I recently picked up a Ruger Boat Paddle '06, nice SS rifle in perfect condition.

The Boat Paddle stock can reportedly be pretty hard on one's shoulder with serious loads.. I wanted this gun for heavy '06 loads, already have a light weight '06 HVA that's so accurate with 130's, I never tried heavies.

Anyway, I got a Limbsaver AirTech pad, got the adapter from Limbsaver to make it work. The LOP ended up 14" and those Limbsaver pads can be kinda sticky. So, with winter hunting clothes, I decided that was not going to be ideal. And, I had to stock crawl with that LOP to get a full view in the scope.

I got a Boyd Classic, will sell the Boat Paddle on eBay. Boyd stocks are pretty heavy, like 2 1/2 pounds (a butt heavy 40 oz). I drilled out the butt with an inch bit, using an extension. This took away a good bit of weight, helped with balance. Don't expect to use your battery powered 3/8 drill. You need a serious drill. When the bit starts digging, pull back, as the drill may grab, start turning and whack you. I drilled two holes, one over the other, then hogged out the wood between the holes by moving the drill up and down. Worked pretty well. When done, I sprayed a sealer in the hole.

Then I cut off the cheek piece, thinned the butt stock with a belt sander, slimmed the grip to my liking.

I've tweaked the bottom metal inletting such that the floor plate closes without any play. The OEM floor plate release latch spring was way too hard, the replacement one is perfect. I've made sure the box mag has some play front and back, no binding.

I fitted a Rifle Basix trigger. In the Ruger 77 Mk II, I like it better than a Timney, although I am a Timney fan. The Timney requires a cut to fit the safety, whereas the Rifle Basix has an eccentric screw that does the same thing, just easier to fit. Trigger is now slightly less than 3#'s and very crisp. I had done a trigger job with the factory trigger and it was pretty good, just not this good.

Here are the tools used to hollow out the butt stock. The 40 oz Boyd stock is now 31 oz. The Boat Paddle is around 29 oz, With the Limsaver and adapter, together weighing 2.8 oz, it's even heavier, like almost 33 oz minus the OEM pad, which I didn't weigh. My McM Hunter's Edge stocks generally run around 26-27 oz, some now reporting the newer ones can be a bit heavier.

I'll post pictures as the project progresses. Here are pictures of the hollowed out butt stock, drill and bit.

DF

Sounds good DF. I appreciate the fact that some (very few here) guys work on their own guns. I would have done exactly like you did. Reshaping and removing stuff I don't need. Especially the cheek piece, since I shoot left handed. I know you are also going to glass bed your rifle right, so I don't even have to ask. I'm also assuming you are going to be using your favorite Brownells steel bed. I actually did the same thing as you are describing with a 300wm I've had forever. The laminated wood stock helps to reduce recoil, not just because it is heaver, but also because it has better ergos and recoil pad. I look forward to seeing your work and good luck with your project.

I too am looking forward to future pictures of this project. RJ

Cool stuff DF. Looks like a good project.

Of course glass bed. Goes without saying. Ha!

I’ll probably use Acraglas Gel with brown tint. The ‘06 isn’t as violent as big guns needing Steel Bed. And that stuff is harder to color.

I going to finish it with Brownells Custom Pro Oil, a urethane tung oil mix. It’s harder than Tru Oil, just takes longer to dry. These birch lam stocks don’t have pores as big as most walnut, so Pro Oil should work without in between Tru Oil to fill pores. With those stocks, I start and finish with Pro Oil. This one probably Pro Oil only.

I may color the finish with Fiebings dark brown leather dye. The finish, not the wood. Put on a few coats then the leather dye. I learned that trick from a master stock maker. It darkens it enough to lose some of that plywood look.

DF

Look forward to the project pics. I did similar with a milsurp Mauser but you are doing more. Might give me some inspiration.

Boyd does cut a channel in the forearm to reduce weight. Too bad they don't take an extra step and hollow out the butt stock. Some folks may like butt heavy 40 oz stocks. To me a balanced 31 oz stock is mo betta.

Boyd inletting is generally pretty good. Of course, their stocks need tweaking, but compared to Richards Microfit and some others, no comparison. Richards offers more options regarding wood and stock shapes, but those I've worked with don't hold a candle to Boyd inletting. Them using the word "microfit" is a joke. I don't mind inletting, but when the cut (bottom metal in one case) is bigger than the part, not much you can do.

I buy Boyds, no longer use Richards.

DF

Sounds like a good plan.

It's in the glass, curing as we speak.

DF

Out of the glass. Looking good.

