I'm thinking about restocking my Win M70 30/06 with Featherweight barrel contour into a light synthetic stock.

Wanted to hear all the options out there and how light they are.

McMillan Edge is a very nice stock and I think they are 20-22 ounces.

Brown precision has the "pounder" at 16 to 18 ounces but they seem very hard to deal with.

Give me some more ideas.

I have a Brown bought it 20 years ago or so. Their basic blank. Never had any issues with them or the blank.

My lightest is an MPI at the time they called it their One pounder.

I also have a couple High Tech. They have a touch of a plastic feel to me.

If I was going light today I'd give MPI a call.

Most of those ultra-lite stocks get limp as a chunk of wet spaghetti. Stu Reid at Wildcat Composites makes some of the stiffest lightweights I have ever used. I think they weigh in at 17.5 ounces for the blank. You have to add paint bedding and pad. He's good to deal with. Typical redneck. lol

http://wildcatcomposites.com/index.html

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Wildcat Composites

Wow at that price I'll have to give them a try.

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Originally posted by ramrod340:

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Wildcat Composites

Wow at that price I'll have to give them a try.

Na ha. Don't forget. You have to put on a pad, bed and paint the fool thing. They are pretty much paint ready, outside of a couple prime and sands, but it's still a lot of work!

They are mighty stiff for a light weight though, because of the I beam that he runs down the center.

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Na ha. Don't forget. You have to put on a pad, bed and paint the fool thing. They are pretty much paint ready, outside of a couple prime and sands, but it's still a lot of work!

I fully understand it is a BLANK.

I do appreciate the heads up. Yep, little glass work, pad, bedding and paint.

But he is listing them with a magnum barrel contour?

The magnum conture is about 1/32 inch per side wider than the standard so you can just put a layer of tape on the standard conture barrel and then skin bed it to leave it free floated.

The magnum conture barrels just nicely free float with little or no work. If memory serves.

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Originally posted by Snellstrom:

Brown precision has the "pounder" at 16 to 18 ounces but they seem very hard to deal with.

What is BP doing to make things so hard for the customer?

From my own experience,...I sent them money and they sent me exactly what I ordered no problem.

Even if your Featherweight is SS it will never be all that light!

Put the rifle aside for shorter walks or sell it.

Instead look at the Kimber Montana rifles. They have a good fitting but very light stock.

I have a number of Kimbers now. I got my first new M70 in 1957 and I still have it along with their Featherweights and the Kimbers are much lighter. A new light design.

Here is a big old M70 shown with a light Kimber.





Kimber 84M

Thanks Ramrod and Spearchucker I appreciate the experiences with lightweight stocks, I may check out Wildcat, sounds very interesting. I'm already in contact with MPI and Brown.
The rifle out of the stock with scope and rings weighs 6 pounds. Currently the factory Laminate stock weighs 2 pound 3 oz. Making it 8 pounds 3 oz. all up. I've hunted with it like this for many years but have been thinking of a new stock since I had it re barreled, losing a pound or more by switching stocks is enticing.
Thanks again to all of those who responded to my question.

Snell

Friends don't let friends buy Kimbers

I shot my Kimber 8400 Montana 7mm WSM yesterday. It was sighted right in and made a two shot 1/2" group at 100 yds.

The load was the 168 gr Berger VLD over a full charge of R 22 and 215's. The scope is a 4.5-14 Leu.

Brown Precision is building a Kevlar stock for my Titanium Pierce receivered rifle. Promised at 18oz with large recoil pad and sling studs. Yes, that includes bedding and paint. They are not inexpensive for a custom, but I want what I want.

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Originally posted by butchlambert:
Brown Precision is building a Kevlar stock for my Titanium Pierce receivered rifle. Promised at 18oz with large recoil pad and sling studs. Yes, that includes bedding and paint. They are not inexpensive for a custom, but I want what I want.

