.338 RS with steel floorplate

[robertkirksey]

I recently bought #79-96000 .338 RS and when I received it I was delighted to discover it had the steel trigger guard and floorplate. I know they came on the .458s but was unaware some went on.338s. Was this common?

 

[Rick Taylor]

Not common but could be ordered that way. The .458s did not come with steel bottom metal unless it was the .458rsc.

 

[BayouBob]

For a while you could buy the steel bottom metal from Ruger. When the bomb bay door opened on a shot at game was inspiration for lots of folks to order them on the heavy kickers. I'll always remember the sight and sound of those big bullets falling 25 feet to the ground.

 

[picketpin]

How did you order a rifle with a steel floorplate? What was the mechanism to do so. I never saw a way to do it. I did buy 3 sets of bottom metal when they listed the RSC floor plates as parts and have them on my 257 Roberts ST, 25-06 RS and 7mm Mag ST BUT I put them on and got them as parts from the factory.

I'm really am curios how you would actually ORDER a rifle from the factory with any alterations or non standard features other than a FOB rifle.. The only Rugers I knew of that you ever ordered direct from the factory with features you wanted from the list were 1967-69 #1s.

The best

RWT

 

[instructor]

I think what was meant about ordering steel floor plate, you could buy as a part from Ruger and you are right that Ruger factory would not likely equip one originally. Aren't all current 77's steel floor plates??

 

[robertkirksey]

I believe the current rifles all have steel floorplates. Mine is a tang safety model, one of the later ones that did not lock the bolt on "safe".

 

[Silent Sam]

For a while you could buy the steel bottom metal from Ruger. When the bomb bay door opened on a shot at game was inspiration for lots of folks to order them on the heavy kickers. I'll always remember the sight and sound of those big bullets falling 25 feet to the ground.

I've got to call "shenanigans" on this one. 'Alloy' or steel makes no difference on the likelihood of the floor plate opening when it shouldn't. There is no functional difference based on the material used. Many, including myself, prefer steel bottom metal. In reality the difference is mostly cosmetic.

One of the changes introduced w/ Hawkeyes is steel bottom metal. MKII's were 'alloy'.

 

[picketpin]

I put the steel floor plates on my for cosmetic reasons only. They simply don't/did not scratch as easily as he aluminum one and the bluing was prettier than the black anodized finish.

The tiny difference in weight certainly wasn't critical.

Ross.