Hi Guys

I eager to hear your thoughts on the best synthetic stock for a M70 in 458.
I need it to be lightweight and durable. With the standard wooden stock the gun is a kitten to shoot so recoil is not an issue.
Light as possible is what I need.

I look forward to hearing from you
Ian

I like McMillen. They make very good stocks that can really handle recoil but I don't know how light they can make them. The last one I purchased was heavily reinforced for the .500 A-Square cartridge. My rifle was built on the much larger CZ 550 Magnum Safari action and the rifle weighs 9 3/8 pounds. That's pretty light for an unbraked rifle in that caliber and action. If it were me, I'd try to get a .458 Win to the 7.5-8 pound range and the .458 Lott to the 8-8.5 pound range. I would imagine McMillen would work with you on the weight. You can get your Model 70 MUCH lighter than my CZ 550....... and lighter than my preferred .458 weights already mentioned. That's for sure!

Ian,

I had an Armtec stock on my 500Jeff.

Also have one on my 375H&H.

They will build it to your specification.

I am starting a new big bore project, the rifle will be a dedicated trails guide rifle and it will have an Armtec stock.

I have a HS Precision Sporter on my Classic stainless in 375 Weatherby, it has a full aluminium bedding block, pillars etc, I skim bedded it, and it weighed within a half ounce of the original synthetic stock, not enough to even notice. I have several of these on Win Model 70's, they're my favourite.
I have 2 EW's with the Bell and Carlson on them, IMHO, they're not as good as a HS Precision.

Cheers.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I have had two Armtecs, but they all had bubbles in them and were very heavy.
The one on my 308 cracked at the tang after 200. It also was not free floated and touched the stock repeatedly. I eventually cut the whole fore arm away to get it to shoot well. And that was on a rifle that was shooting cloverleaf groups with the old wooden monte carlo it had on before.

The one on the 458 lott was not only heavy but also fitted badly. When the screws were tightened the stock would splay at the top and move away from the action. This could have been attributed to the gunsmith who built the rifle
in the end the rifle and stock were returned to the gunsmith and I got an M70 in 458

I like Chris and Daleen, they are great people, but I cannot say they made me happy with the durability of the product.

I like the bell and carlson on the 300WM extreme weather and was looking at that as the primary option, but I will also go and look at the HS Precision.

Do you guys have any photos of the stocks. Especially close ups of the fit and finish

416RigbyHunter is spot on. I have both B&C Medalist and HS Precision stocks and they are both extremely durable. The aluminum bedding block is the best way to go IMO.

I did have to widen the barrel channel for my Win 70 in 416 Rem. I used a wooden dowel about the size of the barrel and wrapped sandpaper around it to do this. The only issue I have with these two stocks is they have a bit of a slippery surface. If they came with some form of checkering then they would be perfect. One could always do this and repaint it if it became problematic.

Contact D'Arcy Echols he has to stock you need.

Thanks Ryan
Darcy does great work.

Will give him a call

I concur.. D`arcy Echols has good M70 stocks!

Maybe get him to go through feeding also..

Ian
I'm not sure my Legend stock will be what you want as the weight of the stock for a 458 will be no less than your current wooden stock. Can they be made lighter? sure but I would not recommend one as the interior fill material would not be dense enough to hold up under repeated recoil. Also my Mod-70 has only .550 drop from the centerline of the bore at the comb and heel. You have to have a rather high set of Iron sights to use this stock effectively. The stock was designed for scope use primarily but we have assembled quite a few Iron sight only rifles IE with high sights that have worked just fine. If the sights you have are the OEM factory sights that came with the gun from Winchester you'd be hard pressed to get your cheek low enough on the stock to use the Iron's
D'Arcy Echols

I have one of D'Arcy's stocks on my Mod 70 375H&H and it is great, set up for scope only.

I have used a Mod 70 375H&H on a McMillan Safari (I think) stock, it was very good and worked well with iron sights.

Cheers, Chris

I think you could have it timber stocked and still lose a lot of weight compared to the factory stock. I have a Mod 70 458 and it is a bit of a pig, and too short LOP.

One of these days I will have it restocked to fit me and bring it down to around 8 1/2lbs or less unscoped.

I went with a McM Winchester Express with magnum fill for my 416 Rem M70 and am very pleased. It weighs 8 oz less than the factory wood stock. Per D'arcy Echols and McM I did not bed the barrel lug letting the barrel float fully. I did bed the action.

Joe Smithson is making a synthetic on his stock pattern for 98. Might be worth checking for Mod 70 application.

I have an HS Precision.

Bought a 458 here and it came with the HS stock and the factory walnut.

dropped the 458 back in the walnut stock and put a 375 SS action in the HS Precision one.

Great stock IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by RyanB:
Contact D'Arcy Echols he has to stock you need.

I got one from him for a .375 H&H Win 70 Classic Stainless and then sent it and the gun to McMillan for fitting and painting. For a big bore, that stock is great. If you want it really light, get it with Edge technology.

Big bore and Edge techology are not compatible.

Have a look at Oregunsmithing's Pendleton carbon fibre composites.

-Www.oregunsmithingllc.com-

Matt