butt pad for #1

[trauma1]

Picked up a really nice #1 in 338wm for an insane price. Has the factory sights, barrel band swivel stud, forearm with the cutout? not sure of the name. Looks just like my 458wm except for a smaller barrel. I am assuming it is a 1H - tropical but not real sure. Anyways, the previous owner put an aftermarket pad on it that looks hideous and does not fit. Any ideas where I can get a factory one from?

 

[picketpin]

It sounds like what you have is a 338 Win Mag Ruger #1 "S" Medium Sporter. Same barrel weight as the "B" rifles but with factory sights and an Alex Henry fore arm which is correct. My elk rifle or at least one of them is a well scarred 338 WM "S".

If what you want to do is put a red pad on it, it might be a problem. You can go scrounge all the local gunsmiths and see if they have a take off pad that will fit . I pay several guys up in the Boise area $2 for all their red pad take offs. Even that doesn't allways work. If you ever doudt that #1s were hand fitted, try swapping butt pads. It seldom works. There is usually 1/16th or better from pad to pad in width and sometimes more in length. What you need is big enough to fit and be ground for a perfect match.

If being original isn't an issue Pachmayr makes a sold red pad that when fitted is hard to tell from original unless you start looking for the Eagle on the Ruger pad or really know your #1s. That's the easiest and quickest way.

Alternatively there is a SLOW and not guaranteed method with a high failure rate. IF you are not in a hurry. I have about 100 original Ruger Red pads on the shelf. IF you send me a tracing arounnd the butt of your rifle I can compare to what I have on hand and see if I have one that will fit proud enough so it can ground to fit correctly. As others can attest to sometimes I have what you need and sometimes I don't. I'm SLOW I have cows to pamper and this #1 thing doesn't take ALL my time. ;-), Sometimes I can help and sometimes I can't. Mght be worth a try for a 49 cent stamp. Cost in case you wonder is the $2 I paid and my postage IF I have one that will work.

I don't sell 1st Generation Mershom or Peddled Pahmayr pads. Those I keep for me and older #1s that have been bubbafide. All the rest are the same Goodyear mold #.

If it's just RUGER you need, call the factory parts dept. It'll be black, but correct.

Ross

 

[trauma1]

would really prefer the correct red Ruger butt pad. Once I get the rifle home-have to wait 27 more days since my ffl took it in on a trade 3 days ago and he has to hold it for 30 days, I will send you a tracing of the buttstock. I am not in a rush so thanks for the help. I bet you have one that will fit.

 

[picketpin]

Worth a try/ ;-)

Ross

 

[wunbe]

Another point of view.

The after-market pad you have may be a poor design and/or a botched job but you sure as hell need one if you are going to touch that thing off with any regularity. I have seen many factory original .338 mag #1s for sale at gun shows "only fired once".

Even if you are a stalwart with disdain for the punishment, the resale potential on that factory original piece as a serious hunting tool -- not as a closet queen collector but an actual tool -- will be much reduced as few with any sense want to flirt with the flinch-inducing potential of that package.

Also, the previous owner probably shortened the stock to accommodate the thicker pad. That means an original, thinner, pad --- rrr , wafer -- can bring the rear eye piece on your scope just that much closer to your eye brow. You might need a transfusion kit too.

wunbe

 

[picketpin]

I think that resale would be better as an original rifle than something boogered up. If they shortened the stock you may have a problem BUT my experience is most guys have a pad fitted and do not have the stock shortened and usually shy away from the extra bit that would cost.

As far as recoil is concerned I think it's over stated. Yes, a 338 Win Mag is not pleasant to shoot at the range. Especially all braced up and sitting at a bench, The recoil comes straight back and can be unpleasant. On the other hand if you are actually hunting elk, you'll have a coat or jacket on and be standing on you hind legs, kneeling or sitting and in all those positions your body has a chance t roll with it, Besides your mind id focused on ELK not recoil.

I load my 338 "S" balls to the walls with 250 Nosler Partitions across the screens at just under 2900 fps. I've killed about a dozen elk with it. None required more than two shots and frankly I can't tell you what the recoil felt like because I was focused on the elk and the shot.

I'm not trying to sell a $2 pad hear and frankly prefer to keep most of my Ruger stuff. BUT I do understand wanting them stock as possible and when I buy #1s, which is fairly often that's what I look for. No matter what you put on there and how much you paid for me that is a deduction in price.

I shoot my 338 once a year at the range to be sure everything is still dead nuts. 3-5 shots and I'm done. Then if I'm lucky 2-3 at elk at the most. Then I'm done for another year.

I do occasionally run across a butt stock that has been significantly shortened. Usually sellers don't tell you that . To date I've simply passed them on to another #1 guy that is short of stature or more rewording has a kid he's building a correct sized rifle for.

Trauma: Listen to both pieces of advice and do what works................for you.

Ross

 

[wunbe]

All my Ruger #1s with appreciable recoil -- bores larger than .35 Whelen -- have serious after market recoil pads and stocks cut to a standard OAL of 13.5".

Slapping a longer pad onto the factory issued butt stock w/o alteration would both require me to creep the stock to an extremely uncomfortable degree to get a full sight picture and have a trigger finger extension operation.

But as Ross says, YMMV

wunbe

 

[trauma1]

thanks for the advice. The stock has not been cut. It is a limbsaver pad that just does not fit correctly. probably just a "universal" fit job. Not too worried about the recoil. My synthetic stocked 375 H&H and no.1 458WM have gotten me pretty used to recoil on the bench. helps clear the firing line also. not many people want to stay around when those things go off! I usually get dirty looks from the old dudes shooting .22rf rifles and the young dudes shooting their black rifles (which are annoying as hell when the hot brass drops down on your neck from two benches over!)

 

[black029]

I'd rather have a boomer near me than an AR/AK/SIG spraying brass around, assuming one is at an outdoor range. Indoors, neither is so great.
I had one of the earliest M77's in .338, back in '74. Used to shoot 270 or 275 grain Speer handloads off a bench, using the iron sights. That will clear your sinuses. Had ragged hole 3 shot groups at 50 yards, so I did it right.
40 years later, I wouldn't dream of it. I'd be in Trauma 1, maybe. Stuff we used to laugh off is a little less funny when you hit 60
Always loved the .338. Nice find on your part.

 

[860306]

PM sent to Picket Pin in Idaho, Butt pad needed.

 

[gewehrfreund]

One thing you might want to consider that hasn't been mentioned yet I don't think (I didn't read through all the previous verbiage) ;-)
If your rifle was made in late 1993 or after, the correct pad is the black pad, not the red. Not a big deal unless you want it 100% correct. Also, the latest black pads are actually nice and spongy, so they would help "a little" with the recoil.