1994 Ruger M77 Mark II 338 Win Mag w/boat paddle stock value

[moses42ak]

Reading through this thread is crazy. I hunted in Alaska for over 15 years with a paddle stocked M77 Mk II 338. I put an uncountable amount of rounds through it since it was my only rifle for a LONG time and I was reloading for it. Sheep, goats, moose, black bears, caribou and backup on a brown bear all fell to it. I bought it at Long's Drugs during one of their sales for something like $375. Not sure of the price but if memory serves correctly it was close to that. Time passed and eventually I sold it and immediately regretted it. That thing had a ton of miles on it. I just happened to find another one 3 years ago and bought it. All is right with the world again! They put a Hogue rubber coated stock on it but it also came with the paddle. Paid $600 for it. If you shoot it enough, the horrible trigger and recoil seem to disappear. I say keep it, don't brake it and put the warhorse to work. It'll serve you well. Pro-tip here: do NOT shoot anything with lightweight cup and core or ballistic tip bullets. Stick to 210 Nosler, Barnes or 225-250 Hornady's. If you're lucky enough to find 275 grain Speer semi-spitzer's and need to shoot through a brown, end to end, you won't regret it.

 

[dgr416]

Yes! I had a 243 that kicked like a 308. I shot a 270 boat paddle that kicked close to a 300 win mag. I think its a combination of the hard butt pad & comb angle that made the felt recoil so intense.

Try a 338 win mag without a recoil pad and 250 grain bullets it's like getting hit in the jaw by Mike Tyson .

 

[Overkill338]

Try a 338 win mag without a recoil pad and 250 grain bullets it's like getting hit in the jaw by Mike Tyson .

I have. You must be in the wrong weight class lol I shot my .338 twelve times from the bench and my shoulder looked like a steak fresh off the grill with the lines of that concrete recoil pad lol

 

[jls in az]

The trick to shooting heavy recoiling rifles from a bench is to sit high or even shoot from a standing bench. That way, your entire upper body can move with the recoil rather than the rifle slamming into your shoulder. If you're hunched over on a normal bench, your body can't move with the recoil so your shoulder take the entire hit.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I have. You must be in the wrong weight class lol I shot my .338 twelve times from the bench and my shoulder looked like a steak fresh off the grill with the lines of that concrete recoil pad lol

Me too, and the colours my arm went were a peculiar yellow/purple/red/black with the grilled stripes as well.
That was 40 rounds in a Deer Hunter Association Comp here in Australia, off the bench, followed by a 20 round running game shoot with the same rifle, but in 300WM offhand. The following day, I could not lift my arm very far at all.
I have/had much larger cals, 375 Weatherby, 338 Edge, 338-416 Rigby Improved, 458 Lott, 416 Rigby, 500 Nitro 3 1/4" and 505 Gibbs. None of them have bruised me like those Ruger boat paddle stocks. The 505 is brutal and hurts, but it didn't bruise me.

Cheers.

 

[Overkill338]

Me too, and the colours my arm went were a peculiar yellow/purple/red/black with the grilled stripes as well.
That was 40 rounds in a Deer Hunter Association Comp here in Australia, off the bench, followed by a 20 round running game shoot with the same rifle, but in 300WM offhand. The following day, I could not lift my arm very far at all.
I have/had much larger cals, 375 Weatherby, 338 Edge, 338-416 Rigby Improved, 458 Lott, 416 Rigby, 500 Nitro 3 1/4" and 505 Gibbs. None of them have bruised me like those Ruger boat paddle stocks. The 505 is brutal and hurts, but it didn't bruise me.

Cheers.

.338
.300
7mm RM
.264

 

[wv270wsm]

The one I shot years back was my cousins . At the time we were 20 years old and he had it in 300 win . I shot it a few times and that was all I wanted of it . Him being mr tough guy shot about a box and a half down the tube . Both of us had discolored shoulders but his was definitely worse . About a week later he started complaining about his eye bothering him and went to the eye doctor. Here he had a torn retina. Now was it from that hard kicking ruger ?? He wasn't sure and neither was the eye doc who was an avid shooter . The eye doc seemed to think maybe it was already tore and that 300 paddle stock just made it worse but who truly knows . But I will say at that time I thought that thing was the coolest looking gun I'd ever seen. Lol

 

[MagnumManiac]

Oh, I just remembered another thing I hated about those Rugers was those rattly sling swivel attachments...I cut mine off with a grinder and then screwed in Uncle Mike's sling swivel studs. Looked awful, but didn't rattle anymore. Hahaha.

Cheers.

 

[MagnumManiac]

.338
.300
7mm RM
.264

View attachment 244078

Yep, I've seen your collection before over on Shootersforum.com

I bet you remember the dozen or so pages of a certain member arguing that twist rate of 10" in a 25-06 wasn't adequate for 120gr bullets cuz it stripped the rifling on such long bullets. SMH.

Cheers.

 

[dgr416]

I went with my cousin one day to the range .I used the double magnum past pad and shot my old wood stocked ruger 77 tang safety 338 125 times from a standing bench off of a milk crate with a 60 pound bean bag .I then shot my 416 rem mag 75 times no problem .I couldn't shoot that paddle stock 10 times without getting a jaw ache and head ache .I sold the stock and got a laminated stock and I can shoot it with no problems .The plastic stocked Winchester model 70 that weighed 6.5 pounds was just as bad as the paddle stock to shoot .If a gun has a bad stock it will rattle your teeth out .My 264 was a paddle stock too it was as bad as the 338 paddle stock to shoot .It cracks me up what people are paying for these $12 plastic stocks .

 

[Overkill338]

Yep, I've seen your collection before over on Shootersforum.com

I bet you remember the dozen or so pages of a certain member arguing that twist rate of 10" in a 25-06 wasn't adequate for 120gr bullets cuz it stripped the rifling on such long bullets. SMH.

Cheers.

Absolutely lol I sure miss my mentor, Bob Faucett though.