Ruger's Angled Screws - What's up with that?

B

BumbleBug

New member
I'm a big fan of Ruger #1 single shots. When I got my first one I noticed the angled forend screw & thought it was kinda weird & ugly on an otherwise beautiful rifle. Now my brother has brought me his Ruger 77 & wants me to tune-it up (it has a forend pressure point). Another angled screw!

What's Ruger's logic behind this? Is this suppose to be an accuracy benefit? Does Ruger have more "out-of-the-box" tack-drivers than Win, Rem, or Savage with this bedding? Maybe its just a gimmick?

Just wondering. Any thoughts on this.

...bug
 
They say it pulls the action into the stock better... They've hardly been known for having the tack drivers though. However thats supposedly been more a barrel issue over the years with lots of new ruger owners reporting some great accuracy. I know it's kept me from buying their target rifle since the only replacement stock I could get is a mcmillan that I don't think is worth the asking price.
 
I think it is just a gimmick, something that they thought may sell a few more rifles. Ruger says you should tighten the front screw to 60 inch pounds for best accuracy which is about all I can get on it with a slotted screw driver.
 
When I asked Ruger about that angled screw on their 77's after seeing their 1991 Palma rifles made for the 1992 USA Team having a vertical one in single-shot 77 actions, their response was that their sporting rifles needed to have consistant back pressure against the stock shoulder where the recoil lug abuts against. When I mentioned their Palma rifles had a straight up/down one, he didn't know about that and offered no additional comments. Go figure.

I do think the barreled action needs to be fit with its recoil lug hard against its stop in the stock. Otherwise, depending on how much recoil the barreled action has, it'll shift back a bit if not fit right to start with. That'll cause accuracy problems until it does.
 
In theory I can see the benefits of getting the recoil lug in the same spot in the stock every time without requiring the level of precision fitting with other designs. I think they work fine for hunting rifle accuracy requirements, but probably not the best idea for true precision work.
 
I remember reading the palma rifles had the vertical screw at the request of the folk who had them built in the first place.
 
When Savage came out with their Accu-Stock, they explained that high-speed photos showed actions moving backward and forward and decided to limit forward movement by making less gap ahead of the recoil plate.

I assume that Ruger also found there was some forward movement, so chose to pull the action rearward. The recoil plate on Rugers is quite small when compared with other commercial actions. The first 77 actions were very flexible, to the point I didn't feel comfortable recommending them to folks who were very accuracy-conscious.

They seem to be more accurate now than in the past.
 
Ruger #1s of course have no recoil lug. The front of the receiver directly contacts the forearm, sometimes unevenly due to stock swelling and shrinking which can cause erratic harmonics and groups.

One of my custom #1s has a floated forearm with a conventional 45 degreee screw attached to the barrel. Shoots fine.

Oneb
 
Has anyone noticed that the interior wood on Ruger #1's and M77's is not sealed. Just ask me how I know.
Paul B.
 
Ruger's ideas on their Palma rifles were totally in house; they didn't ask the team for any input. They were weak in knowledge about their requirements. They had horrible triggers, poor stock design and barrels made by a company supplying cheap ones for black powder rifles. Their sights were the best in the world. 19 of them wouldn't hold the 20" ten ring at 1000 yards in accuracy tests. One just barely did.
 
Paul--yeah, I noticed the unfinished interior and the barrel channel is unfinished too. I floated the barrel on my Ruger Hawkeye Predator. Then sealed the barrel channel. It shoots good---1/2 MOA if a flinch bug hasn't bit me.
 
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