Synthetic Stock that Balances Like Wood

jackstrawIII · November 20, 2017, 08:39 PM

Help me out.

I really prefer the weight and balance of wood stocks. However, I don’t like hunting in cold/wet weather with them. Been trying to find a synthetic stock that mimics the density and weight of a wood stock, but can’t seem to find what I’m looking for. I own rifles with McMillan, Bell and Carlson, etc stocks and they’re high quality and balance well with pencil weight barrels, but too light for my preference with a standard weight barrel.

Anyone know of someone that makes a heavier sporting fiberglass stock? Seems counter intuitive, but I’d be all over it if someone made one.

Thanks.

O4L · November 20, 2017, 10:43 PM

My solution to that problem was to finish a wood stock with black truck bed liner. It works great with a nice weatherproof grip texture and the weight I prefer.

taylorce1 · November 20, 2017, 11:19 PM

It would help to know what rifle you're trying to stock? Plus what fill are you using with your McMillan, is it magnum, standard or edge? That'll make a difference in how much the stock weighs and feels.

jmr40 · November 21, 2017, 12:07 AM

It's in your head.

A standard weight McMillan or most other quality synthetics weigh the same and balance exactly like a wood stock. Bell and Carlson stocks are significantly HEAVIER than wood. Put some on a postal scale sometime. You can pay a premium for one of the Edge stocks made from Kevlar that weigh about 1/2 lb less than fiberglass, but I find they balance just fine due to the construction.

Some of the cheaper injection molded stocks that have hollow butt stocks can create a muzzle heavy feel with standard contour barrels.

Wyosmith · November 21, 2017, 12:18 AM

If I am not using nice wood I prefer laminates over plastic because I can shape it any way you can wood and it's not hollow. So mounting butt plates or pads as well as grip caps and tips in just like any wood stock.

jackstrawIII · November 21, 2017, 09:26 AM

JMR, I'll have to bust out the scale and try it... I find that so hard to believe. But, I've been wrong before.

Wyosmith, I was actually thinking about trying a laminate stock on the new 6.8 build I'm preparing for. Maybe I'll give it a shot. My only experience with a laminate stock was on a old Mossberg and the gun as a whole didn't do it for me. But I'm willing to try again.

Paul B. · November 21, 2017, 06:11 PM

"If I am not using nice wood I prefer laminates over plastic because I can shape it any way you can wood and it's not hollow. So mounting butt plates or pads as well as grip caps and tips in just like any wood stock."

I have several rifles with McMillans and they ain't hollow. I also have stocks that were hollow but I used that electrical insulating foam as a filler and that takes care of the hollowness. You have to work quickly as that stuff expands quite rapidly. Also, mask everything off thoroughly.
Paul B.
Paul B.

tdoyka · November 22, 2017, 01:41 PM

Synthetic Stock that Balances Like Wood

i'm a wood guy and i'm a laminate guy. i am NOT a synthetic guy. they could burn all synthetic stocks

and i wouldn't give them(synthetics) the time of day.

momma always told me to say nuthin bad, but i hate synthetic stocks!!!

jackstrawIII · November 22, 2017, 03:23 PM

Tdoyka,

You ever used a good fiberglass stock? Like on a Kimber Montana or similar?

Totally different animal than the junk on a $250 Savage Axis or the like. Totally different.

Don’t want to make assumptions, but I think you may change your tune once you experience the high end stuff. It’s awesome.

tdoyka · November 22, 2017, 04:18 PM

i only own 1 salvage and its not for me.

yes i have owned mcmillian, h-s precision and pendleton synthetics. and they are total different. but they burn just as good as a junk stock.

AlaBusa · November 22, 2017, 06:20 PM

Get a laminated stock and have the wood you like that is as tough as synthetic.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

Picher · November 30, 2017, 09:18 AM

I don't like most factory laminated stocks and some after-market ones that use Birch. It's a soft wood that doesn't like checkering and, due to glue, often weighs more than an equivalent regular walnut stock. Also, I've noticed that they tend to lose accuracy as rounded receivers, torqued down, tend to make them spread. IMHO, they should be pillar-bedded, but to keep them from spreading, several factories now use through-bolts...to keep the spreading down?

reinert · November 30, 2017, 11:24 AM

I have two Remington 700 ADLs that are my two most "go to" hunting rifles these days. Both are in '06. One, built in the mid-90s, has the factory synthetic stock, and the other, a '68 vintage rifle, has a nice walnut stock. The syn-stocked rifle actually weighs a couple of ounces more than the old woodie.