On a place where the factory finish was still intact, I tested the Fiebings leather dye. I don’t know how much I like that look. Leaning toward natural without dye.

DF

Pictures, man, pictures! You are going to inspire me to take a rasp to mine!

Patience, patience...

In good time...

Will keep y'all posted.

DF

I noticed the time frame between two posts, indicating barreled action was in the glass for 4 hrs. Not so.

Went it around 3 PM, took it out around 9 PM. Time lines are wrong, which I've noticed here before.

In that much time it's set up enough to hold it's shape, green enough to not be as big a problem as when it's completely cured, especially if I did something wrong. Not often, but it pays to be careful with this stuff. Fully cured, it's not too forgiving.

DF

After sanding, I applied the first coat of Custom Pro Oil. You slop it on, let it soak, take a small piece of fine sandpaper and lightly wet sand in swirly motions. This cuts any whiskers the finish causes, creates a slurry that is wiped across the grain to fill pores. Birch lam doesn't have pores like some walnut, but that's the way I apply this finish. After 4-5 applications, it'll be done with a soft sheen. Each coat takes a full 24 hrs. to cure, so it's slower to apply than Tru-Oil, but harder and tougher.

This finish is gonna be darker than the sprayed on Boyd finish. It's in the wood, not on the wood. Makes a difference. Notice the forearm cut out Boyd does to lighten the stock. Note how the stock is now thinner, cheek piece is gone, sides of the drilled out stock are thinner, but thick enough.

I shimmed the front of the trigger guard to tweak how the floor plate latches. I cut the shim down a bit so the floor plate now closes easily but with no play or movement.

The stock as shown now weighs 29 oz. The Boyd pad and screws, a little over 2 oz. Not quite in Hunter's Edge territory, but not 40 oz. And it's not butt heavy.

DF

Before and after butt view, up close. Notice the color difference.

Now you see where the weight went. Sorta reminds me of one of those radical weight loss TV shows.

This stock definitely went on a crash diet....

Over a half pound of wood chips and sawdust on the floor...



DF

Send that to Boyds, show them how it's done, have them copy it and I'll take a few!

I doubt Boyd is too concerned about us.

They're into mass production, crankin'em out big time.

This stock lost another 2 oz on the belt sander, and that's after I removed the cheek piece with a Stanley Surform rasp. You see how much thinner the butt stock is after the belt sander.

I do like Pro Oil.

I finished this 6.5-284 Pre-64 with Pro Oil, did the the Fiebings dark brown leather die trick, had Errol Case in MO checker it. This stock is a Jon Sundra Boyd Classic.

But with the Ruger stock, I think I'm going with the natural plywood look. Pro Oil darkened it a good bit, which I like better than Boyd's spray on finish. This one will have that kinda sheen when I'm done.

DF

Great project there D F
Looks & sounds good.
I don’t like butt heavy anything, especially gals. grin

Good Luck & keep us posted.

Jerry

It looks fantastic. I have no use for fat stocks on hunting rifles. The factory Ruger Hawkeye Walnut stocks are one of my favorite as are the original Remington 700 Mountain rifle Walnut stocks.

Looks like you did an excellent job!

g

Thanks for those comments.

I have a Mtn rifle McWoody SA 700 that I like a lot. It’s std, not edge fill, may be slightly heavier than this one. Haven’t weighed it. But I do really like the slim shape of those.

DF

I like it! Looks like I just found my summertime project.
This is how I started,


we'll have to see if I can do as good a job as DF.

You can hog out the wood between holes by angling the bit, letting it grunge out that wood. Sorta crude but removes a lot of wood. The edge of the bit can cut, maybe not so clean, but a less than smooth cut covered by the pad, who cares. The wood is gone. Weight is down.

DF

Looks good. I like the boat paddles, but I bet you can sell it easily.

They running around $250 or so on eBay.

DF

McM McWoody Mtn rifle stock. Std. fill. I love the shape and how it handles. Be nicer if it was an Edge fill, but I got this stock here on the Classifieds, used. McM no longer offers marble finish, Edge fill unless the background color is black. That's because the black graphite shell can sometimes show thru. I have one McWoody Edge fill. There was no black showing thru, but am glad I got it when available.

This rifle is a Creed with Shilen barrel, shoots 123 gr. Scenars over Varget into tiny little groups. Creeds shoot most anything pretty well, IME. It's an easy round to work with.

The project Ruger is an '06 with a perfect looking barrel thru the Hawkeye, glassed and free floated. I expect it to shoot well. Time will tell. I gotta get it finished and it's gotta quit raining. I have loads ready to try, will load a few more combos. The Hawkeye is but a tool; the acid test is at the range.

