RicinYakima
High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Yep, ran Chrysler and Hudson 6's in the I/gas classes in the early '60's. Any 6 banger running on gasoline was the class and you could do anything else you could think of doing. Lots of fun and cheap.
Ruger made Marlins
- Thread starter waco
- Start date
CWLONGSHOT
Well-Known Member
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
We had a 48 Buick with a straight 8 and 3 on the tree in our local fire dept back when I was part of that. Not a real speed demon, and not a car you wanted to go fast in anyway as steering and brakes were more a suggestion than fact, but torque!!! Put it in 3rd and let the clutch out slowly and you'd take right off with the engine ticking over so slow you could hear individual cylinders firing!
L Ross
Well-Known Member
Plastic stocks, hmmmm, love hate. In 1990 I had my dream rifle built by a local gunsmith in Green Bay. Just a classic old German curmudgeon who was a machinist for the rail road and a tight fisted but nice old man, if, he liked you. I tried my best to stay on his good side.
What I wanted was a beautiful sporting rifle along the lines of Oscartheflyer's new to him 6.5x55. I wanted Al Biesen and Adolph Miner and the whole panoply of Jack O'Connor's custom gun builder/stockers. But I knew in my heart of hearts that such things of beauty were A. Beyond my means at the time, and B. Too beautiful to subject to the rigors of the field. One dent in the 22 line per inch checkering would have thrust me into a funk deep and dark enough to require counseling. Then there was the metal finish. Oh and light weight, I wanted light weight because I knew I would not be riding horses across the Yukon potting Moose, and Grizzlies, and Sheep. I'd be riding shank's mare in Wyoming and Colorado if lucky on self guided drop camps at best.
The caliber was never in question, it would be a 7x57 by God and would shoot Nosler 160 grain semi spitzers and that was that! In the end I bought a Rimrock graphite composite stock, a Douglas XX premium feather weight barrel to install on the 1939 Oberndorf Mauser action previously sporterized by some unknown but talented individual, judging from the nicely done bolt handle, drilling and tapping for both scope and Lyman receiver sight that were square to the world, and the Jaeger low swing safety and trigger. That whole package came in a decent, conservative walnut stock, with the original 8x57 barrel turned down to remove the steps, and set me back a whole $90 at a gun show in Oshkosh B'Gosh, Wisconsin. Had I had half a functioning brain I'd have left it alone, but "everyone knows" an 8x57 is no damned good. I had already played with one and never found a bullet I liked. The 8 needed a stream lined beauty like Sierra made in 175 grains and they shot like target bullets and expanded at 8x57 velocities like FMJ's. Sierra's excuse was they needed to be strengthened with "the advent" of the 8m/m Remington Magnum. Those were Sierra's words. Having bullets pencil through two deer turned me of the 8 for years.
Anyway, plastic stocks. I had the electroless nickeled barrel action tucked neatly into that Rimrock "plastic" stock. Beautiful clean lines, they hired someone with brains to lay out that lovely/ugly stock. Fits me like a good shotgun, allowed to take a quartering snap shot as a bedded dry cow burst out of her snowy boudoir at 35 yards following a two hour stalk. The 160's had not worked out at that time and I was using Nosler 175 semi-spitzers that were wonderfully accurate and penetrated like an auger.
So my beautiful brain child turned out to be a ruthlessly efficient, but svelte, 6 lb. 10 oz. black and silver killing machine with a piece of black electrical tape typically guarding her muzzle from rain and snow. My other two "plastic" stocked rifles are a Kidd 10-22 in a Victor Titan stock and my Bergara B-14 .22 Model 700 clone bolt gun that wild horses couldn't drag outa my sweaty palms.
Then there is the how to ruin an otherwise beautiful wood stock as demonstrated by CZ with their MTR Varmint .22. I saw one in a gun store when I was contemplating the whole ELR .22 game. The highly figured wood stock was intriguing and the somewhat vertical pistol grip with integral palm swell was comfortable and appealing. The ugly short bull barrel that is de rigueur these days is somewhat off putting but can be visually and off hand balance wise compensated for with a thread on barrel extension. What could not be ameliorated was the dreadful laser engraving they put on the wood on the side of the stock opposite the bolt. All of the images in CZ's advertisements show the rifle from the bolt side. It was only when I held the rifle that I noticed the atrocity. In my mind I relate this disfigurement to tattooing "PROM QUEEN" on the forehead of the cute little teen next door when she acceded the throne.