While hunting, I can't tell the difference between them as I use them (as far as weight and "feel"). They both fit me very well, both shoot very good, and I wouldn't do anything to change them. I've used, for the past couple of years, the old woodie '06 for deer hunting, and have developed a load for just that purpose. I killed my mulie buck with it in early October, and generally, the weather is nice during that month in Wyoming; fun carrying that cool old Rem out in the hills.

The newer syn-stocked 700 I use for elk hunting, and have a load I like for it for that purpose. On the mountain, it's usually colder, and possibly wetter than my October hunts out on the plains, so I like that syn-stocked business. I killed my cow elk with it this season the first part of November, lying in the snow, shooting over my daypack. That rifle is about as plain a Jane rifle as one could shoot, but it's a fine and accurate hunting rifle for any weather I might encounter in the high country. Both of my 700s have one-piece Leupold mounts, with fixed power Leupold scopes on them. For me, and for what it's worth, I can't really tell the difference in weight, feel, or performance. They both weigh a bit over 8 and 1/2 pounds without ammo, and again, the syn-stocked '06 weighs a couple of ounces more than the woodie.

I also have a laminated Rem ADL stock I found on ebay that I wanted to try on the syn-stocked rifle, but I have no reason to change anything on it. It just performs too well to mess with it.

Picher · December 7, 2017, 10:30 AM

Things you can do to a synthetic stock to make it better, either for balance or for accuracy/use. I usually pillar-bed them and hog-out the forend and fill any voids with bedding compound to make it stiffer.

If it's too barrel-heavy, you can remove the recoil pad drill a hole and glue-in some birdshot. To cut noise when going through the woods, fill the stock void with spray-in styrofoam insulation.

JP

flashhole · December 11, 2017, 07:34 PM

Have you ruled out the idea of putting fill in the synthetic stock you have?

Mobuck · December 12, 2017, 07:07 AM

"Have you ruled out the idea of putting fill in the synthetic stock you have?"
That was going to be my suggestion.
Is the "balance issue" based on the lack of butt weight? If so, it's an easy task to pull the butt plate/pad and add some weight. I will say that "balance" in a rifle is more aesthetic than functional vs "balance" in a shotgun which affects how the gun swings and follows targets.
I admit to using mostly synthetic stocks and many of my rifles are muzzle heavy. I put more faith in a long heavy barrel(which does actually affect accuracy) than in the handle.

jackstrawIII · December 12, 2017, 09:05 PM

I like the idea of using a filler in the stock to bring the balance point back further. That's really what it is, I like the weight to be balanced further back than most folks.

Mobuck · December 13, 2017, 07:54 AM

When my blind Son was doing the handicapped hunts, we were invited to do a muzzleloader hunt in Nebraska. Knight Muzzleloaders donated him a 50 cal rifle and I set about making it suitable for a 15 year old's use. Off came the butt plate and in went 1.5# of lead shot mixed with Acra-Glas bedding compound topped off with a soft pad. Recoil became a non-issue and the butt heavy balance solved the problem of holding the rifle steady w/o having it lift off his shoulder.

flashhole · December 13, 2017, 05:46 PM

Mobuck - I have to ask, and I'm asking with great respect for you and your son and his stated handicap of being blind. How can he hunt?

Mobuck · December 13, 2017, 07:03 PM

"Mobuck - I have to ask, and I'm asking with great respect for you and your son and his stated handicap of being blind. How can he hunt?"
An "assisted sighting device" of my own design and manufacture that allows a sighted assistant to aim the rifle/shotgun while the blind person holds and fires it. Approximately 28 deer, a 6x6 bull elk, Corsican ram, and pheasant on the wing prove it works.

flashhole · December 13, 2017, 08:09 PM

I am truly impressed. Thank you for sharing.

November 20, 2017, 08:39 PM	#1
jackstrawIII Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2016 Location: Upstate NY. Posts: 901	Synthetic Stock that Balances Like Wood Help me out. I really prefer the weight and balance of wood stocks. However, I don’t like hunting in cold/wet weather with them. Been trying to find a synthetic stock that mimics the density and weight of a wood stock, but can’t seem to find what I’m looking for. I own rifles with McMillan, Bell and Carlson, etc stocks and they’re high quality and balance well with pencil weight barrels, but too light for my preference with a standard weight barrel. Anyone know of someone that makes a heavier sporting fiberglass stock? Seems counter intuitive, but I’d be all over it if someone made one. Thanks. __________________ In God we trust.

