordable, but because of it's "folded in" design it's still plenty stiff. Again, it functions well but is inexpensive. I suspect that some of the current factory synthetics aren't as stiff and don't function as well. I think to get a sythetic stock to function as well as the canoe paddle requires going to the high-end solid synthetics. So again, it achieves the mostest amount of stiffness for the leastest amount of money.

And what's not to like about not needing swivels? It already has a sling attachment, and one that's better than any swivils will ever provide. That's an extra ten buck or so in your pocket.

Hey, even the Ford Edsell eventually became collectable and has a following.

I don't drive a Yugo and I like em". LOL Really, I like the boat paddle stocks and know of a few people that say their boat paddle stocked Rugers are the most accurate they have ever owned. I have a .260 that's gonna make a hell of rugged high country muledeer tool!!! CD

I thought Yugo's were made by Bic Lighters. One tank of gas and you throw'em away. I remember about 15yrs ago a Yugo was blown off the top of the Mackinaw Bridge. I shouldn't have laffed, but I did anyway. Sometimes cheap equipment can be very costly....2MG

That is a possibility too. But my son seems to have a soft spot for the boat paddle. I have a 260 just like mine under the Christmas tree for him this year. Perhaps there is a 243 in his future someday.

Not to mention if you get up $#!* creek without a paddle you are covered.

I have one and recently purchased the new synthetic one from Ruger. The paddle stock is extremely strong and the fore-end very stiff. It is a great platform for the rifle. However, it realistically cannot be shortened. The new stock looks nicer and my rifle shoots equally as well from it. I was able to shorten it and installed a Declerator. If I had been able to shorten it I wouldn't have replaced it. I glad that I did because the new one is more pleasant to the eye.

I really like the boat paddle stock. I currently own a 223, 243 and 338 that all wear that stock. They are light, stiff, and you can take a rag soaked in some Break-Free, and wipe the stock down which covers the scratches and makes the stock look new again.

One thing I liked about mine was the price - $375 NIB at Sportsmans a couple years ago, attached to a .300 Win Mag. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Thought about a Boyd stock for a while but decided against it for now. The thought was to use the laminate most of the year then switch to the canoe paddle right before hunting season. Decided the cost and trouble weren't justified.

One reason I bought the canoe paddle Ruger was functionality - it was light weight, impervious to the weather and rugged as a brick. It still is, and I'm keeping it. Kind of grows on you.

Boy this post took off! I appreciate the response. The reason I asked is that I ran across a MkII .25-06 in the boat paddle the other day that had almost a medium heavy barrel profile. It intrigued me as a possible dog-zapper but the stock kinda put me off a bit and I passed on it. Very interesting to know that it's fairly stiff though. Maybe a real good feature for a 'hell and back' hunting rifle..

That story cracks me up. A few years back my better half wanted a stainless 77-22 Mag with a boat paddle stock. The best local price within 100 miles + was $420.00 + tax.

I'd seen them up in Fargo for ~$360.00-$370.00 and couldn't hardly swallow that price for a .22. I knew that centerfires were going for less than $400.00 almost everywhere.

Anyway, to make a long, sad story short and sad we paid the $420 +. I couldn't even talk her into the wood stock model for about the same price.

Christmas shopping you know.

+1 got one on my 338 it its just a tough stock. I did put a decelerator pad on it. The have them made just for that stock.

I have one on my 264 win mag and it's great. Nothing to look at, but sure is funcitonal. At first I wasn't too keen on the sling mounts, but they grow on you as well.

NH Hunter.

This is an old thread but I stumbled on it while googling for a Ruger boat paddle stock.

Bought a Ruger MKII stainless .30-06 a couple months back and it came with a laminated stock, nice but heavier than I wanted. Last weekend I bought a Ruger MKII stainless long action receiver with a magnum bolt face and instantly found myself needing a stock and barrel.

Ever since purchasing the .30-06 I�ve been looking for a boat paddle stock for it, without success. Tonight I discovered Numrich has them available and I just got through purchasing one, NIB, for $86.

The new boat paddle will go on the stainless .30-06 and the laminated stock from the .30-06 will go on the stainless receiver. Not sure what I�ll chamber the barrel for when I get it but I�m thinking .375 Ruger. Whatever I end up choosing will be a magnum and the heavier laminated stock will help tame the recoil a bit.

