Similar & Familiar

[ldmay375]

From Left to Right:
All Ruger Rifles, all with aftermarket stocks.
1. 30-06 Guide Rifle minus the muzzle brake and its threads. About 19.5” barrel.
2. 7mm Remington magnum. 24” barrel
3. 338 Winchester magnum. 24” barrel
4. 375 Ruger. 23.5” aftermarket barrel
5. 375 Ruger. 20” barrel
6. 416 Ruger. 20” barrel

 

[ldmay375]

I started buying Rugers, frankly because they were cheaper than Winchester M70’s, and that was stretching the budget at that times. This was prior to the proliferation of stainless rifles on the market. I was a one or two rifle owner.

Now, I have several M70’s and others. Most all of my rifles were bought used.
I definitely use the Rugers more. The Mark II’s / Hawkeye’s are very familiar to me. And I guess, I have been lucky the Rugers shoot well for me. I usually replace the triggers, but not always. The stocks are replaced also.

Edit to add:
If I would have had room in picture, I would have added a Ruger bolt action 223 Remington.
With the addition of the 223 to these 6. I feel that I could cover anything that I would/could hunt satisfactorily.

 

[Sarg]

Nice armory of Rugers bud, you could thin out a couple & still be good, I think a Ruger Alaskan in .458Win would be great, I even bought a take off 45/70 Ruger No1 barrel (better weight than the super heavy .458Win barrel) & fitted it to my .416 Ruger some time back as I thought it would be ideal as back up rifle & the .416 wasn't very good in the feeding department, it was much better as .458Win but I didn't like the stock in the end & wanted a laminated stock, then went off on Mauser & Brno angle, now have ZKK 602 .458Win barrel on my ZKK 600.

Still waiting to find cheap Ruger MKII/Hawkeye in 7mm-300 Mag to slip the .458 barrel back onto, 45/70 has less twist but as I have shot tons of Buffalo & other Bovines with 45/70 & 500gr slugs at less velocity I figure the .458 at that twist will work !

 

[ldmay375]

Nice armory of Rugers bud, you could thin out a couple & still be good, I think a Ruger Alaskan in .458Win would be great, I even bought a take off 45/70 Ruger No1 barrel (better weight than the super heavy .458Win barrel) & fitted it to my .416 Ruger some time back as I thought it would be ideal as back up rifle & the .416 wasn't very good in the feeding department, it was much better as .458Win but I didn't like the stock in the end & wanted a laminated stock, then went off on Mauser & Brno angle, now have ZKK 602 .458Win barrel on my ZKK 600.

Still waiting to find cheap Ruger MKII/Hawkeye in 7mm-300 Mag to slip the .458 barrel back onto, 45/70 has less twist but as I have shot tons of Buffalo & other Bovines with 45/70 & 500gr slugs at less velocity I figure the .458 at that twist will work !

I agree as to the Alaskan in 458 Winchester. That has been a nagging notion for me.
I have 458 Winchester in an Interarms Mark X. I always thought that a stainless would be ticket on the Ruger action. The thought of a re-barrel on a M70 classic stainless is also in the mix.

I did do a bit of smoothing / polishing on this particular 416 Ruger. It feeds very smoothly now. It is a favorite rifle and shoots the 350 grain TSX bullets very well.
My logical side says the 416’s are the best match for my hunting. But, the 458 Winchester is hard for me not to like.

 

[Sarg]

Yes Old Ruger should have put out a Guide Gun in .458Win, it would be carry gun for Lots of PH in wet Africa & Outback/Coastal Aussie !

Tell me can you fill your magazine, have round in chamber really whack/pull your bolt back hard to eject as in charge situation & feed in next round ?

As mine the cartridges would jump up out of magazine, very bad in that situation !

Most people don't test all these things & think their rifles are good to go till we whack some thing nasty & then get mad when we have to shoot it .

 

[ldmay375]

I think the issue was / their thinking, if they offered in the 458 Winchester it would diminish their 416. Just guessing.