November 20, 2017, 11:19 PM	#3
taylorce1 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2005 Location: On the Santa Fe Trail Posts: 8,242	It would help to know what rifle you're trying to stock? Plus what fill are you using with your McMillan, is it magnum, standard or edge? That'll make a difference in how much the stock weighs and feels. __________________ NRA Life Member

November 21, 2017, 12:07 AM	#4
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,805	It's in your head. A standard weight McMillan or most other quality synthetics weigh the same and balance exactly like a wood stock. Bell and Carlson stocks are significantly HEAVIER than wood. Put some on a postal scale sometime. You can pay a premium for one of the Edge stocks made from Kevlar that weigh about 1/2 lb less than fiberglass, but I find they balance just fine due to the construction. Some of the cheaper injection molded stocks that have hollow butt stocks can create a muzzle heavy feel with standard contour barrels. __________________ "If you're still doing things the same way you were doing them 10 years ago, you're doing it wrong" Winston Churchill

November 21, 2017, 09:26 AM	#6
jackstrawIII Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2016 Location: Upstate NY. Posts: 901	JMR, I'll have to bust out the scale and try it... I find that so hard to believe. But, I've been wrong before. Wyosmith, I was actually thinking about trying a laminate stock on the new 6.8 build I'm preparing for. Maybe I'll give it a shot. My only experience with a laminate stock was on a old Mossberg and the gun as a whole didn't do it for me. But I'm willing to try again. __________________ In God we trust.

November 21, 2017, 06:11 PM	#7
Paul B. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 1999 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,801	"If I am not using nice wood I prefer laminates over plastic because I can shape it any way you can wood and it's not hollow. So mounting butt plates or pads as well as grip caps and tips in just like any wood stock." I have several rifles with McMillans and they ain't hollow. I also have stocks that were hollow but I used that electrical insulating foam as a filler and that takes care of the hollowness. You have to work quickly as that stuff expands quite rapidly. Also, mask everything off thoroughly. Paul B. Paul B. __________________ COMPROMISE IS NOT AN OPTION!

November 20, 2017, 10:43 PM	#2
O4L Senior Member Join Date: September 16, 2015 Posts: 646	My solution to that problem was to finish a wood stock with black truck bed liner. It works great with a nice weatherproof grip texture and the weight I prefer.

November 21, 2017, 12:18 AM	#5
Wyosmith Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2010 Location: Shoshoni Wyoming Posts: 2,713	If I am not using nice wood I prefer laminates over plastic because I can shape it any way you can wood and it's not hollow. So mounting butt plates or pads as well as grip caps and tips in just like any wood stock.

November 22, 2017, 01:41 PM	#8
tdoyka Senior Member Join Date: October 3, 2013 Location: windber, pa Posts: 300	Synthetic Stock that Balances Like Wood i'm a wood guy and i'm a laminate guy. i am NOT a synthetic guy. they could burn all synthetic stocks and i wouldn't give them(synthetics) the time of day. momma always told me to say nuthin bad, but i hate synthetic stocks!!! __________________ The generation now coming out of Western schools is unable to distinguish good from bad. Even those words are unacceptable. This results in impaired thinking ability. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Μολών λαβέ !

November 22, 2017, 03:23 PM	#9
jackstrawIII Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2016 Location: Upstate NY. Posts: 901	Tdoyka, You ever used a good fiberglass stock? Like on a Kimber Montana or similar? Totally different animal than the junk on a $250 Savage Axis or the like. Totally different. Don’t want to make assumptions, but I think you may change your tune once you experience the high end stuff. It’s awesome. __________________ In God we trust.

November 22, 2017, 04:18 PM	#10
tdoyka Senior Member Join Date: October 3, 2013 Location: windber, pa Posts: 300	i only own 1 salvage and its not for me. yes i have owned mcmillian, h-s precision and pendleton synthetics. and they are total different. but they burn just as good as a junk stock. __________________ The generation now coming out of Western schools is unable to distinguish good from bad. Even those words are unacceptable. This results in impaired thinking ability. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Μολών λαβέ !

November 22, 2017, 06:20 PM	#11
AlaBusa Member Join Date: November 22, 2017 Posts: 30	Get a laminated stock and have the wood you like that is as tough as synthetic. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

November 30, 2017, 09:18 AM	#12
Picher Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Maine Posts: 3,694	I don't like most factory laminated stocks and some after-market ones that use Birch. It's a soft wood that doesn't like checkering and, due to glue, often weighs more than an equivalent regular walnut stock. Also, I've noticed that they tend to lose accuracy as rounded receivers, torqued down, tend to make them spread. IMHO, they should be pillar-bedded, but to keep them from spreading, several factories now use through-bolts...to keep the spreading down?