I understand why people don�t like the boat paddle stocks but I really like the one on my .300 Win Mag and am glad I found another. The stainless .30-06 with the boat paddle stock will make for a very nice wet weather rifle.

I've got three, .22 mag, 7mm Rem mag, and a newly aquired essentially new .338 win mag which I haven't shot yet.

There's something about them that kinda grows on you, ugly but attractive at the same time at least to me.

My 7mm mag is one of my better fitting rifles and the recoil doesn't bother me in the least. I hope I can say the same about the .338 when I finally get around to firing it?

I only owned one, a stainless 223. I did everything I could to get tat thin to shoot under three inches. Gave up and sold it to someone who thought three inches at a hundred was good. Don't plan of another.

This is how my MKII .300 Win Mag shoots with its boat paddle stock. The 1st shot was from a cleaned and oiled bore.

Well said!

i'd rather run the boat paddle stock than walnut. i bought the first stainless rifle i saw in person, and it was a Ruger All Weather in .308. now have three, that .308, a 77/.22, and a .223 AI. wishing for one on a .350 Rem mag.

i may skeletonize one someday and see how much weight goes away.

They can be de-uglied a bit. I call this one "trailer park" as in prettiest girl in the trailer park...
Still isn't a beauty queen, but it improved some.

I bought an early stainless MK II. All black stock (no green inserts). I planned on changing the stock to a laminated one. The more I used the boat paddle stock, the more I liked it. Not for looks as it's one of the all time ugliest stocks but when it comes to all around use it works well. They're stiff, tough, and you can't make them look worse so go hunt hard and no worries. I mounted swivel studs on mine.

OK you win. I will reconsider for future purchases. Have they improved the trigger. I could bounce the 223 on my trigger finger without it firing. Have no idea what the real pull was, it maxed out my trigger scale and I could not find my fish scale.

My CZ came out the box free floated and the single set trigger needed no work. Just wish we could make guns like that in this country.

I seem to recall a report of a Ruger meeting in which an underling was talking about the reports he had been getting from people who hated the stock and thought it was ugly and dumb looking. Mr. Bill looked at the young fellow and said that he had designed the stock himself. End of discussion.

Laughing, but that sums it up very well.

Their beauty is in their function.

The new Ruger LC6 triggers seem to be pretty good. I was at Sportsman�s Warehouse yesterday and checked out several Ruger and Remington rifles. The Ruger triggers were no worse or better than the Remington and all were much better than the pre-LC6 trigger on the stainless Ruger action I picked up last weekend. Fortunately, the pre-LC6 Ruger triggers are very easy to work on and tune up nicely.

I have a boat paddle in 300 WM, with a timney trigger and a Leupy it is accurate with everything I try, it loves 200 gr NP, but last week I tried some wolf brand ammo and it was still around an inch! For the longest stock replacement was on my list, but it is accurate and fits me so well, it looks prettier and prettier to me! I guess love is blind LOL

Is the skeleton stock any lighter than the factory wood stock?

Not sure what a walnut stock weighs but the Ruger "boat paddle" stock weighs 2.70 pounds boxed for shipping according to the email I got from gunpartscorp.com earlier today.

About the same time that I laughed at "boat paddles", I was laughing at Sav 99's. I should have been filling my gun safes with both. I didn't buy WalMart, either.

I hate them so much I just bought another one. A .270Win with sights. I also have a .223Rem, a 7Mag, two .30-06s, and a .338Win, all with sights. They all shoot MOA out of the box, are impervious to the weather, and are ugly. What's not to like?

Like I always said, "My girlfriend might be ugly, but she's mine. So keep yer danged hands offen her".

The short-action skeletons seem to be more rare than the long-action versions.... Is the length-of-pull the same as the standard M77 stock? (...13.5" I believe)

yes

That looks pretty good to me.

What cartridge?

I have a long action (30/06) Ruger boat paddle stock that has the normal sling swivel studs installed on it.
I will make someone a good deal on it.
PM me if intersted.

