Renewing a Ruger 77 MkII Stock

[Prose]

Bought a Ruger 77 MkII action and stock off the forums here awhile back. Originally a featherweight .243, but the barrel was shot out. The wood stock had some wear and I figured it would be replaced, but decided to see what was under their one Saturday afternoon.

I've never refinished a stock, pretty much just watched a few Larry Potterfield videos and thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, after all, I'd be replacing it anyways. I steamed it with a Shark floor steamer as opposed to a steam iron. I'm not sure if that's ever been done before, but I recommend it as it worked incredibly well.

Finish is Minwax Antique Oil, sanded in up to P600. It's not flawless, but I was pretty surprised with the grain hidden under the original. I've yet to rub in the beeswax and give it a final polish, but after 7 or 8 coats of oil I think I'll keep it.
l.

 

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[watercam]

The warm sunset color of late afternoon (or early morning?) does not hurt a bit. Nice work.

 

[boltfluter]

Watercam,

Beautiful. Looks like a professional job.

Paul

 

[Prose]

The warm sunset color of late afternoon (or early morning?) does not hurt a bit. Nice work.

I'd be lying if I told you I didn't wait till sunset to take the pictures. My wife is no longer mad at me due to your compliments.

 

[Fast14riot]

Nice work! Satisfying isn't it!? I have a Remington 582 that had a mahogany stock under the brown factory varnish, that was a very pleasant surprise! I did 25 coats of hand rubbed oil finish on it, then cut the shine back to a satin. That's the hard part, all that work to then take steel wool to it!

 

[Prose]

Nice work! Satisfying isn't it!? I have a Remington 582 that had a mahogany stock under the brown factory varnish, that was a very pleasant surprise! I did 25 coats of hand rubbed oil finish on it, then cut the shine back to a satin. That's the hard part, all that work to then take steel wool to it!

More surprising than satisfying! What's the benefit of putting on so many coats of oil? The first five I did were one day apart and the past few have been 4 days apart. After five or so the wood really came alive. I was thinking about going up to 10 or 12 and letting it sit for a month before waxing it. Haven't decided whether it will be satin or shiny yet.

Does cutting it back to satin improve the durability, or hide blemishes better? More coats must allow one to cut it back to satin while still maintaining a thick coat.

 

[Fast14riot]

Hand rubbed oil finish usually goes on thinner per coat, so it takes more to really get that depth in the shine. I cut it back to a satin finish because I didn't want to redo the metal work to match the stock, lol! The gun wasn't a high gloss blue to begin with, so a high gloss stock didn't look right to me. It's also a hunting gun, so no high shine or having to worry about scuffs.

Here's the difference:

 

[Prose]

About 20 coats of oil, lost count. Used pumice and rottenstone to knock back the shine today. My little bro is a beekeeper so I was able to use very high quality wax to finish the finishing finish.

Replaced firing pin and trigger springs, and honed trigger to 2000 grit. Feels about like a very well tuned timney but only cost about 7 bucks plus time. 1.5 pounds with the lighter spring and 2.6 with the original.

Barrel has been completed and delivered to the local smith for fitting. Should have it ready to shoot in not too long.

My budget build is coming to fruition. Always wanted a 260 Rem, but did not like the current offerings from ruger (camo plastic stock, short barrel). A new one is about $850, so that was my budget.

It may have taken 2 1/2 months, but only about 10 minutes every four days per coat, and 20 days after the final coat before knocking it back. Interesting and fun experience. First pick is before knocking it back.

 

[SenderoMan]

Nice work, very satisfying to show off to others.

Now all your friends will be wanting you to do theirs!

 

[jds holler]

I've always thought that those little M77 Featherweights were the bomb for a pure light weight walking rifle. We bought one for my first wife in .243, and when we divorced, I was sure sad to see that rifle go.

Those stocks are definitely worth saving. Are you gonna get another light weight barrel?? jd

 

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I've always thought that those little M77 Featherweights were the bomb for a pure light weight walking rifle. We bought one for my first wife in .243, and when we divorced, I was sure sad to see that rifle go.

Those stocks are definitely worth saving. Are you gonna get another light weight barrel?? jd

The original barrel was .505 @ 22" The replacement is a Douglas #2 Sporter Contour, finished at .600 @ 24" The barrel channel was modified just a tiny bit using sockets wrapped in sand paper.

 

[Prose]

Installed the new barrel tonight. Did not have to do anything but screw it on, head space was perfect.

Inletting was nearly perfect, but I did have to sand a couple spots. The finish is not quite matching but I don't really give a crap about that so long as it shoots. This is a dear rifle so 1 MOA is more than enough, but I will be bedding and nit-picking to make it as good as possible.

 

[joshb]

Nicely done! I'm a wood guy. Most people would have chucked that stock and bought a piece of plastic. Good for you!

 

[Prose]

Nicely done! I'm a wood guy. Most people would have chucked that stock and bought a piece of plastic. Good for you!

There are two places in my home where guns are stored. One for wood and one for plastic/composite/fiberglass. Even my customs with composite are in the naughty corner. They may shoot infinitely better, but good wood is just something to be proud of.

 

[joshb]

I make my stocks to stay busy and I enjoy "creating" useful things. A lot of pleasure can be had from taking a raw blank and seeing what hides inside. I'm slowly replacing all my plastic stocks with wooden ones. I don't care if they become a little less accurate in the process, tho I really don't think they will. The wood is so much nicer.

 

[Prose]

My stock is cracked in front of the trigger. I was doing a very close inspection of mag box and the bedding job trying to get the groups to be more consistent, and found the micro fracture. I cut a 7/64" slot vertically from the top and epoxied a portion of a hardened steel key a la cross bolt . I used the side of a file to cut lots of texture into the key for a locked in fit. Maybe a little unconventional, but I think it will work.