Looking into replacing the hogsback stock with a straight comb stock on my CZ550 .375. I am looking towards a synthetic stock. My top two options right now are the McMillan in a magnum fill, painted brown, red 1" decelerator pad for around $440 and the stock black Kevlar stock from CZ for around $425.

As I understand, AHR is offering a synthetic stock of their own design now, too? I wouldn't mind having the rifle upgraded to a swing safety and metal coated at the same time. Does anyone have one of Wayne's synthetic stocks? Are their color options available?

I like both the McMillan and the B&C-made CZ "Kevlar."
It would be interesting to hear the specifics on the AHR synthetic stock.

Whatever you do, steer clear of MPI unless you have major fiberglass boat building skills!!!

Here is the medium brown McMillan "Express" stock, fits the CZ 550 Magnum or the BRNO ZKK 602:



The color is moulded-in, not just paint. Magnum fill, jawohl. Has moulded-in checkering too. Also has gunsmith-added stainless steel pillars and hidden cross bolts for good measure.
Even had a secondary barrel lug bedded in the forearm with crossbolt hidden there too,
back when it was dragged all over AK and KY as a ".510/460Wby-Improved-JAB."
Then it got rebarreled to 12.7x68/49-10, and the barrel channel refilled with epoxy.
No.5 sporter contour is the biggest it is supposed to hanndle in the barrel channel from factory,
but this one now has a No.6, and it used to have a fatter barrel than that, a straight taper heavy target barrel.

The CZ Kevlar is more of a dark charcoal gray with spider web accents, texture painted all over, and has a palm swell grip.
With it's full aluminum endoskeleton, I would feel no need for extra reinforcement nor do I even consider secondary lugs on the barrel.
It is a drop-in fit for the barrel on your CZ550 Magnum if it has the .375 H&H standard factory barrel.
Here is the drop-in fit of the bottom metal on a factory .416 Rigby barreled action:



And a 404 Jeffery which is now a .375/404JS'12 with No.3 sporter Pac-Nor:








And the barrel channel can be scraped out to fit a No.6 sporter contour, just like the McMillan can be. Fluted No.6 Lilja sporter on this one, also a .375/404JS'12:

A better look at the B&C CZ Kevlar, with and without a .416 Rigby drop-in.
This one would put 3 shots into 3/4" at 100 yards, with handload, just dropped into stock.
They won't all do that!:

Thank you for the pics/response, RIP. I'm very much in love with the look of the brown McMillan's, especially with the red pads. From looking through a few older threads, I've heard numerous bad reports about the MPI stocks. Was the McMillan easily a drop in stock? Or was fitting required? I've also read great things about the CZ Kevlar stock, just not so fond of the color scheme. Could definitely live with it, but would rather the McM colors.

Brandon,
The McMillan with moulded in color and checkering and magnum fill is a nice, solid feeling stock, heavy as good walnut.
However, it is definitely not a drop-in.
Requires a full bedding job.
McMillan makes a wickedly nice stock for Winchester
M70 with Sunnyhill drop floorplate.
It is a marriage made in riflecrank heaven.
Can't go wrong with a McMillan.

McMillan before bedding:







After bedding by Rusty McGee, with pillars at my request whether it needed them or not. An accurate rifle, WinM70 12.7x68/49-10:

Some more McMillan views,
the CZ stock style is very similar.

With McMillan you can order the proper LOP for you.
Mine here is 14.5" over/with 1" Decelerator.

Hmmm, so something a novice who can follow instructions can do at home? Or best done by a compatent gunsmith? I'm yet to try bedding any of my rifles.

I can bed my own, did when I had too, but Rusty does a better job.
Practice on something else before you do the McMillan, if it will be your first glass bedding job.
Or get a competent gunsmith to do it.

Brandon,

You obviously saw my 700 AHR with a synthetic stock in my most recent posts, and, I also have one on my 600 OK. That being said, the 600 OK uses an MPI synthetic stock, and, it is not only highly functional and flawless in shape, but also beautiful, as well. I am certain that Wayne had much to do with both, but, I have had nothing bad to say about MPI, and, Wayne had been using them for some time as well, so, that should tell you all you need to know about MPI quality.

Wayne did use the stock MPI format for the 600 OK, but, he had to make and shape the 700 AHR stock from an MPI shipping error in order to get it the way we both wanted it...he did a ton of work on it, too! It looks just like the original from the 600 OK, so, if you want a recommendation on a master stock maker, Wayne fits the bill!