I just sold mine in a 338 Win..I thought it handled the recoil real well..I liked the stock and the SS rifle for artic hunting I guess...It certain would fill the bill there, and mine was about as accurate as a rifle could be..I sold it to an Alaskan btw, he had several of them and loved them..It was a real nice rifle.

My problem is I like rust blue and Russian Circasian walnut in English/African persuasion..lean and mean..

my neighbor gave me his Stainless 270 with that ugly SOB on it. He had killed over 150 deer with the rifle and thought the barrel was worn out on it. All it needed was the bullets seated out a little bit further.

Piece of crap shot 1" at 200 yards with H4831SC and 130g Hornady FB.

The groups opened up a little, then I bedded the recoil lug, back to shooting great again.

Barrel channel has not been touched, barrel touches all the way out.

I would have never believed it!

I had two of the centerfire stainless paddle stock M77's. Both shot uncommonly well and were tough as a bore's snoot. I goofed around and swapped them off for something or other. I regret that now, but I did manage to hang onto a boat paddle stocked M77/22 .22LR and it is just like the bigger brothers. Shoots really well and shrugs off rough handling and weather.

PM sent.

Its a .223 currently but the barrel is close to toasted. I am probably going to rebarrel it for the 6mmTCU in the coming year.

And then there were three.

The new Ruger �boat paddle� stock from Numrich arrived and I quickly discovered my stainless MKII .30-06 action and barrel wouldn�t fit � the barrel channel appeared to be sized for something considerably smaller than a .30-06 barrel. Rather than butcher the stock myself, I decided to let my gunsmith open the channel up after hunting season when he will be reaming out the throat to match my other .30-06 chambers. The stock went into the safe.

Here�s a photo of the stock with my three .30-06s. From left to right, Ruger M77 tang safety, Ruger MKII stainless, Remington M700. The new �boat paddle� stock from Numrich is next, followed by the Ruger MKII long action/magnum face I plan to build into a .375 Ruger or a .338-375 Ruger.



After deciding it would be Christmas before the work was completed, two messages arrived from different sources, both offering a boat paddle stock for sale, both in excellent shape and both with studs replacing the factory swivels. The stocks were take-offs from a .270 Win and a .30-06 so the barrel channels were shaped properly, too. Hmm, no gunsmith fees, swivel studs already installed, no waiting and $50 delivered. I decided I couldn�t pass that up and one of them arrived today. After getting home from work the first thing I did was mount the stainless MKII .30-06 in the boat paddle stock and then mounted the stainless long action in the laminate stock from the .30-06. Both were perfect fits.



It seems the best picture of my boat paddle .300 Win Mag is the one below with Daughter #2 and myself, taken during the 2009 elk/deer hunt. Although the action and barrel appear to be stainless in the picture, they are blued. Turned down several shot opportunities at elk that year while waiting for my son-in-law to squeeze one off, but did take two deer with the 180g MRXs I had loaded up. The MRX�s worked great � both deer went straight down with pass-thru shots on a broadside and facing, with minimal meat loss...




Since I now seem to have an extra boat paddle stock, the new one from Numrich, I�ve decided to try a camo paint job. Can�t make it any uglier...


If anyone is interested in a boat paddle I can provide the information for the one I didn�t buy. It looks great in the pictures the seller sent.

Aesthetics? Not in that stock.

I will trade anybody straight up for a boat paddle stock that fits my 280. I have the later version of the MK II synthetic which I do not like. I have killed a bunch of critters with it however.

Have TWO of the same rifle...both wear Boyd's Laminates.. currently $92.00 plus delivery..one gray and one brown..

so I could quit having to swap the stocks off of my Ruger Stainless Laminate 243s all the time..

Reloader28
You have a PM

Came across one in 338 today. Anyone out there like to buy, let me know.

I like them. They are very accurate rifles based on the three that I own in 223,243 and 7mm RM. Anyone that would be interested in selling a ss 77/22 in the boat paddle or 260, please PM me.

I agree - mine are accurate as well.


Ruger MKII .338 Win Mag and Ruger #1 in .280 Rem.


Ruger MKII in .300WM (top) and .30-06 (bottom):


Scope check target from the .338 Win Mag:


And one from the .300 Win Mag (1st shot from a clean/oiled bore):