My new .458 Lott RSM split at the tang: what do I do?

[philthygeezer]

Two rounds of .458 Win Mag, and two rounds of .458 Lott, and I have a one inch long crack in the stock extending back from the tang. This is a brand new rifle!

What do I do now? :cry:

 

[picketpin]

Send it back to Ruger.

NIB Any idea how long it had bveen off the shelf/since shipped? I LOT of the heavy hitters end up with split tangs. They aren't fast sellers and sit for a while usually. The wood aexspands and contracts and swells etc as it heats up and cools down and adsorbs moisture for a few years on the shelf. The through bolt only has to be a tiny bit loose for the heavy hitters to split the stock. I've bought stuff from 7mm Mag up through 458 and a 426 Remington that either had cracked stocks at the wrist or repairs made.

I alsways mke sure the bolt is tight before I shoot one with ANY recoil, even if NIB.

Send it back and they should replace the stock.

Call the factory and ask for customer service/repair. They'll probably send you the paperwork for the shipping.

Ross

 

[fyimo]

The only stock I ever had split was a Sako 7mm Mag stock and I called Sako and they told me to remove the stock and ship it to them. About three weeks later a new nicer stock arrived for free and I installed it and it's been perfect ever since. So if you bought the gun new Ruger may replace the stock if you contact them.

 

[EVR]

All good advice.

However, once they replace it, you still will have a rifle with a stock that may not fit. Production economics being what it is, many factory stocks do not fit the bbl'd actions well at all.

I rebed many rifles and all Rugers. Following principles apply to all bolt guns;

Make sure the trigger guard screws do not contact the stock.

Make sure there is relief behind the tang. The wood should not touch the tang at the rear.

Make sure there is good solid contact at the recoil lug. This is best accomplished by epoxy bedding after hogging out material to allow good purchase of the bedding material. Rugers are just about the easiest bolt guns to rebed due to the "box" ahead of the recoil shoulder that allows easy filling with bedding material.

Apply a small dab of epoxy bedding to the rear tang area and then make sure the rear guard screw does not contact it.

With a .458 Lott, I'd just go ahead and epoxy bed it. I would not trust ANY Ruger factory stock to the cartridge. I normally freefloat barrels but for heavy kicking rifles like the Lott, full length bedding can add an additional measure of strength to the stock just fore of the action.

Relevant to the Lott, I corresponded with Jack Lott for a time in the early '80's, and he sent me sketches of his method for bedding his namesake, and hea lways cut "trenches" in the recoil bearing areas and set small machine screws in the trenches and filled them in with epoxy bedding compound. No, you problem is not new.

Good luck.

 

[Silent Sam]

RSMs also have a steel recoil plate in the fore end, about the same length as the rib. That is what that 2nd screw in the forearm is for.

 

[picketpin]

I assumed it was a #1. Bottom line if you want Ruger to fix it, it HAS to go back to the factory to have the wood fit.

Call customer service.

You can do any/all mods if you so choose, after you get new wood on the rifle. If new there should be no problem.

Ross

 

[mattsbox99]

I agree with EVR, send the gun or stock back, Ruger will replace it (they did for my .350RM). Then do the epoxy bedding around the recoil lug/plate. I haven't owned a RSM so I don't know the exact places to do. I'm sure somebody here has, or post a photo of the stock and we can help pinpoint areas that should be bedded.

Stocks are all made on duplicating machines, all the big makers do the same thing so its not just a Ruger problem. They just don't all fit perfectly.

 

[Boxhead]

I would be sure the next one has plenty of clearance between the tang and stock. Ruger's tang design is piss poor IMO.

 

[4Sixteen]

No problems with my Sako .416 Rem. mag. or my Remington (Zastava) 798 .458 Win. mag. which both feature proper inletting and dual cross bolts. Be sure to keep the bolts tight on these heavy kickers.

My .416 Ruger Alaskan has a Hogue Overmolded stock - impossible to crack. :lol:

 

[toysoldier]

Having looked at a lot of used guns, online and at shows, it seems that any action with a tang will eventually split, even .22's. Tangless ones will chip. AccraGlass bedding is a very good idea. The ideal mating of wood and metal would be some sort of shallow socket, with endgrain confined in a circumferential band. I haven't yet seen that on any gun.