November 30, 2017, 11:24 AM	#13
reinert Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 646	I have two Remington 700 ADLs that are my two most "go to" hunting rifles these days. Both are in '06. One, built in the mid-90s, has the factory synthetic stock, and the other, a '68 vintage rifle, has a nice walnut stock. The syn-stocked rifle actually weighs a couple of ounces more than the old woodie. While hunting, I can't tell the difference between them as I use them (as far as weight and "feel"). They both fit me very well, both shoot very good, and I wouldn't do anything to change them. I've used, for the past couple of years, the old woodie '06 for deer hunting, and have developed a load for just that purpose. I killed my mulie buck with it in early October, and generally, the weather is nice during that month in Wyoming; fun carrying that cool old Rem out in the hills. The newer syn-stocked 700 I use for elk hunting, and have a load I like for it for that purpose. On the mountain, it's usually colder, and possibly wetter than my October hunts out on the plains, so I like that syn-stocked business. I killed my cow elk with it this season the first part of November, lying in the snow, shooting over my daypack. That rifle is about as plain a Jane rifle as one could shoot, but it's a fine and accurate hunting rifle for any weather I might encounter in the high country. Both of my 700s have one-piece Leupold mounts, with fixed power Leupold scopes on them. For me, and for what it's worth, I can't really tell the difference in weight, feel, or performance. They both weigh a bit over 8 and 1/2 pounds without ammo, and again, the syn-stocked '06 weighs a couple of ounces more than the woodie. I also have a laminated Rem ADL stock I found on ebay that I wanted to try on the syn-stocked rifle, but I have no reason to change anything on it. It just performs too well to mess with it.

December 7, 2017, 10:30 AM	#14
Picher Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Maine Posts: 3,694	Things you can do to a synthetic stock to make it better, either for balance or for accuracy/use. I usually pillar-bed them and hog-out the forend and fill any voids with bedding compound to make it stiffer. If it's too barrel-heavy, you can remove the recoil pad drill a hole and glue-in some birdshot. To cut noise when going through the woods, fill the stock void with spray-in styrofoam insulation. JP

December 11, 2017, 07:34 PM	#15
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	Have you ruled out the idea of putting fill in the synthetic stock you have? __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

December 12, 2017, 07:07 AM	#16
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	"Have you ruled out the idea of putting fill in the synthetic stock you have?" That was going to be my suggestion. Is the "balance issue" based on the lack of butt weight? If so, it's an easy task to pull the butt plate/pad and add some weight. I will say that "balance" in a rifle is more aesthetic than functional vs "balance" in a shotgun which affects how the gun swings and follows targets. I admit to using mostly synthetic stocks and many of my rifles are muzzle heavy. I put more faith in a long heavy barrel(which does actually affect accuracy) than in the handle.

December 12, 2017, 09:05 PM	#17
jackstrawIII Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2016 Location: Upstate NY. Posts: 901	I like the idea of using a filler in the stock to bring the balance point back further. That's really what it is, I like the weight to be balanced further back than most folks. __________________ In God we trust.

December 13, 2017, 07:54 AM	#18
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	When my blind Son was doing the handicapped hunts, we were invited to do a muzzleloader hunt in Nebraska. Knight Muzzleloaders donated him a 50 cal rifle and I set about making it suitable for a 15 year old's use. Off came the butt plate and in went 1.5# of lead shot mixed with Acra-Glas bedding compound topped off with a soft pad. Recoil became a non-issue and the butt heavy balance solved the problem of holding the rifle steady w/o having it lift off his shoulder.

December 13, 2017, 05:46 PM	#19
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	Mobuck - I have to ask, and I'm asking with great respect for you and your son and his stated handicap of being blind. How can he hunt? __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

December 13, 2017, 07:03 PM	#20
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	"Mobuck - I have to ask, and I'm asking with great respect for you and your son and his stated handicap of being blind. How can he hunt?" An "assisted sighting device" of my own design and manufacture that allows a sighted assistant to aim the rifle/shotgun while the blind person holds and fires it. Approximately 28 deer, a 6x6 bull elk, Corsican ram, and pheasant on the wing prove it works.

December 13, 2017, 08:09 PM	#21
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	I am truly impressed. Thank you for sharing. __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?