Ruger American with Boyd's Stock

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skobrien

New member
Got the Boyd's stock for my Ruger American Compact .308. Overall, I'm pleased. I ordered the upgraded limbsaver recoil pad and the gloss finish. I'm not thrilled with the gloss finish and would not order it again. It's a cheap, uneven overspray. This winter I will pull out the steel wool and buffing compound and get a better finish on it.

The fit was perfect except for the plastic tab that holds the magazine in -- I had to sand that down very slightly or the magazine would not eject.

This weekend I will find out if the new stock improves accuracy.


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Looks good... A $99 Boyds is a great upgrade for budget guns.
It tightened up the groups on my buddies Axis quite nicely and made it look and feel like a totally different gun.
 
I'm hoping for better groups. But I also wanted more heft to take up the recoil better. I think the extra I paid for the limbsaver pad was worth it too.
 
I had that exact same issue with the mags not ejecting. I had to file down that plastic piece as well. Over all works great although a little heavy.
 
Nice Job

You can turn that high gloss into a nice satin finish right now. Just use fine steel wool. It won't hurt the weather resistance as you're just going to reduce the sheen. If you are going to hunt with it this season, do it now to reduce glare that might otherwise alert game animals to your presence. Your rifle looks decent with that stock. I would be ashamed to be seen with one as they come from the dealer, but you've fixed it nicely. Let us know how it shoots now.
 
Thanks all. I don't have a scale that will give a weight for something this light, but it's noticeable heavier than with the plastic stock. The gloss is exaggerated by the flash, it's really not that bad. I may take steel wool to it at some point after I've lived with it for a while.

I should have results from the range tomorrow.
 
Just as a reference, this is my Ruger rimfire in what I think is the same stock but with the satin finish.

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Have you bedded the stock yet? From experience, I can tell you that if you have not, you are wasting ammo until you do. The Boyds Ruger American stock has to be bedded. If I remember correctly, the instructions even say it has to be bedded.
 
Rmart30 said:
Looks good... A $99 Boyds is a great upgrade for budget guns.
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Guess you haven't shopped Boyd's lately, if it isn't a "rapid fire closeout" I doubt you'll get into a stock for $99. The stock pictured was probably more like $150 before shipping. Still they're the only player in the aftermarket RAR stock business right now.
 
Well, I couldn't wait, I just couldn't live with that super high gloss finish. So I started the finish repair project with steel wool, Mother's Mag compound and an old T shirt. It needs a lot more buffing to get it where I want it, but it's already a big improvement.

I'll check into the bedding, sounds like a good investment since I've gone this far. Tomorrow I'll have results from the range with the stock as is.

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You will love the stock. I love mine anyway.:D It greatly improved the accuracy of my .243 Win. American. Bedding the rifle is easy. It is not done the same way traditional bedding job is done. It takes 15 minutes on a bad day. I did a trigger job on mine while I had it apart.
 
I never said it was impossible to get a Boyd's stock for $99, I just said they don't sell many for that price anymore. The OP's stock lists currently for $144 and he added at least another $40 in custom options. Don't get me wrong I think that Boyd's still offers a lot of bang for your buck, and sometimes they are the only player in town when a guy wants/needs to replace a stock. However most stocks are $120+ these days unless they are running a special.

To the OP that stock looks 100% better now. Bedding is a pretty easy job, but watch a few YouTube videos on how to do it before you attempt. Have fun and enjoy your rifle.
 
Yes, it cost me about $170 with the limbsaver pad and the gloss finish. Still worth every penny in my opinion. But if I were doing it over, I would not have paid for the gloss finish since I could have done a much better job myself. In fact, I would probably get an unfinished stock.
 
reynolds357, where can I find instructions for bedding this stock? I figured the first step would be epoxying the V blocks in place. As you know, they come with the stock in a separate bag and you insert them into the stock, but they should be made solid. What else to do?
 
I would like to add that Boyd's shipped my stock just a few days after the order and their customer service was very responsive. I've read negative things about them but that wasn't my experience.
 
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