While working in LA last week I had a chance to
run over to Sun Valley and drop in on Richards Micro-Fit. I had called ahead and spoken with Brad, one of the employee/salesmen, and was given directions on finding the manufacturing plant which I expected it to be. Surprise. It is a very small operation occupying a corner on San Fernando Blvd. off of I5 near the Burbank airport.
I was met there my Cory, I belive the owner's son. He is a really nice guy. Very affable and was more than willing to show me the rifle stocks I was looking for. I found he had also served as a salesman and graded on an off-the-cuff manner based on his experiences of handling many stocks. I had not really prepared for the many questions he was asking but we looked at many stocks varying in price from $75 utility grade to $400 walnut. I found it very interesting that there were only a few of each but I suppose there are too many variables to stock multiples of each. I also found that the majority of the stocks on hand were fitted with forends and grip caps and since I was only looking for old classic stocks he had to dig deeper for me to find what I wanted. He did show me a nice myrtle with ebony caps at a great price which I grabbed up for a future project.
After about an hour of looking, Brad the salesperson showed up from lunch and took over while we looked for a nice Ruger 77 stock. I struck out there as well but did find a stock for a Mark X. Being a Friday afternoon Brad ended our looking by heading out at 2pm. I guess that was the end of my buying session with only 3 stocks in hand. Total time spent with me was about 1.5 hours but that was ok since they did not really know whether I was just looking or buying another dozen. I did try to buy a beauty of a blank on the floor but Brad was out the door pretty quickly so I just called it good enough.
I talked with Cory a little as I was leaving and he too was heading out so I just grabbed a few photos and headed home.
I would say that if you are planning to buy from them- PLEASE DO NOT SEE THIS AS AN ENDORSEMENT OR AS A SLAM- be prepared to give them very detailed specs on what you want and talk with them about the return policy as well as how they grade their wood.
The action fit is very good on the P-17, Mauser and MarkX I did buy and the outside is cut fairly cleanly but will require rasp and finishing work. All in all an ok trip but not one worth travelling specifically to buy.
Next month I am working in Chico and will be heading over to Stanley AVe. to see a stock maker there.
Here are a few photos.
Frank

Neat pics. Thanks!

Terry

Very interesting photos. Very much appreciated.

I just recieved a Richards Microfit stock for a winchester m70 short action blind bottom in an ultralite laminate. Im all the way down in New Zealand so shipping a stock back is not really economic if its stinker. After reading a few negative posts I was a little worried but after a bit of a wait - 12 weeks opposed to the 8 weeks promised (no biggie) I was pleseantly suprised. Great fit in the inletting, exactly what I ordered, lightweight for a laminate and with enough work still needed in the shaping department to get a little creative enjoyment and a personal touch. A big two thumbs up - thanks for the photos its interesting to see where and how it was produced

Been there about half a dozen times. Brad is a real nice guy. It's been maybe two years since I was last there. It was always impressive as hell to see them shaping these things with a sander. He is fast as heck. Given the quantity of stocks they put out you'd never believe how small the operation really is.

Now, if we could just convince them that undersized inletting is good and white line spacers and ventilated recoil pads aren't.

quote:

Originally posted by z1r:
Benn there about half a dozen times. Brad is a real nice guy. It's been maybe two years since I was last there. It was always impressive as hell to see them shaping these things with a sander. He is fast as heck. Given the quantity of stocks they put out you'd bnever believe how small the operation really is.

Now, if we could just convince them that undersized inletting is good and white line spacers and ventilated recoil pads aren't.

AMEN, get rid of a few of those thumbhole disigns and make few more "classic" styles.

But hey, they're in CA What can you expect?...............sorry

Terry

I have the Thumbhole Target on mine. My gunsmith had to remove so much wood, what was scraped away could have built a four-poster bed. He didn't even want to take the job when I told him whose stock I had. But with enough money and time, he's got it just about done. It went into the shop on February 1 and I'm supposed to check on it this week. He tells me it will look fantastic, but I'll never buy another one. When I finally do get my rifle, I'll take some pics and kindly ask one of you to post them for me. It would be pointless for me to try because I don't know how. I am having gigabytes of trouble unzipping zipped flight sim files, so posting pics is definitely out.

If you're going to pay someone to do your stock RMF isn't what you want, it's a waste of money IMO.

I believe those who have very little wood working experience or the desire to learn it are one of three groups who will be disapointed with RMF. Another group are those expecting perfection for a fraction of what perfection costs. The last group being amateurs who have gotten better in their work and find the initial inletting over done in spots or generally crooked without enough wood left to correct it. For somebody looking to learn and willing to except and expect less than perfect they are fine. I do wish they'd cut down on stupid errors like actualy sending what I ordered. I'm about two out of three when it comes to getting what I ordered. I see they now offer a 99% inlet. I wish they'd offer a 50% inlet. Having too much wood is much better than not enough but I believe most people buying these expect a near drop in and they try to cater to that group leaving the rest out in the cold. They also need to offer more styles, their current offering is just plain stuck in the 70's.

I just recieved a stock that was ordered on Feb. 24th of this year. How's that for a wait? I had ordered a "Electric Blue" laminated Tac-Driver. The stock came "turquoise" not blue! Think "Irish Green"!As you might guess I was not too happy. After that long of a wait I'am a little hesitant to send it back. Nothing wrong with the stock except it's the wrong color! I knew ahead of time that it would need some work to get it fitted but the wrong color, I don't think so. If I had wanted "turquoise" I would have ordered it! I noticed in one of the pics that were posted that there is a turquois laminated stock. Thats the "Electric Blue" that I recieved. Not the "Blue" on their web site!