Ruger No.3 Question

[The Dust Collector]

I must be gett'in soft, since it seems to me that my old friend is now kicking the $#!+ out of me now. I have had a Ruger No.3 in 45/70 for many years now and I have been using the same load as it gives such nice performance. I don't want to reduce my load. ( 50 grains of Reloder #7 with a 457124 ).
My question is : Does anyone know if a Ruger No.1 stock will drop into a Ruger No.3 without modificatios?
I don't have the bucks to do the custom thing.
That curved buttplate has become annouying in my "old" age!

Thanx DUST

[August]

May I suggest a lace on butt pad????? They look good on traditional rifles, like the no.3. Alternatively, I wear a Past Recoil Shield when I shoot my number 3 and light weight hi-wall. Works for me.

Yes, wood will drop in, but please don't wreck that No. 3.

[Harry O]

I've got three Ruger No. 3's. Two of them have No. 1 wood on them. One was bought that way. I changed the second one (if I did it right, the picture is below). I am now working on restocking the third one with No. 1 wood.

I don't know if finished No. 1 wood will work on the No. 3 without any fitting. The two I have were 95% finished. Both required fitting, but I don't think it was because it was a No. 3. Just normal fitting for a near finished stock.

The one pictured is a 30-40 Krag. The first time I shot it (with factory loads and the original metal buttplate), I literally had a black and blue mark on my shoulder afterward. Before going to this extreme, I put recoil pads on both the No. 3 stocks (the other one is a .375 Winchester). It helped, but did not make shooting enjoyable. Part of the problem is that the No. 3 stock has more drop at the heel and the area at the rear of the stock is less than a No. 1.

I bought a 7mm/30-40 Krag Improved wildcat No. 3 that already had a No. 1 stock. Recoil was a pussycat. I decided to change my 30-40. Finished it a month or two ago and took it shooting. The difference in felt recoil is like night and day. Then my wife tried it and demanded that I do the same to hers. That is the one I am working on now (although in .375 Win, I load it with BP to make a faux 38-55 -- she likes BP).

Anyway, if you are having a problem with recoil on a No. 3, changing to No. 1 wood will definitely help.

http://www.hunt101.com/img/479855.JPG