- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
That doesn't look too bad, and that stock is a far cry from the one they put on the Guide Gun.
.375 Ruger....
- Thread starter J.G.
- Start date
- Status
That doesn't look too bad, and that stock is a far cry from the one they put on the Guide Gun.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I'm familiar with the cartridge, I was just wondering about the rifle you were building.
Have to admit, I wasn't expecting a switch barrel 700.
I haven't lost my love of CRF actions, but its easier to make a light mountain rifle from a 700, than from a double bridge Mauser. The original idea was a light weight bear gun for hiking in the Yukon, having been greatly impressed with Doug's M-7 Kevlar in .350 Magnum. I initially wanted a M-7 chambered for the .375-284, which would be made from my M-7 .243, and would be a switch barrel. This morphed to a long action 700, which I had intended to be a .366 Wagner, but since Ron Smith doesn't make a .366 barrel, but does make a .375, (my Ron Smith 1:12 .375 Ultra shot like a varmint rifle) and since I like fast twists, each of these barrels will be a fast gain twist, the .375 will be 1:20-1:10 the .280 AI will be 1:16-1:8 and the .243 will be 1:14-1:7.
Already I'm planning the second phase of this rifle which will include a magnum bolt face, and a heavier fiberglass stock inletted for #5 contour barrels. I could see a .257 Weatherby which I've been interested in for some time, perhaps a .300 Ultra, and maybe even a .460 G&A, unless I rechamber my .458 M-70 for it.
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What a Beauty !
That really is a nice looking rifle, if it functions as well as it looks.
I have had better luck with the laminate stocked Rugers than the plain ones.... maybe a little extra effort goes into them ?
73,093 psi
troutseeker
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Prince George, BC
My .375
.375 Ruger!
.375 Ruger!
My 375 Ruger African arrived today, it looks exactly like expected, wrong grain in the stock for a heavy or medium cartridge, skinny rubber hockey puck skid plate on the butt. Will require significant work before I would try out loads with this rifle and stock. Truly a poorly put together medium rifle, as expected !!!! Will have to bed and reinforce stock before firing, as I know it'll split just like my son's. I think I will add a second recoil lug out on the barrel about mid forearm and pin ahead of the trigger group/behind the mag well. These mods may actually make it stand up to the work out I'm about to put it through.........oh ya, and a good full action bedding job, maybe even full length bedding job.
Here's a interesting short review of a Ruger Guide Gun in 375 Ruger http://www.realguns.com/articles/596.htm and from the same website handload data for the 375 Ruger with some impressive data with muzzle energy over 5000 ft-lbs http://www.realguns.com/loads/375Ruger.htm and again from the same website another interesting old article comparing the 375 H&H an the Ruger http://www.realguns.com/archives/143.htm check photo#3 on page 2 c-fbmi.
I would not suggest using that data, it looks like CBFMI developed it. Most loads are 70,000+ psi
Do you and your son use a lead sled?
I had to totally re-bed mine as the stock had a major warp in the forend and we pillar bedded it as well.
One thing that surprised me was that my African had one cross-bolt yet the guide gun model in 308 has two.... go figure...
For best strength, the grain in the wood in the pistol grip area should follow the curve of the grip.
This stock has got very nice grain flow through the grip.
Here's an example of what can happen if the grain flows from bottom to top of the grip. This break wasn't caused by recoil. Rather it was caused by a pet ape in our Postal system.
Hey.......what exactly are you implying?
Again I have to say, who cares what the pressure is if the brass case holds the pressure and is reusable several times...........the load is safe, period !!!! Also, unless you actually have the pressure testing equipment, and the rifle in question, you have no way of knowing what the actual pressure is. Computer models do not have all the answers nor are they necessarily accurate. There are too many variables in chambers, throats, loading techniques, bore and groove diameters, frictional coefficients of bullets, and so on "ad infinitum". The only way to determine safe loads for any given rifle is to work them up responsibly yourself for THAT rifle. A load with the bullet seated for .060" jump may not even be warm in a given rifle but that same load seated so the bullet jams into the rifling will almost certainly blow the primer and give a significant ejector mark. How does your computer model account for this? These pressure numbers you guys like throwing around, what exactly do they mean, do you know? 50,000....60,000.....70,000.....what do they mean to you if you don't know the yield strength of the brass, or the yield strength of the barrel, bolt or action. It is no different than arbitrary speed limits posted on our highways, they SHOULD be relatively safe for most drivers and vehicles, does that mean that your car automatically blows up if you go 130 kph? I have driven cars in excess of 300 kph and they didn't disintegrate around me. SAAMI has to take into account the Ladas of the gun world when they specify pressure maximums, knowing that the Ferraris and Z06s will be just idling along at these pressures.
I have rifles made anywhere from 1871 to current modern production and I load for every single one accordingly. I don't try to run 60,000 psi loads through my 66 Winchester, but by the same token I don't run 20,000 psi loads through my new Winchester, Remington or Ruger actions either, I load safe loads for every rifle I load for and this is determined by age, action design strength, metallurgy and brass life, not some mythical and arbitrary number published by some governing body with the weight of 6 lawyers overseeing them and the possibility of liability suits.
RF...........the grain of the wood in a good stock for a medium or heavy rifle should flow from the toe of the stock up through the pistol grip and out to the forend tip, much like the top one in Mauser98s photo. Anytime the grain starts and ends through the grip it is a problem looking to happen and even with the precautions I will be taking with this Ruger, there is a better than even chance that the stock will let go through the grip like Mauser98s second photo.
Silverback.......nope I do not use a lead sled, I am familiar with the principal of the "unstoppable force meeting the immovable object"
Silverback.......nope I do not use a lead sled, I am familiar with the principal of the "unstoppable force meeting the immovable object"
Didn't think that you would but had to ask, the guys at my range love those things, luckily for them most of the rifles they buy have composite stocks or don't recoil that much.
Great, I get the rifle here, load up 60 rounds of 300 WM and fireform them, only to realize that the dies I used previously are my son's and I have no dies!!!! No problem I thought, called LGS none, called one 100 miles away, none, called WSS, none. Okay regroup and call my failsafe, Huntingtons, none !!! Checked a couple other places in the northwest US, just a hop over the border from here, still no joy.........called my old LGS in Whitehorse, cause they used to have a couple sets, nope, not any more. AAARRRRGGGGGGGGG......want to shoot new toy !!!
Anybody got dies they'd like to sell me, I'd even take Lee at this point for this project. I may end up opening up my 375 Chatfield-Taylor dies to accept the larger dia body but I'd rather not, unless I absolutely have to.
Anyway I have 60 nice looking W-W 375 Ruger cases to play with, formed them up with a good load of 3031 and a bunch of 30 cal cast bullets I've had kicking around for decades, they formed out nice and sharp in the shoulder (had to up my charge twice to get there) with nice concentric necks a few thou long, so now it's just size, clean, trim and start test loads.................
Anybody got dies they'd like to sell me, I'd even take Lee at this point for this project. I may end up opening up my 375 Chatfield-Taylor dies to accept the larger dia body but I'd rather not, unless I absolutely have to.
Anyway I have 60 nice looking W-W 375 Ruger cases to play with, formed them up with a good load of 3031 and a bunch of 30 cal cast bullets I've had kicking around for decades, they formed out nice and sharp in the shoulder (had to up my charge twice to get there) with nice concentric necks a few thou long, so now it's just size, clean, trim and start test loads.................
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