Ruger American - Stiffening the front of the stock

R

RCP Fab

New member
So this complaint has been coming up a lot. The front of the stock on the RAR is very very flexy, especially when it gets warm.

This how to is going to take a few days, and hopefully it doesn't interfere with me being able to shoot tomorrow.

Anyway here it goes.

1. Disassemble the rifle
2. Somehow level the stock (bipod and a few rolls of tape is what I used)
3. CLEAN everything inside the front of the stock. I used acetone, I tested it first on some of the cross hatching and it didn't react with the material of the stock.
4. Mask off as much as you can.
5. Time to mix up some JB weld. I threw some metal chips in the JB weld. This was simply to add a little weight and use a little less JB weld. The stuff isn't cheap and you need quite a bit. So far I have used two and a half packages (each package had 1 ounce of each part).
6. Fill her up
7. JB weld is surprisingly fluid, pull the tape and let it settle, if you see any air bubbles forming, pop them open but DO NOT try to fill them.
8. Allow to cure, I don't know how long it's going to take, but I will post it up when I do.

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Wow. That stock really was flimsy before you added the epoxy. Do you have any concern that the addition of the epoxy to the bottom will alter the shape of the upper part of the stock?
 
Depending on how little or how much this does, part 2 will either be a skim coat or a full radius up to the top of the stock.

This is still in the experimental stages I would say.
 
5. Time to mix up some JB weld. I threw some metal chips in the JB weld. This was simply to add a little weight and use a little less JB weld. The stuff isn't cheap and you need quite a bit. So far I have used two and a half packages (each package had 1 ounce of each part).
Click to expand...

Instead of the metal chips, use a piece or two of aluminum tubing after cutting a slot or two in the internal webbing.
 
Good call, anything would really work. I just happen to have about 3 gallons of steel chips from the mill. ;)
 
Its been about 2 hours now, the JB weld is smoothing and settling nicely, just starting to tack up, I think its going to take all of 24 hours to cure.

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I think most of that fore end's bending hinges at a point close to the front of the receiver. And all that epoxy will do is stiffen it from that point forward. It may still bend almost as much.

I sure hope I'm wrong.
 
Even though they can be a bit flexible, I've found all of the cheap stocks to shoot just fine as is. Some of the most accurate rifles I've ever shot were in similar stocks.

If it makes you happy, then I'm happy for you, but I wouldn't be interested. I don't see how this is going to do anything but add un-necessary weight to the wrong part of the rifle and mess up balance. Like Bart says, I don't see it stopping the flex. And even if it does I don't see it improving anything.

The action is resting on metal blocks in the stock. The forend doesn't touch or impact the rifle or action in any way. You could cut it off and throw it away. The only purpose it serves is for a place to rest your hand when firing.
 
Half of the reason that I am doing this is to add some weight to the front of the rifle. After filling the rear of the stock it's quite a bit rear heavy.
 
7 hours in, the JB weld is about 90% cured (at least the top is) and there's a pretty decent increase in stiffness. I would guess 25% stiffer.

As Bart said, a good amount of the flex comes from the magazine area. So IMO, this is as good as the stock can possibly get with out some major external work.
 
There is a section of stock in the area of the lock ring that is the weakest point. It is the area that has straight lines that are close together. Filling it in with a steel type epoxy will do a lot to stiffen the stock. I own an American. Frankly all I can say is the stock is crap. Ruger could have spent $10 more and made a decent stock. This thing reminds me of reject Tupperware. I full length bedded mine with painters tape on the barrel and lock ring. I stiffened up the stock all I could and I can still cause some hellacious flyers by torqueing the stock just the least bit. I don't like bipods, but I use them on occasion. I shot the American off a bipod and I can literally twist the stock 15 degrees of cant by simply sliding the back of the stock in the bag. The stock is junk. No way to sugar coat that fact.
 
I did something similar with my savage axis, though I just used epoxy putty and did my best to stuff it into all the voids (I think your method probably works better). I also filled in the hollow of the stock as well both to add weight and rigidity to the entire stock.
 
reynolds357 is correct about torquing the stock causing random flyers.
I moved my bi-pod back to 2" in front of the magazine.
Now the barrel and stock move together when leveling for long range shots, and does not torque the stock at all.

I have shot this rifle out to 1030 yards, and wondered why I would get random flyers even when the shot was executed clean.
 
I sanded my barrel Chanel out to give my barrel much more room .
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As you can see there is quite a bit more room all the way around the barrel . I also sanded the internal sides of the stock and gave the barrel more room all the way to the receiver . I shoot from a bag and a bi-pod and since opening up the stock the barrel no longer touches stock and the guns is much more consistent .

Are you guys saying just the torque on the stock will cause POI shifts even if the barrel does not touch the stock ? Mine does not seem to do this but I try not to put any torque on the stock . I would think when shooting any rifle you don't want to be putting any extra pressures on any part of the firearm . I would want a nice balanced equilibrium of weight and pressure . Are you saying even with proper form and technique and the barrel staying completely free floated you still get huge flyers ?
 
I didn't open up my barrel channel, but the barrel was free floating except when torqued one direction or the other for leveling.
The stock is so flimsy, that with the bi-pod out near the least supported end, the torque being introduced was causing interference between the stock and the barrel (on my RAR), all the way up to the throat section of the barrel (which is the section that seems to be allowing the stock twist).
Even adjusting left and right on the rear bag seemed to torque the barrel into the stock.
Since I relocated my bi-pod, it eliminated introduction of all torque into the stock by shortening the pivot point.

YMMV...
 
Before I opened up my stock I had to do something similar . I could not use a bi-pod and when resting on a bag I had to rest the rifle up by the magazine area . I've been seeing alot of guys trying different things to help the stock touching the barrel issue . I found the quick easy way was to sand the barrel channel out using 80 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel . I used 1/2" flex conduit . It was the perfect size for the very front . Then just use a sanding block to do the interior sides . You really can't even tell I did anything to it but it made a big difference in how constant the rifle shoots
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Back from the range, I can say for sure that the stock is stiffer. When everything is good and hot, the stock doesn't flex anymore than it does when its cold, where as before, it turned into a wet noodle.

I will add, fully floating the barrel is 100% necessary on these rifles, especially if you are shooting off a bipod. You need a solid amount of clearance around the entire barrel to eliminate the flyers.
 
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