This Ruger .270 is like most of the others, killed a bunch of stuff without batting an eye. Owner wanted to spice it up so we fitted a Bartlein 2b chambered in .280AI .317 neck .100 throat. I had the pleasure of grinding out the stock to fit said barrel. First paddle I’ve molested and it felt great.

Those were tough stocks. You did a nice job.

It’d be abuse to have to carry one hunting. Lol .kidding

Love those boatpaddle stocks.

Have 3 (.30-06 stls, .300WM and ,338WM stls) and still kicking myself for not purchasing a stainless .270 some years back at the Tanner gun show in Denver. IIRC, the seller wanted the ridiculous price of $225 and I offered $215. Went back first thing the next day and someone else was filling out the paperwork on it.

Snooze and lose.

They ARE heavy sons o' guns !!!

Huh?

About 31ounces as they come from the factory, 33 with a plate and Limbsaver. [url]https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt.../re-ruger-boat-paddle-weight#Post4984291[/url\


Dang near indestructible and lighter than their wood counterparts.

Fixt.

Gotta laugh.

They build a gun that no one wants, it doesn't sell all that well.
They end up at a clearance place at fire sale prices.


Then they are gone.

And someone notices "you know, they only made so many of them".


Suddenly, that ugly, weird, or oddball, is "exotic" and better than sex!

And the object of desire.


People are nucking futts!

My Ruger 77 Mk II in 280 is a battleship grade rifle. It has seen some rough treatment by accident but still keeps going. One day it locked up on me while stroking the bolt. When I looked down on it to determine the issue, it had a ton of fine silt on/in the action from riding on the ATV. Pretty rugged action.

To clarify...…...……………. I meant the rifle in whole. Not just the stock.

Have one in .300 Win Mag. It's no backpack rifle. Shoots very well and has accounted for a vast amount of venison. Ugly as a mud fence.

I never weighed one of the boat paddle stocks, but most factory wood or synthetics I have weighed were 30-32 oz. Exactly the same as the boat paddle stocks. ( according to the above link). I've had a couple of those rifles and couldn't get rid of the stocks fast enough. I ordered one of the newer Hawkeye synthetics for one rifle and simply sold the other rifle rather than deal with the stock.

I never found one to be any tougher or a bit more accurate. They are slick as snot to try to hold, the sling attachments suck, and the tiny butt plate concentrates recoil making them kick a lot harder than they should.

But if you should ever be hunting and find yourself up a creek...…………………..

I would be interested to know the rockwell hardness of the buttpad! Brutal in the 338 I had.

Yeah. They are a fine backup boat paddle if you find yourself up a creek without one.

Put a Limbsaver recoil pad on it and they are no problem at all. I've shot them a lot. No problem what so ever.

Always wanted one of those butt ugly guns.

Must be a YMMV thing....... The difference in actual and/or felt recoil between a .300 Win and a .338 Win in like rifles is negligible. I never found the .300 with the factory pad to be at all hateful. Considering the weight of the gun, it's actually, likely the softest shooting .300 I own or close to it.

Bought my .300WM (blue) ror $395 on closeout at Sportsman's Warehouse in 2003. Figured it would satisfy my curiosity about the .300WM. It did. Heavier barrel than my 7mm RM, heavier overall, no more effective that I can tell. But the stock was relatively lightweight, sturdy and I didn't give a fig if it got dinged up.

In April of 2010 I bought a stainless MKII .30-06 with a brown laminate stock, which I still have. But I also bought a take-off boatpaddle, which it has worn ever since. Later in 2010 I built a custom MKII .338WM using a naked action, a take-off barrel from Caribou Jack (aka Bear Paw Jack) and a boat paddle purchased from gunpartscorp.com for about $75.

Love all of them. All have been on successful elk hunts, multiples for the .300WM and .338WM. Wet weather? Mud? Snow/ice? Dings and dents? Who cares?

Not fun, for sure. Put a Limbsaver on mine, problem solved.

.300WM, .30-06, .338WM

I disagree on that! The 338 with 250 grain bullets loaded to top velocities out of that stainless Ruger I had was brutal! That rifle broke 4 scopes during initial sight in, ended up using an old weaver 4x. It did however with the one exception provide quick kills and was one rugged rifle.

I traded mine off for a Winchester OU in 20 gauge, best gun trade I ever did! I would still have that rifle if it had been in 30-06 or 308. I remember shooting the 338 over the hood of a friends Jeep Cherokee and the muzzle blast cracked his windshield! It was a pretty accurate rifle.

No doubt a 250g loaded high will create a lot of recoil. For my 180g/.300WM and 225g/.338WM loads the difference is abut 28 pounds vs 32 pounds recoil. I reserve "brutal" for my .45-70 "Rhino Blaster" loads, 460g @ 1812fps and over 50ft-lbs recoil. And the "Max Dram Equivalent" 3-1/2" turkey loads.