Respects,

Phill

My CZ 416 Rigby in a McMillan.

RIP: I'll certainly make this a send out job if bedding is needed, then. Does the stock CZ require glass bedding, also? Or does the aluminum bedding block negate the need? The CZ stock would be available to me as a right now thing rather than a 24 or so week wait on the McMillan. I'd be interested to know how the CZ stock would take a coat of paint??

Phill: I love the way your 700AHR looks. Can't say I recall seeing your 600OK. Was the MPI stock available in additional colors? A lot of the issues I've been reading with the MPI's has stemmed from the fitting of the stock to the action. I suppose this would be a null point if Wayne would be doing the work.

Brandon,

We do use stocks made by MPI. I have them made to my specs by them and then we finish from there. We have internal cross-bolts installed, aluminum pillars, Decellerator recoil pads, and extra weight in the butt if we need it.
The stocks we get are not a drop-in and go, but we are doing the custom finishing anyway. They are bedded by MPI very well; we just have to touch-up bed at the barrel shank.

The CZ factory stock is a very good stock and the alluminum bedding block is great. We do bed the first 1-1/2" or so of the barrelshank and just a skim bedding around the recoil lug. The forend is a little long for most big-bore barrel lengths, and I'm not fond of a palm swell on a big-bore, but those are just aesthetic drawbacks. Overall, you can't go wrong with that stock.

You can send the CZ (B&C) stock to Bell & Carlson to have it painted by them for, IIRC, around 70 or 80 bucks. Can,t remember their turn around time. Should be able to get online and see their colour options..

I,ve got a CZ full stock 9.3, picked up another CZ 9.3 with the factory B&C stock on it,the wood stock ain,t too bad for recoil, the synthetic is an absolute pussycat.

+1 on the CZ synthetic stock. I have two, one on a .416 and one on a .458. Wayne bedded them both when he did his CZ package on both rifles. I really like the look and feel of the stock. Not sure why you would want to paint it, it really looks good with the spider web finish.

quote:

Originally posted by FFemt5287:
RIP: I'll certainly make this a send out job if bedding is needed, then. Does the stock CZ require glass bedding, also? Or does the aluminum bedding block negate the need?

You might get lucky and do well with just dropping into the CZ-Kevlar stock. The rifle will bed itself into the aluminum bedding block.
There are no strength or breakage concerns with that stock, just accuracy considerations.
But just about all rifles will likely be more accurate if you bed the first few inches of barrel and the action.
Discard the F-Block and sliding ferrule and escutcheon of the barrel lug contraption from the wood stock.
Let that remnant recoil lug on the barrel just hang into the barrel channel recess, or better,
bed the barrel all the way out to include that remnant barrel lug and free float it after that.


The CZ stock would be available to me as a right now thing rather than a 24 or so week wait on the McMillan. I'd be interested to know how the CZ stock would take a coat of paint??

Like MJines, I like the CZ-Kevlar texture-paint-job, colors and webs and all.
And the slight palm-swell grip feels good in my hand.
But if you gotta have a brown synthetic stock and a red recoil pad,
you can paint over the current paint, consider it your primer coat.
Then if you scratch off one layer with wear, it will provide interesting "character" to the stock with time.
Or sand it all off and start from scratch,
or send it back to Bell & Carlson in Kansas and let them do it, as mentioned by Muttly.

The color is purely an aesthetic thing to me. I think the CZ kevlar stock might be the way I go as soon as I get the ok from the boss lady when the house renovatons are done next month. Might be my late Christmas present to myself. Thank you all for the advice and experiences.

Brandon,

The MPI stocks that go to Wayne come to him in, if I remember correctly from our conversations, only one color, black, which, of course, is the color of the synthetic materials that make up the stock constituency, and I don't mean donkeys or elephants! Wayne users an epoxy resin as a paint to cover the stock in whatever color scheme you desire.

You did not see my 600 OK, as I posted pics of it in January of this year, but it has a sister theme with the 700 AHR, the only difference being the epoxy paint on the stock, which, while being green as well, is a custom dark green that Wayne came up with himself. I will eventually post a series of pics of both boomers together, at which point you will be able to see the near "twinning" of the pair, sans stock color scheme.

Happy New Year, Brandon!

Respects,

Phill