Go Back  HuntingNet.com Forums > Firearms Forum > Gunsmithing
Ruger American Predator Rifle & Boyd's Stocks >

Ruger American Predator Rifle & Boyd's Stocks

Gunsmithing Discuss repairs, modifications, designs, or building firearms here.

Ruger American Predator Rifle & Boyd's Stocks

Old 03-05-2017, 08:58 AM
  #1  
Spike
Thread Starter
 
roninwsnc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Posts: 13
Default Ruger American Predator Rifle & Boyd's Stocks

Hi Folks,

Recently, I have been researching Boyd's Hardwood Rifle Stocks. I found several very good YouTube videos about Boyd's stocks for the Ruger American Rifle models. The laminated stocks look very cool. Most owners really liked their new stocks. Only one guy was not happy with the delivery time (as I recall, it took about 5 or 6 months for his stock to arrive).

I finally decided to buy a Boyd's walnut stock for my .243 caliber Ruger American Predator Rifle last month. It arrived about two weeks later. The instruction sheet said to "dry assemble" the stock to see if everything fits and to call Boyd's customer service department if there is a problem. I tried to "dry assemble" the stock and receiver/barrel without forcing anything. Unfortunately, I have a "fitting" problem. I called Boyd's customer service department. They wanted me to send some pictures. I did. They wanted more pictures so I sent more (some side by side comparisons of the original stock versus the walnut stock). Later they wrote the following:

It looks like you could have a different variation from what was ordered. I have included some measurements below for what you ordered. Please compare them to your original to determine if what you ordered is what you are needing.
Barrel Dimensions: Point A = 1 1/64" and Point B = 3/4"
Center to Center of Action Screws: 4 3/64"
Over All Length of Part: 31 1/2"

I had no idea where "Point A" or "Point B" are on the rifle barrel. I assumed Point B was close to the muzzle (my rifle's barrel is close to 3/4 inch in diameter at the muzzle), my rifle's center to center of actions screws is 4.044 inches which is about a difference of 0.002 to 0.003 inches. I suspect there is that much slop in the V-Blocks. My original plastic stock is about 2 inches shorter than the walnut stock (the extra length of the walnut stocks forearm is not a problem to me). I get the feeling I am getting the old run around.

The real problem is that the inlet cut out for the trigger housing needs a little more wood removed. I only have a few hand tools and sand paper. Nevertheless, I think I could do the job with a triangle or rat tail file but that would void the 90 day warranty.

I have uploaded a few of these photos to Google. They mostly show my new Boyd's walnut stock and the trigger housing problem. The link to these pictures follows:

https://goo.gl/photos/dMqUhfdorwdLHaa88

I would appreciate your suggestions and comments.

Thank You,
Ron

Last edited by roninwsnc; 03-05-2017 at 09:03 AM. Reason: messed up URL
roninwsnc is offline  
Old 03-05-2017, 09:40 AM
  #2  
Nontypical Buck
 
Nomercy448's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 3,898
Default

So where is it making contact, exactly?

Looking at the tang, it looks like it's going to nest well into the stock. Don't worry about that large rounded-rectangular inlet in the fire control group area, as it really doesn't need to be that large. The narrow strip looks like it should match up nicely to the trigger group dimension, and provide improved contact and support for the receiver, better than the original stock, which relies upon the V-blocks to support the action, not the stock.

Personally, a 90day warranty on a rifle stock means nothing to me. 90days on a lifetime doesn't mean much - only really means the thing will fit (given some expected fitting by the buyer) and won't crack on the first shot. It looks like it really wants to fit, so the inlet is correct, it just needs some final fitting. I'd get some bedding black, find the contact points, and finish the inletting myself. Easy peasy.

Gonna be a good looking stock on there once you're done.
Nomercy448 is offline  
Old 03-06-2017, 06:19 AM
  #3  
Nontypical Buck
 
stalkingbear's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: central Ky
Posts: 2,867
Default

If it was ME, I'd inlet to full clearance with combo X-Acto obby nife, Dremel with a small, fine wood burr, and inletting chisel. You could get by with good strong SHARP knife and/or dremel, and/or regular wood chisel. It don't look like there's much requiring removal so it shouldn't take you about 1/3,000th the time to do it as compared to sending it back & shipping cost.
stalkingbear is offline  
Old 03-08-2017, 07:59 AM
  #4  
Spike
Thread Starter
 
roninwsnc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Posts: 13
Default

Hi Folks,

Thank you for all the suggestions and comments. I appreciate it.

This is a follow up to my problem of fitting my Ruger American Predator Rifle to a Boyd’s stock.

It is hard to put a square peg into a smaller round hole. So, I decided to break out my triangle and rat tail files and to carefully remove small amounts of wood from the half circular hole in the trigger inlet area and to eventually turn it into a rectangular hole. I wanted to keep as much wood as possible. So, I tested the fit of the trigger housing after each incremental wood reduction. I was pretty sure that the amount of wood to be removed would be much less than suggested by the comparable area of the original stock. I thought I would probably need to remove some wood from the left side of the trigger inlet area so the safety tang’s connection rod and mechanism would move freely, and maybe even a tiny bit of wood at the front to allow for the trigger tension screw.

I have uploaded a few photos to Google. The link to these pictures follows:

https://goo.gl/photos/smjj2Exv7ZwiyZMb7

Thank you,
Ron
roninwsnc is offline  
Old 05-13-2017, 04:24 AM
  #5  
Spike
Thread Starter
 
roninwsnc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Posts: 13
Default

Hi Folks,

I finally got around to epoxying the V-Blocks into the factory supplied inlets for them. I was worried about getting them into the proper positions without the epoxy running into the various holes and parts of the rifle. I got a lot of good information about doing this job from YouTube tutorials. Thank you YouTube.

The Boyd's stock was supposed to be walnut. The original stock had almost no visible grain or figuring. The most obvious were just barely noticeable near the end of the forearm and at the bottom of the pistol grip. The factory finish probably was hiding most of the features and flaws of the walnut stump or branch wood. So, I decided to remove the factory finish to see what was really there.

Again I went to YouTube and reviewed how other folks have re-finished their wooden stocks. I used a water base paint stripper called “Lift Off” to soften up the factory’s final coat. I sanded the stock with 320 grit paper down to the surface of the wood. I used several applications of “Krud Kutter” to remove the soaked in stain. I flushed the "Krud Kutter" with lots of hot water. I let the stock had dried a few days. I applied three coats of “Tru-Oil” over a few more days. The "Tru-Oil" was very glossy. I tried to give the stock a satin finish by lightly rubbing it with very fine steel wool.

Now… the underlying walnut grain and figuring are much more visible. Below is the link to a few photographs of the re-finished stock. Most of the close-up shots are slightly over exposed. This made the stock’s basic color a little lighter than it would normally appear. The photo of the complete stock is more typical of its basic color.

LINK to photographs: https://goo.gl/photos/gY6oQ2jUQHyjWd6x9

Thanks for all the suggestions,
Ron

Last edited by roninwsnc; 05-13-2017 at 01:26 PM. Reason: Spelling
roninwsnc is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.