28 pounds...………………….32 pounds...……….34 pounds...………………. Kinda what I was getting at. Not a significant difference.

Not sure how you managed to break 4 scopes with it sighting it in. Just wasn't your day, maybe. I've not shot any .338 Win that I'd call "brutal". Shot a lightweight .338 Rum that was a fun ride. Still not "brutal". But definitely
snappy.

YMMV

Had a .308 and a 77/22. Prefer the new synthetics pretty much across the board, and also the Hawkeye's all-steel bottom metal.

The butt of that .308 was narrow and hard. The loop swivel on the front of the BPs is a PITA, and I always had a nagging fear it would pop off the stud. Apparently, I'm not the only one, based on all the ones I see pictured that have had their "collectability" forever ruined by replacing the loop with a regular stud.

I do wish I had a few nice ones stashed away so I could sell them at a nice profit to the admirers. "To each his own", said the lady as she kissed the cow.

One of mine had the studs installed by the previous owner. I was first owner for the other two and they have the loops, as pictured above. I prefer the studs.

Anyone ever re-grip theirs with the wooden inserts ??

Never was sure if that was cool or if that was gay...……………..

Gay.

No doubt. Really hard on the eyes big time. Like a Glock!

Price on these things fluctuate like crazy. There is a market for them currently

I have liked them since before they were cool. Have owned lots of them in lots of chamberings. Down to a 77/22, 77/22 Mag, .35 Whelen, and .300 Win Mag.

One moose trip, I literally had to us my boat paddle 338 win mag as a canoe paddle!

And did it work as advertised ??

I'm back to write about it! Lol!

Sold the wooden grips on my .300WM to someone for $50. Ordered the synthetics from Ruger. Found they take a different screws and had to order those as well.

Didn't like the wooden grips because they weren't as impervious to weather as the synthetics. Couldn't help but wonder what I would do 20 years later if one broke. It's been 15 years and still glad I made the swap.

Glad I got synthetics when I put your barrel on my Frankenstein .338WM!

I saw some inserts made from antler, those would probably hold up well and offer some visual appeal.

From my notes on weights of boat paddles.

Mold # (in forearm) "434" SA UL, .223 - 2.01 lbs
"436" SA Sporter , .223 - 1.99 Lbs
"438" LA Sporter, .280 - 1.93 Lbs

Multiply by 16 for ounces.

Me Too. Sorry I didn't think that through better, but you were more prepared to actually use it, and I'm glad you are happy with it.

The only problem I had with the barrel was the front sight was a bit off vertical. I suspect when the first owner had it fluted he also had shortened from 24" to 22" and the 'smith did a less than perfect job remounting the sight. Had my 'smith fix that when he mounted the barrel. It's been a tack driver with 225g bullets. First time at 600 it took me three shots to kill a clay pigeon. Two elk with that rifle, including my longest at 487 yards. You're welcome to shoot it any time you come to Colorado.

I remember seeing gun racks full of those things... nobody wanted them.... you could buy one all day long for $350 and if you could just wait they sold brand new for even less.. I have one in a .22 mag... a short search on gun broker.com and the current value is just nuts... I love that gun.

That's when i got my first - when they were sitting on the shelves gathering dust. 2003 manufacture purchased in December of 2004, .300WM for $375. It has been a great rifle.

I have one in 7 Rem mag and my friend has one in 300 win. The 300 win has quite a bit heavier barrel contour on it than my 7 mm. I much prefer the balance of my 7mm. I need a SA boat paddle stock to put a different stainless 22" 7 wsm I have in. It's currently in the wood laminate it came in.

Bb

Use to have about a dozen of the boat paddle stocks....

just gave them away, one at a time, long before I knew people liked them...

all the rifles that they were taken off of, ended up with Boyd's Laminate Stocks...

Got two left... both still on rifles...

I bought a stainless MKII 243 in '92 or '93. I intended to put a laminate stock on it. Son "High Brass" bought a late MKII stainless 308 with a brown Hawkeye laminate stock and wanted to trade stocks which I did. His best friend Ryan "RYE77" has his rifle now and wanted a laminate stock so we traded stocks. The laminate stock is better looking but those butt ugly boat paddles sure are solid and functional.

I’ve got two boat paddles, but they are put away in boxes. I ordered two Hawkeye synthetics and replaced the ugly assed BP’s on both. No, they are not for sale. If I ever sell the rifles, they will go back on, but that is unlikely. (Maybe my heirs)

My stainless .30-06 came in a nutmeg laminate factory stock. Nice looking.

First thing I did to it was replace the stock with a take-off .270 Win stock, Better.

Truer words have never been spoken. They didn’t sell worth a crap around here.

Sorry fans, but they do nothing for me. They might be practical but I don’t want one.

The whole premise of this thread has me confused? how can you abuse a Ruger boat paddle?

Maybe throw it into the ocean? drive your truck over it? even after that they will prolly still function fine...