DF

Dirt farmer,

I have a similar project in the works. I have hollowed out a Boyds stock, slimmed the grip and am in the process of bedding and fitting the bottom metal. I am new to working on stocks and am having issues getting the two piece bottom metal to fit properly.

Why did you need to shim the front of the bottom metal and is there a reason you used a metal shim instead of using bedding compound to slightly raise the bottom metal?

Thanks,

Onerifle

Good questions. I inletted the trigger guard deep, then shimmed to get perfect closure of the floor plate. Too shallow, the floor plate closes with too much gap and play. Too deep, it won’t latch. I got it a tad deep, so shimmed until the closure was perfect. I then glassed that part. The shim limited how thick or thin the glass would be, setting the level I wanted. It would be hard to blindly adjust the glass thickness otherwise.

After sanding the wood, I noticed some slack after closing the floor plate. So, I thinned the shim and glass until a perfect closure was achieved.

It’s a trial and error process, but perfect closure with no binding, slack, gap or play is worth the effort. At least to me.

It now closes easily with a solid feel, no after movement of the floor plate.

And, make sure you can feel some movement, box mag front and rear, when everything is tightened down. You don’t want any binding of the action. I “farmer tighten” the front screw about as tight as I can with a good fitting Brownell tip screwdriver. I do not use my torque wrench with a slotted screw. They say 95 inch pounds, but I think that’s nuts. With the top and bottom parts both glassed, full tight by me is probably 60 inch pounds or so and that should be enough. I then tighten the rear screw around 40 inch pounds, the middle screw barely tight.

Torque wrench at 95 inch pounds, even with a good fitting screwdriver, will probably ruin a slotted screw. And I don’t want to retrofit a hex head or torx screw. That 95 inch pound spec may be good to compensate for irregular surfaces. Glassed top and bottom, surfaces are true and solid without irregularities. And in no way is 95 inch pounds of torque needed, IMO. Dirtfarmer’s “farmer tight” is pretty tight. Tight enough.

DF

Dirtfarmer

Thanks for taking the time to post this. It has been really helpful. Great job!


Onerifle

Great stuff DF! I recently picked up a Ruger 06 tanger from the late 80's and may need to go with a Boyd's and would want to lighten. It came in a older B&C fiberglass stock on which I've done some trimming and a skim coat of Acra-glass on the receiver area. I Duracoated the too shiny and scratched metal and now waiting for curing. Anxious to put it together and see how it shoots. Will torque to 50 and have a barrel shim ready if needed then go Boyd's if necessary. Want to work up some 130 TTSX loads for it but have some 165 NP's left to try first. Anyway, good work and very enjoyable stuff DF.

I knew this would be an excellent project thread. Hope the rain will let off to see the range " load development " accuracy results. Thanks DF

Razorhog

Great looking stocks. When I bought my stainless MKII 243 I intended to replace the stock. After a few years I grew to like how well it worked for me. The boat paddle stocks are butt ugly but really functional.

Looks good DF. A number of years ago I, literally, did exactly what you have done with a JRS on a M700 35 Whelen. The Pro Custom oil is great stuff. The only other thing I did was slim, shorten and lay back the sweep of the grip. I came out pretty nice. I took it bear hunting in Alberta (was living there at the time) using the 250 gr Speer. It worked.

I’d agree with a .243 or such. An ‘06 shooting 200 gr bullets and such, maybe not. And I want this rifle to comfortably handle heavies. So, knowing the reputation of the boat paddle as not being recoil friendly with big kickers, I fitted it with the new Limbsaver AirTech pad. As noted before, it is thicker than the factory pad, extended the LOP to 14”. Those pads tend to be a bit sticky, although the Limbsaver tech assured me their new formula doesn’t “melt” like the old ones tended to.

Setting it up for winter hunting, I decided the LOP and sticky feeling pad wasn’t what I wanted. And, I had to stock crawl the get a full view thru the scope. I have std height SS Ruger rings, didn’t want to go with a different ring set up. So, the next step was a different stock, knowing what I could get for the boat paddle, which is a good bit more than the Boyd costs.

Just Loony thinking. You know how that works.

DF

DF, A LOP that's too long is something I can't stand. Too bad the factory pads are only .5" thick. I wonder if blown out semi tire pieces is what the factory pads are made of? My M70 FW 30-06 has a Winlite stock and the pad is only .5" thick and hard. With 165gr bullets it can be a bit harsh at the bench. I use a PAST recoil shield at the bench.