I finished and painted about 1/2 dozen of those kevlar stocks Butch. I was getting ready to either throw myself under a bus or moideracate the next person that brought one in. Every time I sanded or cut them they turn into fuzz balls and it seemed that the more you tried to cut the fuzzys off, the more fuzzyesterest they would get. I was at my wits end when a customer who did glass and stuff for a living came in and clued me in. You wipe them down with super glue and then sand them lightly with #320 wet and dry and water. No more fuzzys !

Rod,
Brown Precision will do the finish. I will have the metal finished when I get it back and then it should be ready to shoot.

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Originally posted by butchlambert:
Rod,
Brown Precision will do the finish. I will have the metal finished when I get it back and then it should be ready to shoot.

Didja already do the bedding or planning to do it after ? It's sure nice if you can get the gaps filled and get the sticky part done before the paint goes on. More often than not if I get one to bed I end up repainting them.

Rod,
In this case it will all be done by them. I have several of their stocks and know what you are talking about.

Which Brown stock are you getting that will be 18 oz with bedding paint pad and sling swivel studs? I'm curious what model.
I can't get a straight answer out of Brown about approximate weights of their finished stocks.
They told me their lightest blank is 17 oz. without pad, studs, bedding and paint.

Mark Brown gave me the info. I did not order a model. I told Mark that I wanted to send my Titanium barreled action to him for to build a complete out the door stock. I did not want a cheekpiece. Kevlar is the lightest material. I gave him my dimensions.
I will weigh it when it arrives. Could be a day or 6 months.

Okay
Thanks

I ordered a Wildcat Composite about a week ago.
Will let you all know how I like it when it comes in. I have a lot of hunts and a busy fall so will not get it bedded and painted until fall hunts are over.

I'm probaby looking at 4-6 more weeks.

Im a curmudgeon, still using hand picked and very light French walnut that I have had for some umpteen jillion years..but good thread if I ever want a composite light stock, I know where to look.

Received my Ultra Light stock from Wildcat Composites today. I'm very impressed!
Weighed 16 ounces, Win M70 Featherweight style. Needs very little fill and very little bedding.
I'll post a picture when it is completed.

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It was sighted right in and made a two shot 1/2" group at 100 yds.

Two shots is not a group

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Originally posted by p dog shooter:

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It was sighted right in and made a two shot 1/2" group at 100 yds.

Two shots is not a group

Of course it is.....especially from a thin barrel such as the persons you are quating

Besides......this is Snellstrom's light weight stock thread if I remember not a group size debate

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Originally posted by Snellstrom:
Received my Ultra Light stock from Wildcat Composites today. I'm very impressed!
Weighed 16 ounces, Win M70 Featherweight style. Needs very little fill and very little bedding.
I'll post a picture when it is completed.

Stu does really good work. Not like some stocks where you have to put in 1/2 pound of bondo and feather fill to get them paint ready. I like them because they don't twist around and you can set a heavy gun on the bags with no risk of the stock pressing up onto the barrel if you have a close fit between the barrel and stock.


So p dog shooter . I know how everyone hates spelling Nazis and the like. But I JUST HADDA look it up and sure enough a group is actually defined as two or more by all the online dictionary's. You hadda know that some knucklehead would have to be retarded enough to look it up. Dontchaknows LOL

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Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):

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Originally posted by Atkinson:
Im a curmudgeon, still using hand picked and very light French walnut that I have had for some umpteen jillion years..but good thread if I ever want a composite light stock, I know where to look.

I have a fully finished English walnut stock with horn butt plate and steel grip cap ..27 oz and that ;s without any lightening holes. What's the FINAL weight on the "Wildcat"

I have had the Remington short action stocks finish out at 21 ounces bedded, painted and with a thin decelerator. But it's apples and oranges. In my case at least. It's not just about the weight. I have shotguns that I hunt geese with. And those which I chase upland with that I wouldn't dare drag into a goose pit. One gun is a tire iron that I don't feel bad about filling full of dirt and the others, while they are better made guns, are not something that I would intentionally abuse. Wood stocks can be made just as light as synthetics if you really want to trim and manage your trinkets. But a cheap, Kevlar or carbon stock can be replaced if you decide to go: "ass skiing down a scree slope at Mach 16." A select piece of walnut that you fell in love with as a chunk of timber can't.


