Aftermarket stock for 77 .338

[K.K]

Just made a good trade at a gunshow yesterday for a model 77 in .338 Win. Mag. It came with the older "boat paddle" synthetic stock. I never did like the looks, but although it is very light to carry, I think that a heavier, more solid aftermarket stock may help to make recoil a bit more tolerable in this caliber. Any suggestions?  I was thinking of laminate. I don't want to spend a ton of money, but I don't want a piece of junk either.  Thanks for your suggestions.

K.K

[3DTESTIFY]

Try looking at Boyd's JRS Classic laminated birch gunstock. It is a very nice stock for a reasonable price. I believe their available thru MidwayUSA.com in nutmeg brown or gray laminate for $141.99 dollars. I prefer the looks of the nutmeg brown personally.

[NoKness]

The ruger M77s in 338 have a fairly beefy contour for the barrel. They probably weight 1/2 pound more than the 22" barrel standard cartridges. A little extra weight help to keep the recoil in hand as would a good thick pad like decellerator or limbsaver.

The laminate stocks are quite ridged which contributes to their accuracy but doesn't help much with recoil attenuation. Fiberglass stocks seem to have some flex and seem to recoil less.

Boyds is the place to go for aftermarket laminate stocks. Another alternative is to find a Ruger take off laminate. Probably have to keep your eyes open on ebay for that and pay more than you would for the boyds, but from what I have seen the ruger factory laminate is a little nicer inleted than the boyds. There is a style difference too. The boyds most comman variant is the JRS which has a cheekpiece and the factory ruger is a straight stock without cheekpiece.

For fiber glass stocks for the ruger B&C carbolite is the least expensive at about $190. Its not as stiff as some of the more expensive fiberglass stocks and is less well finished but still a quite good stocks.  Going up from the B&C there are a couple of compaines that make nice stocks such as Mcmillan, Brown precision and Bansner. but their finished stocks are pricy typically $400-500

[dave375hh]

Take a look at the Hoage Over-molded stock with the full alluminum bedding block. You don't want a .338 too light, it'll kick the snot out of you. I'd want 8.5 to 9 lbs. plus the scope & mounts.

[showme]

I would check the website for Boyd's. Buying direct is cheaper than going through Midway. If you are handy, you can get an unfinished one that is 99% inletted for even less money.