What I wanted was a beautiful sporting rifle along the lines of Oscartheflyer's new to him 6.5x55. I wanted Al Biesen and Adolph Miner and the whole panoply of Jack O'Connor's custom gun builder/stockers. But I knew in my heart of hearts that such things of beauty were A. Beyond my means at the time, and B. Too beautiful to subject to the rigors of the field. One dent in the 22 line per inch checkering would have thrust me into a funk deep and dark enough to require counseling. Then there was the metal finish. Oh and light weight, I wanted light weight because I knew I would not be riding horses across the Yukon potting Moose, and Grizzlies, and Sheep. I'd be riding shank's mare in Wyoming and Colorado if lucky on self guided drop camps at best.
The caliber was never in question, it would be a 7x57 by God and would shoot Nosler 160 grain semi spitzers and that was that! In the end I bought a Rimrock graphite composite stock, a Douglas XX premium feather weight barrel to install on the 1939 Oberndorf Mauser action previously sporterized by some unknown but talented individual, judging from the nicely done bolt handle, drilling and tapping for both scope and Lyman receiver sight that were square to the world, and the Jaeger low swing safety and trigger. That whole package came in a decent, conservative walnut stock, with the original 8x57 barrel turned down to remove the steps, and set me back a whole $90 at a gun show in Oshkosh B'Gosh, Wisconsin. Had I had half a functioning brain I'd have left it alone, but "everyone knows" an 8x57 is no damned good. I had already played with one and never found a bullet I liked. The 8 needed a stream lined beauty like Sierra made in 175 grains and they shot like target bullets and expanded at 8x57 velocities like FMJ's. Sierra's excuse was they needed to be strengthened with "the advent" of the 8m/m Remington Magnum. Those were Sierra's words. Having bullets pencil through two deer turned me of the 8 for years.
Anyway, plastic stocks. I had the electroless nickeled barrel action tucked neatly into that Rimrock "plastic" stock. Beautiful clean lines, they hired someone with brains to lay out that lovely/ugly stock. Fits me like a good shotgun, allowed to take a quartering snap shot as a bedded dry cow burst out of her snowy boudoir at 35 yards following a two hour stalk. The 160's had not worked out at that time and I was using Nosler 175 semi-spitzers that were wonderfully accurate and penetrated like an auger.
So my beautiful brain child turned out to be a ruthlessly efficient, but svelte, 6 lb. 10 oz. black and silver killing machine with a piece of black electrical tape typically guarding her muzzle from rain and snow. My other two "plastic" stocked rifles are a Kidd 10-22 in a Victor Titan stock and my Bergara B-14 .22 Model 700 clone bolt gun that wild horses couldn't drag outa my sweaty palms.
Then there is the how to ruin an otherwise beautiful wood stock as demonstrated by CZ with their MTR Varmint .22. I saw one in a gun store when I was contemplating the whole ELR .22 game. The highly figured wood stock was intriguing and the somewhat vertical pistol grip with integral palm swell was comfortable and appealing. The ugly short bull barrel that is de rigueur these days is somewhat off putting but can be visually and off hand balance wise compensated for with a thread on barrel extension. What could not be ameliorated was the dreadful laser engraving they put on the wood on the side of the stock opposite the bolt. All of the images in CZ's advertisements show the rifle from the bolt side. It was only when I held the rifle that I noticed the atrocity. In my mind I relate this disfigurement to tattooing "PROM QUEEN" on the forehead of the cute little teen next door when she acceded the throne.
Winelover
North Central Arkansas
Synthetic stocks have their place. Especially, hunting in Alaska with all the damp weather they get. 
Kind of surprised Glaciers doesn't like them. I had HS Precision make a synthetic stock for my LH Stainless Model 70 Classic chambered in 338W Magnum. Also had one of the mercury recoil suppressors installed in the buttstock. I'm not recoil shy but that gun is brutal with jacketed loads. 
Have a couple of laminated stocks. One came standard on a Ruger 10-22 Mannlicher.
Sure nicer looking than the standard birch stock.
Purchased a Boyd's laminated stock for Cindy's RH SS Classic Model 70 featherweight chambered in 308W for hunting in Michigan's foul weather. I have both of the Winchester's walnut stocks stored away. Too nice to take out in the field. Stainless steel hunting rifles should be stocked in stable materials, IMO, to take maximum advantage of weather proofing your hunting rifle.
Kind of surprised Glaciers doesn't like them. I had HS Precision make a synthetic stock for my LH Stainless Model 70 Classic chambered in 338W Magnum. Also had one of the mercury recoil suppressors installed in the buttstock. I'm not recoil shy but that gun is brutal with jacketed loads. Have a couple of laminated stocks. One came standard on a Ruger 10-22 Mannlicher.
Sure nicer looking than the standard birch stock.