Whatever they’re made of, it’s hard as a brick. And the Zytel stock doesn’t have much give.

Some eBay cruising ninja type needs this stock more than I do. And they going for big bucks.

IMO, time to move it and regroup.

DF

Hey Dirt; great post.

Thanks for taking us along on this project!

Take care and be well.

I enjoy a good project, enjoy sharing.

After 4 coats of Pro Oil, it's starting to show some sheen. Pores are about filled; will show again after another 2-3 coats.

I apply by hand, getting good coverage. Then I slide a single sheet of blue shop towel over the surfaces to smooth it out.

The stock is supported by a punch clamped in a vice and sits in the rear action hole. I have a dowel attached to my bench, catching the mag well. That keeps the stock from pivoting as I slide the shop towel down the sides of the butt stock and forearm. It's easy to flip the stock. I use the mag well in one hand, the hollowed out butt in the other. It takes a bit of practice, but is very easy to do. The finish will look hand rubbed when done, but it isn't.

And, finally the product that makes it happen.

DF

Df, you gonna cut some checkering? Ruger has a good deal on their factory open sights. The Ruger African sights from the small bore gun would fit.....

Probably won’t checker.

The forearm shape not one to checker. Boyd does have a classic version with round forearm. I’d have gone with that one to checker.

DF

My antique eyes are not iron sight friendly, so no need to go with irons.

Thanks for that heads up.

DF

Are you going to keep the shine or knock it down with rottenstone?

Not sure.

May leave it as is. Will have to see how it looks after last coat.

DF

Not running for neatest shop award, but here is a picture of how I situate the stock to apply finish and wipe with a single sheet of a blue shop towel. I don't rub the finish, I let the towel do the work, holding it with both hands, the suspended single layer gently stroking the stock as I pull it along.

The punch is in the rear action hole, the dowel reaches up in the mag well. This way, I can wipe the side of the stock without it pivoting.

It's easy to flip the stock, as described earlier. Holding it, I sight thru the rear action hole, finding the tip of the punch and align it that way without bumping the punch against the green finish, blindly tyring to "thread the needle".

DF

And the Ruger African would work well with these 1" Alaska Arms QD rings..

Good price on good rings.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...aska-arms-qd-ruger-77-rings#Post16081311

DF

Well, I put it back together. As shown, it weighs 8 #'s, 3 oz. on the postal scale. Stock with pad, 31 oz., down from 40 oz.

Trigger is a tad less than 3 #'s, very clean breaking with no perceived overtravel.

I cut the comb to fit the rings, didn't change out rings to fit the comb. I already had these rings and like them. LOP is 13 1/2", which is about perfect for me. BTW, I did rub it with Brownells stock rubbing compound, which decreased the shine somewhat.

When time permits, I will do some shooting. Life and the weather have been in the way. One of these days.

This weight rifle seems about right for shooting heavier bullets in an '06, which is what I'm loading, using JB's loads and some I've picked up here on the Fire.

If it shoots as good as the barrel looks thru the Hawkeye, it should be OK. I did the DBC treatment.

DF

Looks great DF.

Thanks,

It handles and balances very well.

It will be interesting to see what it likes.

Loads currently include 150 NPT, 150 NAB, 155 Scenar, 165 NBT over BG, 180 NBT, 185 VLDH over Hunter, 200 NPT over H-4831, all with Fed 215 primers.

DF

Very nice DF. Looks very similar to a JRS now. Im sure its going to be a good shooter too, as long as you glass bedded it properly.

Yeah, it’s well glassed, top and bottom, and free floated.

DF

Guess I just about did turn it into a JRS, although the grip shape may be a bit different. Here's a real JRS to compare with. That one had the Fiebings Dark Brown leather dye treatment added to the finish, (not the wood). I left the Ruger lighter, didn't want to darken it. As Fiebings is applied to the finish, I could always do that later, then apply a few more coats of Pro Oil. Think I'll leave it as is.

JRS forearm is round. Boyd offers a Classic with round forearm, called the Platinum. But I went with the finger groove version, which is growing on me. I don't intent to checker it. Comparing the two, I think I like the JRS grip profile better, although the Classic grip is pretty comfortable after I got through reshaping it.

DF

Pretty slick, Slick.

My son has the Boat Paddle stock listed on eBay for $399.

Now, that's way too high, IMO. But I've seen him pull off some unbelievable deals, and demand for those is thru the roof.

It just takes one to pull the trigger. He also has a "best offer" option.

I'll report what he gets. I'm expecting it to be a good bit more than what the Boyd Classic cost.

DF