RARR/ Stock Options

[gunenthusiast36]

Bought a RARR this month without really researching its issues as I should have. A friend of mine has the Predator model in 6.5 Creedmore and it seemed to work great and I have never had any issues with my other Ruger firearms, so I didn't really think about it. It wasn't until I already ordered the rifle that I started to catch the warped stock issues and light primer strikes during internet searches and I began to worry as well as kick myself in the ass. So the stock is a little warped and touching the left side of the barrel at the tip of the fore end. I fired it for the first time today shooting hand loads using Hornady factory brass, CCI #400 primers, 17.7gr. of WIN 296, and Hornady 110r. SPs; also loaded 20 rds. with 100gr. short jackets and 16.5 gr. of WIN 296 to see how they would work. Had 1 out of 100 fail to fire due to a light strike and it went on the second try; so im somewhat happy about that. I am not very happy with the stock as I believe it may be affecting accuracy and am thinking about going with a Boyds Pro Varmint Stock. Just wondering if anyone has any feedback on these stocks and if it fixed any issues.

[SwampDog_13]

Some sand paper on a dowel will fix the stock from touching the barrel a lot cheaper than a Boyd's stock if that's all your after. There's a few threads floating around here where guys have even gone in and stiffened the stocks with glass resin type products. I think Rebel had a thread showing what he did you could probably shoot him a pm.

The light primer strikes is a different story. What length are you bumping your shoulders back? Can you provide a measurement of the length between the bottom of the case head to the datum point on the shoulder of a fired piece of brass and one that you have resized? 1 out of 100 ain't bad but that's one more than my rarr has had in a couple thousand rounds now.

[gunenthusiast36]

Just got done trying some sandpaper on the stock; it alleviated the issue some but upon closer inspection it seems the whole stock assembly is warped and would need a lot of sanding. I have seen what you mentioned about stiffening the stocks with resin and its something ill study more on; its certainly more cost effective. As for case dimensions I just measured 3 pieces I just fired at 1.102" from the case head to the apex of the shoulder, I don't have any resized currently. Was thinking about neck sizing them but I just tried putting them in my Sheridan case gauge and there is about 0.1505" still sticking out; so may have to full length size them.

[F224]

I have the 223 version of the RARR and saw the same issues you have. I started out with the MDT-LSS stock and it's very good, shrunk my groups by 50%, but the original MDT made magazines are only reliable with eight or less rounds in them.

I now have a Boyd's stock, it works very well, just a sight bit of barrel channel sanding and I glass bedded the lugs.

Why did I change? I like the traditional looking and feeling stock, and frankly, it's faster for bolt flicks than the chassis setups.

[gunenthusiast36]

F224, thanks for the feedback. After mulling it over a couple of days I went ahead and ordered the Boyds Pro Varmint and read up on and watched a few videos on bedding the V-blocks. Hopefully it will work out; ill post some before and after pics for the rifle and groups when complete for the thread.

[KTMRacer]

What kind of accuracy are you getting with the warped stock?
FWIW, My hand loads have had no issues of light primer strikes using CCI 400s and 41s. I did have some issues with some rounds from a ammo co that I don't consider factory.

[gunenthusiast36]

Measured with my calipers my last group of five rounds was 1.501" @ 100 yds.; I was sub-MOA @ 100 yds. and scored a few hits on a 12" gong @ 550 yds. with my stock 5.56 Mossberg MVP patrol on the same outing.

[gunenthusiast36]

Had some challenges with the Boyds Pro Varmint but it paid off. Boyds didn't send the hardware initially and I had it in 72 hrs. Some portions of the stock needed extensive fitting (especially the mag well and catch cut). Bedded the V blocks and the chamber area with a Wheeler bed rock kit and put 3 coats of ultra flat OD (stock color) on the raw rood that was sanded. My group dropped from 1.501" to .997" at 100 yds., problem solved. I do have some reservations about the mag catch and will probably order an extra set of hardware just in case.

[jwb47]

I installed a boyds pro varmint on a 458 socom bolt gun I built using a savage short action and a barrel from southern ballistic research . I had no issues at all other than needing to work on the internal magazine a bit to take those chunky rounds . I cannot comment on if it helps accuracy or not because the rifle started life as a 308 in a synthetic stock .

[19dsniper]

I was having similar problems with mine. I switched to a Boyds stock for the American model. When i called Boyds and spoke with them at the time, they were not sure if it would fit the RARR as it was made for the American. All things considered, it should be the same, just with a shorter barrel. Anyways, i told then i would be their guinea pig. It went together pretty well. I had to do just a little work with some sandpaper in the barrel channel, and i had to create a shim to go under the magazine catch because it was too low in the stock and would not allow the magazine to catch correctly. After that, i installed the V blocks and then bedded the rifle. I have the before and after pictures. The before target is 17.0 grains of H110 with a 110 Varmageddon bullet. The after is the same exact load. I know, 17.0 is low, but I'm after accuracy and not blazing fast speeds. I will take accuracy over velocity any day of the week. The measured target before bedding was 0.98" center to center. After bedding with the same exact load it was smaller than a dime for 5 rounds at 100 yards. I should have measured, but instead took a picture and considered the load to be what i was looking for. I am including both the before and after.

A properly bedded stock can make a big difference in accuracy even with the same load!









That is epoxy on the dime. My 6 year old daughter helped me and it fell onto the plate full of epoxy a few days earlier.