Purchased a Boyd's laminated stock for Cindy's RH SS Classic Model 70 featherweight chambered in 308W for hunting in Michigan's foul weather. I have both of the Winchester's walnut stocks stored away. Too nice to take out in the field. Stainless steel hunting rifles should be stocked in stable materials, IMO, to take maximum advantage of weather proofing your hunting rifle.
Glaciers
Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
Yeah John I do agree with you, it doesn’t mean I like them. I haven’t had a problem with wood stocked rifles I used to hunt with, but have with one or two others. Those ended up being trade stock.
I do own a few stainless pieces, long and short, but, they just don’t look right. Although Winchester offered the Featherweight in stainless with a maple stock, now that was eye catching.
I do own a few stainless pieces, long and short, but, they just don’t look right. Although Winchester offered the Featherweight in stainless with a maple stock, now that was eye catching.
Winelover
North Central Arkansas
IAN, did the 90's Classic line come in blue steel and LH? My 270W is a LH Ruger Mark II.
Recoil isn't any worse than Cindy's Featherweight 308W. Guy I use to lease hunting property from, back in Michigan, had a RH blue steel featherweight chambered in 30-06................ I shot it and it wasn't bad either. Of course, recoil is pretty subjective.
Recoil isn't any worse than Cindy's Featherweight 308W. Guy I use to lease hunting property from, back in Michigan, had a RH blue steel featherweight chambered in 30-06................ I shot it and it wasn't bad either. Of course, recoil is pretty subjective.
Being especially physiologically (bad discs) averse to recoil, found the WRA Featherweight stock to be comfortable with the '06 shooting 180s, but the sleek(er), conservative little Ruger Ultra-Light pounded the crap out of me in the 308 using 50s. The Ruger was only a 1/4# lighter.
I have one of each, in holding for another shooter, the Ruger is a like-new, Tang-Safety 308 and the Featherweight is a 6.5x284,.... which was originally a 6.5x55. Not my rifle to make the decision on, but it's a shame it was rechambered.
When I think "plastic" when it comes to stocks, I don't include the more complex synthetic stocks, to which I confer great respect - for the most part. Long ago, I wanted a Lee Six fiberglass stock for my (then) grail gun - a 98 Mauser in 7x57, much as described by @L Ross , above. That was not to be and I eventually ended up building a 6.5x55 on a '09 Argentine and used "plywood," a Boyd's stock, from which I removed a LOT of girth and mass from both ends and all in between.
When I think of "plastic," I think of "Rynite," like on my Contender Carbines, which I prefer for light weight and my preferred weight distribution on a pretty petite action.
OR, whatever that composition is that Ruger puts on their rifles, specifically the 77/357. THAT stock was worse than all bad stocks I've owned put together.
I have one of each, in holding for another shooter, the Ruger is a like-new, Tang-Safety 308 and the Featherweight is a 6.5x284,.... which was originally a 6.5x55. Not my rifle to make the decision on, but it's a shame it was rechambered.
When I think "plastic" when it comes to stocks, I don't include the more complex synthetic stocks, to which I confer great respect - for the most part. Long ago, I wanted a Lee Six fiberglass stock for my (then) grail gun - a 98 Mauser in 7x57, much as described by @L Ross , above. That was not to be and I eventually ended up building a 6.5x55 on a '09 Argentine and used "plywood," a Boyd's stock, from which I removed a LOT of girth and mass from both ends and all in between.
When I think of "plastic," I think of "Rynite," like on my Contender Carbines, which I prefer for light weight and my preferred weight distribution on a pretty petite action.
OR, whatever that composition is that Ruger puts on their rifles, specifically the 77/357. THAT stock was worse than all bad stocks I've owned put together.
Attachments
Glaciers
Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
Jeff H, I have found the same, the Rugers light weights are rude.
I have 3 of the early WRA Featherweight rifles, one 223, 30-06 and a rebored 270 to 35 Whelen. They fit me perfectly so recoil is comfortable, even with full house 250’s in the Whelen. Full disclosure I have a decelerator on the Whelen. More for length then recoil. But it does both nicely.
