hunting stock design

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Originally Posted by Bagheera

Wood is such wonderful stuff. Almost anyone can work on it, rework it, make substantial changes, fix problems, drill new screw holes, oil and polish it. I presume you can't take a wood rasp to a carbon stock and fine it down by 5 or 6mm to make it fit your own hands ?

How can you glue on extra bits like a palm swell or cheekpiece and can you move them afterwards ? I'm not talking about a foam and duct tape cheekbit or the electrical tape and epoxy putty swelling I experimented with on an old fiberglass stock of mine.

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You would use a temperature based glue I reckon. Or epoxy...they all have temperatures they melt at...from something like 80 right up to 120

The epoxy I'm using is good for 100degC...so easy to heat and refit fittings. That's how kayak paddles etc are put together and repaired and they carry massive loads.

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Originally Posted by Fisherman

I have a couple of mates who are better shots than me but bloody hopeless on longer shots the moment awkward uphill angles are involved. They don't have great neck flexibility and cant settle into any sort of weld...I've been meaning to think about solutions to that for ages because I'm going the same way with age.

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Yep this is where the rubber hits the road for me. Uphill shots prone are difficult to set up. To get a cheek weld I need to get the rifle up high, like with day bag on end - which is unstable, and if the day bag is not very full, undoable. So you end up with the buttstock on the ground and the neck in an uncomfortable position and the eye hovering behind the scope with little or no contact with the comb. Just have to “make it work” which is actually possible though. At the range I’m reasonably confident out to 300 with that, and working on 500. It’s just about knowing the rifle, knowing your body, finding a way, not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good! An adjustable comb would certainly help in those circumstances but I’m starting to think that the best solution is just lots of practice, rather than having more weight, and yet another thing to fiddle with - range finder, dial, parallax... comb height.... aahg, it’s moved behind a bush. Plus of course other shooting positions - off the knees etc. It does seem to me that a rifle stock must perforce be a compromise between the different requirements of different field positions.

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Originally Posted by WillB

Yep this is where the rubber hits the road for me. Uphill shots prone are difficult to set up. To get a cheek weld I need to get the rifle up high, like with day bag on end - which is unstable, and if the day bag is not very full, undoable. So you end up with the buttstock on the ground and the neck in an uncomfortable position and the eye hovering behind the scope with little or no contact with the comb. Just have to “make it work” which is actually possible though. At the range I’m reasonably confident out to 300 with that, and working on 500. It’s just about knowing the rifle, knowing your body, finding a way, not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good! An adjustable comb would certainly help in those circumstances but I’m starting to think that the best solution is just lots of practice, rather than having more weight, and yet another thing to fiddle with - range finder, dial, parallax... comb height.... aahg, it’s moved behind a bush. Plus of course other shooting positions - off the knees etc. It does seem to me that a rifle stock must perforce be a compromise between the different requirements of different field positions.

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Agree about it getting to complicated...but any weld at all must help and a fixed riser might do that...and I wonder about a rear monopod to get the butt off the ground a bit.
That probably applies more to our style of hunting where you know that there's a really decent chance of an uphill shot. But a simple thread in the butt is easy as.

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Originally Posted by Bagheera

Wood is such wonderful stuff. Almost anyone can work on it, rework it, make substantial changes, fix problems, drill new screw holes, oil and polish it. I presume you can't take a wood rasp to a carbon stock and fine it down by 5 or 6mm to make it fit your own hands ?

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You would be brave to try...most are a thin layer of carbon with a centre of epoxy filler that's pretty strong...but you are messing with the structure.

Cheers for all the feedback...time to have a serious think about where I take this thing...both design and building process. A question I forgot to ask is how important the carbon finish is to people. Like PSE (https://www.pse-composites.com/) the process probably demands painting for a 1st class finish.

Yep, Edi who owns PSE is a German professional composites engineer and really knows his stuff. Some of his E-TAC stocks have won some major competitions.

Not trying to hijack the thread but I have one of his now spare off my son's T3 which he sold:
https://www.pse-composites.com/colle...-multi-purpose

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Originally Posted by 6x47

Yep, Edi who owns PSE is a German professional composites engineer and really knows his stuff. Some of his E-TAC stocks have won some major competitions.

Not trying to hijack the thread but I have one of his now spare off my son's T3 which he sold:
https://www.pse-composites.com/colle...-multi-purpose

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Unbelievable engineering in those stocks at a good price...I would give my eye teeth to walk around that factory.

For me the comb height is important for recoil control and spotting the shot with a suppressed magnum rifle. Next to impossible for me with a standard tikka stock.

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Originally Posted by McNotty

For me the comb height is important for recoil control and spotting the shot with a suppressed magnum rifle. Next to impossible for me with a standard tikka stock.

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How have you achieved that...a different stock or a cheek riser?

Have been thinking of giving the home made carbon stock a go myself. Once you have your two halves how do you do the stock fill and in letting? What materials do you use?

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Originally Posted by Robojaz

Have been thinking of giving the home made carbon stock a go myself. Once you have your two halves how do you do the stock fill and in letting? What materials do you use?

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Its a bit of a process that and the real effort is making the mold. I think West epoxies and 413 microfibre are the way to go.
https://www.westsystem.com/403-microfibers/

It's not really a 'home made' stock unless you dig the coal and process it into carbon fiber in your garage. Like cutting a bough off a Walnut tree and seasoning it compared to buying an in-letted blank.

Sako 75 stock design would suit most people, and most shooting positions.

Attachment 123274

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Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

Sako 75 stock design would suit most people, and most shooting positions.

Attachment 123274

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I need to get hold of one...

I put my brno 601 delux on top of my sako 75 to compare as I like them both for fit and comfort
The similarities are strong between these two

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Originally Posted by Fisherman

How have you achieved that...a different stock or a cheek riser?

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With a cheek riser, but an adjustable stock would be nice though. Gets the job done so not too worried.

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Originally Posted by Fisherman

I need to get hold of one...

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I have a synthetic one I can sell you . Pm me if you want

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Originally Posted by Friwi

I have a synthetic one I can sell you . Pm me if you want

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I'll keep it in mind thanks Friwi...It might be easier to buy a complete rifle (then rebarrel it to 284)

I pretty much finished the first stock yesterday (half a dozen to do in the draw) with my new process and its 500 grams...that's with the recoil pad to come.
I hope to knock another 50 grams or so off that so target weight is 500 or below with a factory recoil pad (which will transfer directly across from the factory stock) Having said that strength and durability have to be more important than the lightest weight possible...but the tradeoff can be a choice for different applications.

Have a manners EH8 on my bergara and I reckon it's a real good shape, has just enough rise through the comb to make it comfortable for eye relief and cheek weld and manages to keep its "classic lines" (I reckon big stick on cheek risers look damn retarded)
Its light and forend makes it comfortable for off hand shooting.
Attachment 123361

As much as anything it comes down to how you will use the rifle and personal fit. I am more of an active hunter rather than a sit and snipe type. Different stock styles might come in to play for the different styles. I really like the simple classic slim style that works fast and well for bush hunting as well as the odd longer shot. For me a stock style that is not too complicated works best. The more mods you have on it the slower to throw it up. I like a straighter pistol grip for this reason. The rifle handles and points more like a shot gun. But OK if you have the time to 'snuggle in'. The Remington SPS shape is a cracker and my personal preference is the MacMillan Hunters Edge stocks. They tick all my boxes and being CF they mean weight forward for faster to the shoulder and steadier off hand shooting. The Tikka T3 factory stock design looks pretty good too. The main thing is to try different syles. You will know the stock that fits you best. It will be noticeably better for you personally. Aside from that it is quality of build.