Mine feeds reliably in any fashion, speed, or force. I am more than one of the 416 and 375 Ruger versions, and my son has one of each.
What I did notice, some of these when in the factory Hogue stock, the magazine well was cramped. Too tight of fit on the sides. The feeding of some changed immediately for the good by switching stocks.
I am not a gunsmith, but have read the “popping up out of control” / “jumping out” of the next round can be caused by too tight of a fit of the cartridges on the side, forcing them into too much of a vertical pattern, not allowing the rails to have proper contact. This seems to be a not uncommon issue with the fatter rounds.
On one WSM that I have, my gunsmith cut slots in the magazine well, near the cartridge shoulder area to allow a little more spread of the rounds. This cured its issue. I think this is fairly common when converting to the R.U.M type cartridges from a more tapered cartridge.

 

[PaulT]

Great collection of functional, effective firearms in a fantastic array of effective calibers.

Not much that can't be done with that lot.

 

[ldmay375]

PaulT,
Thanks. I believe these with the Ruger 223 not shown, are actually my most useful / sensible.

I cannot say what my favorite rifle is between the 338 Winchester and the shorter barrel 375 & 416 Rugers. But as to use, the 20” 375 Ruger has bumped the 338 for many years. And the 416 has bumped the 375 the past couple of years.

 

[PaulT]

Idmay,
your caliber stable is very similar to mine with only some minor variations, and yes, i have a .223.

Most of mine are on the Win 70 platform.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

My biggest regret was not buying a Ruger No3 in 22 Hornet for 500 bucks a few years ago.
We are supposed to get wiser as w e get older but boy did my brain take a holiday that day.
Bob.

 

[ldmay375]

PaulT,
I have M70 Classic stainless rifles in the same calibers but different cartridges, with exception of the 223. Only because I have never actually seen one in 223, that I recall.
I lusted for M70’s in my younger years. But, in those days there was just enough price difference that Ruger was my choice.
Amusing to me now, I always thought that I was setting for 2nd best in my blue collar world by going with the Ruger. Of course, in those times I was probably a 4 or 5 gun firearm owner, including a shotgun and a 22 L.R.
Anyways as life went along, the desire for the M70’s were satisfied. 416 Remington, 375 H&H, 338 Winchester, all the WSMs, etc.
I still have a very hard time passing any M70 classic stainless steel rifle for sale.
I do Really like the M70’s. But did discover / realize that my Rugers functioned and usually shot just as well with a bit extra work at times. I am a big fan of the older M70 trigger and the cone breech. My M70’s definitely fed slicker than any of my Rugers from the start.

My real appreciation for the Rugers began with the introduction of the 20” 375 Ruger in stainless. For an off the shelf rifle it was a diamond in the rough to me. The near identical rifle as my 338, basically the same ballistics as the 375 H&H. I was hooked.
I had and still have a couple of 20-22” barrel 375 H&H’s. But the same action / bolt throw as my 338 Winchester sold me on the Ruger. Then eventually the 416 Ruger followed.

Having a firearms saturated mind, I still think about re-barrel’s of M70 classic’s to 375 & 416 Rugers. These would be near perfection to me.
My current favorite M70 is a Classic stainless re-barrel to 416 Remington. This, to me is a great match up. This rifle feeds rounds excellently. The .416 or .458 hole makes a bit better use of that large outer barrel diameter.

 

[ldmay375]

Bob,
I had to restrain myself a couple of weeks ago, I passed on a Ruger bolt action in 22 Hornet. I should have bought the damn thing.

 

[bruce moulds]

idmay,
you would have had a versatile hornet.
not only would it have been a repeater, but you could have loaded it with 1 round as a single shot as well.
can't do that with a no1.
bruce.

 

[ldmay375]

Bruce, agree on that.
I just could not think up a reason to buy another cartridge to deal with.
But, I have been practicing my twisted thinking. I almost have myself convinced that I need a Hornet. It is a cool older round for sure. As is the 220 Swift, which I don’t have either. I am pretty well stuck in the 223 world for centerfire 22’s.