I have 3 of the early WRA Featherweight rifles, one 223, 30-06 and a rebored 270 to 35 Whelen. They fit me perfectly so recoil is comfortable, even with full house 250’s in the Whelen. Full disclosure I have a decelerator on the Whelen. More for length then recoil. But it does both nicely.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
My sole "plastic stocked" rifle is a Ruger Ultra lite in 250 Savage. I think the stock is a Bell and Carson. It will shoot 1/2"-3/4" 5 shot groups all day long at 100 yds if the dope behind the trigger is up to it...and you let the barrel cool some between shots. Of course even a hot loaded 250 with 100gr Partitions isn't going to knock anyone silly. It wears a Leupold 2-7 IIRC, might be a 1.5-5, been a while since I looked. It's a nice little rifle that I bought from a friend of Chris's and mine, a NYS DEC Officer who went through guns like most people go through Kleenex. It was a good idea to be on the receiving end of his spells of boredom and dissatisfaction when he went gun hunting. Got my Smith 19 and Kit Gun from him too! Anyway, that stock is about as nice as I can handle in a 'glass type stock. Matt put a laminated Richards on his Savage '06 and besides being butt ugly it's incredibly heavy and uncomfortable IMO. Gords SARCO plastic stock for his SMLE 303 is clunky and kinda cheap, but it's light and actually pretty comfortable.
To each their own, right?! If you like plywood, good for you! Same for 'glass/carbon fiber/whatever! I steer towards wood, but I'm just one guy. Variety, spice, life, etc.
To each their own, right?! If you like plywood, good for you! Same for 'glass/carbon fiber/whatever! I steer towards wood, but I'm just one guy. Variety, spice, life, etc.
Ian
Notorious member
In 2006 I bought a LH classic walnut/blue .30-'06, was told it was the last one like it made before Winchester went teats-up. It was a piece of crap and the only rifle I have ever gotten rid of. The "hot glue" bedding was so bad they even missed the spots it was supposed to be. I skim-bedded it with Acraglas gel and it was better. The bore was .301x.310", I suspect was a blank intended for chrome lining. Killed a lot of deer using the Lee 312-180 bullet, solid 1.5 MOA shooter in any weather, but I always hated it. I should have kept it and rebarreled it but I traded for a Savage that I could change the barrel on, but I didn't have a machine shop then. It didn't kick much at all (as in no PAIN).
My other one is a 1982 Featherweight Deluxe in .270 with English walnut stock, schnabel, and curlycue checkering. It has claimed three quality scopes due to recoil with factory loads and has cracked out its bedding twice. I finally re-did the bedding completely with Pro-Bed compound and steel pillars, but haven't fired it since then. I dread pulling the trigger on it because it absolutely stomps the bejeezus out of me. In fact I will NOT pull the trigger on it with a full-house load any more because it would probably tear the retina in my eye which has already had multiple tears/laser surgery. I've shot plenty of other .270s and none of them kick like this one does.
Now, that's not what I consider "plastic."
I know the term (plastic) is not typically meant as one of endearment, so some will call any synthetic "plastic" for the sake of disparagement. No, they are not as pretty as wood, but they are STABLE and they CAN be lighter. I'm OK with the aesthetic, as long as it fits me and doesn't have unnecessary "features"for the sake of aesthetically differentiating it from all the rest. Classic lines still required in my book, because those lines became classic because they serve a functional purpose in attaching a rifle to the human anatomy.
Laminates seem too heavy for me. To my way of thinking, a laminate is going to be predictably stronger than natural wood, and would allow one to really slim some some of the physical features of a stock way down, but they always seem to be bulkier for some reason.
What really cracks me up regarding either synthetic stocks or laminates, is that for the petite CZ 527, or tiny Contender action, the preference seems to be big, fat, blocky, heavy stuff, which negates the benefit of having such a compact and light-weight rifle. I'd love to find a slender, scaled, classic sporter-styled synthetic stock for the 527s. One of the reasons I prefer such little guns is that I don't really care to carry a concrete block around the woods and fields. If I recall correctly, Bell & Carlson made such a stock for the Zastava, so-called "Mini-Mauser" (which wasn't very Mauserly after all), which is a scaled-down action.
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Well, fiber glass isn't "glass" at all, it's plastic, but we call it glass! All the synthetics- fiberglass, carbon fiber, recycled soda bottles- it's all "plastic" in one form or another. "Plastic" covers a pretty wide array of materials these days, to include epoxies and all sorts of other stuff. Probably "synthetic" or "man made" would be a better term, you are right.
Agree on the massive, bulky synthetics and especially laminates. Why people seem to like the clunkiest, oversized stocks for otherwise lightweight guns mystifies me. Meanwhile some guy is out there trying to whittle another 3/4 ounce from a particularly lightweight piece of walnut so he can get it down to an actual 6lbs!
Agree on the massive, bulky synthetics and especially laminates. Why people seem to like the clunkiest, oversized stocks for otherwise lightweight guns mystifies me. Meanwhile some guy is out there trying to whittle another 3/4 ounce from a particularly lightweight piece of walnut so he can get it down to an actual 6lbs!
Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
Well,....the fibers in fiberglass are in fact glass but the resin that holds it all together could be called a plastic.
en.wikipedia.org