ADD NOTE:

I have built guns for customers with both wood and glass stocks for the same barreled action. One for trusting to the good graces of quads, saddle horses and airports for sheep and elk. And the other for more gentlemanly ventures like chasing whitetail and mule deer in a more civilized setting.

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Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Yeah...I wear Wal Mart tennis shoes so I won't get my pac's dirty. And I use cotton in my ears for hearing protection so I won't chance losing ear muffs,. I also leave my down sleeping bag at home so I won't get it wrinkled

jeez,I thought I was the only guy to do that!!!

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Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Yeah...I wear Wal Mart tennis shoes so I won't get my pac's dirty. And I use cotton in my ears for hearing protection so I won't chance losing ear muffs,. I also leave my down sleeping bag at home so I won't get it wrinkled

You forgot to pack the Sears catalogue for toilet paper, garbage bags for hip waders and Ramen Noodles for camp food. But I imagine you packed in a hurry to save time too.

You have to leave early to walk both ways uphill

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Originally posted by ted thorn:
You have to leave early to walk both ways uphill

Of course. How else could one be expected to stumble around in the near dark with the sun in their eyes on both the trips.

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Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
So...how's an on line catalog gonna be of any help?

Well hell Duane. As Canadians we can just call this number, 1-888-932-1015 and Sears will send us the old fashioned, butt-wipein, door-stopping, dog-on-the-couch-thwackettaing version in the mail.

But I like the way you use your imagination. Might be a bit messy using one of those USB cards to do the job though.

I was doing a search and came up on this thread.

Manners stocks are growing pretty quickly.

Has anyone looked at these options?

http://mannersstocks.com/hunting-stocks/

Manners makes a good stock, but not the lightest. If 8-16 oz extra doesn't hurt you, give them a try.

My M70 375 H&H wearing a Brown "pounder" that is finished off at 22 oz with bedding, paint and pad. I own Mcm's and High Tech's and this one feels best.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Boxhead:
My M70 375 H&H wearing a Brown "pounder" that is finished off at 22 oz with bedding, paint and pad. I own Mcm's and High Tech's and this one feels best.

What he said : What Feels The Best should govern your decision.
I have McM, Browns, MPI, B&C and a bunch of factory stocks.
In my opinion if you want a light factory copy McM is the way to go but if something more refined is what yo want then Brown or MPI is your best bet, I won't speak about Wildcat beause I have none but they sound like a great option if they feel right to you.
BB

Im with Duane, my custom wood rifles go on horses, 4 wheelers, and my stumbling old a$$ when I hunt, every scar, scratch, mark is a written history of its worth and a reminder of good and bad hunts, that's worth a lot to me at my age..The guns wear and the memories remain..

I went to town a couple of months ago to buy myself a Kimber fwt SS with a glass stock in 257 Roberts, for Idahos bad days, it had sold, so I looked at what they had, and bingo I spied a wood stocked blue Kimber in .308 Win. nice wood and slicker n snot, got a good price because it was blue and wood and hadn't sold...Shot some 3/4 inch three shot groups and all of them would have made a about a one inch group, not to bad for a 5.2 lb. rifle, guess it'll just have to rust up and the stock can fade to driftwood, I won't care. and Ive lasted this long without plastic and SS, guess I'll go out clean when Gabe blows his horn. Does this make me political incorrect? If it does remember I tried, and who knows I may get a SS plastic gun yet.

BTW, I have yet to have a wood stock warp on me, guess I'm lucky, I use good wood, properly cured, and finish them well, they have all been very stable..

What he said, Stainless and plastic don't appeal to me, good wood and classic blue is where it's at in my opinion. Plastic and stainless is for pistols that reside next to your sweaty ass!!