Ruger Skeleton Makeover

wooduckman

Lil-Rokslider
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Jun 28, 2016
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139
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Colorado
My first rifle was a blued Ruger M77 MKII chambered in .270 Win with an old Burris 3x9 scope. My wife now uses it to hunt, but it doesn’t quite fit her. I just swapped out the boat paddle stock and put a Boyd’s laminate stock. Also replaced the old Burris with a Leupold VXIII 3.5x10 I had sitting in the safe. Excited to get my wife out to shoot it and see how it does. Will post results once were able to throw a few down range!

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Ben RT

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Apr 26, 2017
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243
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Idaho
Nice. I have a soft spot for those old Rugers -- especially with the boat paddle stock. That stock would fetch a premium on the used market due to the cult following. Let me know if you want to get rid of it

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
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oneshotGA

FNG
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Jan 24, 2021
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NEGA
Looks like a nice makeover. +1 on the boat paddle stock value. I've restocked a couple Rugers and kept the boat paddle stocks for that reason.
 

thinhorn_AK

"DADDY"
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Jul 2, 2016
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Alaska
Nice. I have a soft spot for those old Rugers -- especially with the boat paddle stock. That stock would fetch a premium on the used market due to the cult following. Let me know if you want to get rid of it

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Beat me to it.
 
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wooduckman

wooduckman

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Jun 28, 2016
Messages
139
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Colorado
Appreciate the comments. Being totally honest, I’ve always hated that skeleton stock and had no clue it had any value until about a month ago when I started looking to replace it. It has sentimental value to me since it’s off my first rifle my dad bought me in high school. I plan on holding onto it for the time being!
 
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wooduckman

wooduckman

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Colorado
Finally got to take her out to the range for the first time yesterday. I was just shooting cheap factory Winchester XP 130 gr rounds to get it sighted in. The wind kicked my ass a little bit, as it was pushing 25mph, but my last 3 shots were under 1.5”. Given the cheap ammo and windy conditions, I’m pretty happy with the results. I’m working on loading up some 140gr Barnes TSX and am hopefully it’ll shoot sub-MOA.
 

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wooduckman

wooduckman

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Got the handloads worked up in .5 gr increments and am really happy with the results. The rifle liked 52gr of IMR 4350 with the 140gr Barnes TSX. I actually look forward to shooting this rifle now and can’t wait to get it out again. The recoil with the new stock is noticeably less as well.
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Ben RT

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Nice! That's not too shabby (and quite a bit better than 2-months prior). Did you run IMR 4350 (not sure about 5380)? Glad to see it's a good performer, and that you're happy with it.

Yes sir, those boat paddle stocks can be somewhat brutal on the shoulder. I have one in 7mm Rem Mag that does transfer the recoil a fair bit. I still love it though.

Thanks for the updates.
 
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wooduckman

wooduckman

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Joined
Jun 28, 2016
Messages
139
Location
Colorado
Nice! That's not too shabby (and quite a bit better than 2-months prior). Did you run IMR 4350 (not sure about 5380)? Glad to see it's a good performer, and that you're happy with it.

Yes sir, those boat paddle stocks can be somewhat brutal on the shoulder. I have one in 7mm Rem Mag that does transfer the recoil a fair bit. I still love it though.

Thanks for the updates.
Haha yes, 4350. I always screw those numbers up! And yes, even the .270 kicked pretty good, but is fun to shoot now!
 

vonb

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Jan 2, 2020
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218
Had one in 30-06. Was glad to send it down the road. It also was never a good shooter.
 
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