I have a stock on my old FN 257 Roberts that is a home made job from years back. It came to me this way and the grip has always bothered me. It is uncomfortable to say the least. I have been toying with the idea of opening up the grip area and reworking the stock to be not only more aesthetically pleasing but more comfortable and functional. I though I would use it as a checkering exercise as well after the reshaping. Any thoughts on how I should reshape the grip area? Thanks.

Mart

Hi,

Well, I can certainly see why you desire to re-work the stock. Would be nice to see the complete picture. Regardless, I feel you may be out of luck with opening the grip due to the cunt-line to the rear. It appears to be cut rather deep and will most likely end up in the grip. The comb nose wants to be close to the center of the grip cap area when aligned vertically. Looks as though there is too much wood left behind the grip, also. Look up Les Brooks' post on stock making and study. All the lines and contours are there for reasons--aesthetics, fit and appearance. Have at it and remember you would have to work diligently to make it worse in my opinion. This is a great winter learning project.
Just for the record, the adjective I used to describe the valley behind the grip is appropriate in this case. It is a term used in describing the valleys in a twisted rope or line when splicing, braiding or whipping the bitter ends. Nautical.

Luck,

Stephen

"You can't get there from here"

Here is another picture of the stock.

I would personally make a straight grip out of it. Looks like it would clean up nicely. Then you could modify the cheekpiece and lower the Monte Carlo some. I've really never understood why you don't see many straight gripped bolt rifles. I understand that on high recoil claibres a pistol grip helps pull the stock more firmly to the shoulder but the more open the grip the faster it seems to me. Just a thought.

Mart-I would like to see a steel grip cap next to the bottom of the grip so I can better understand the scale of this grip. I has been said by Maurice Ottmar that every line of a stock should be straight or segments of a circle. First off straighten the top of the stock---draw a line from tip at nose to top of buttplate and cut off everything above that line. Next, measure from top of comb to shortest point behind grip and give me the dimension (should be at least 2 3/4 inches but more is better. But before we get ahead of ourselves send me a pic of the grip with a Brownells steel grip cap on top.

This is an unmodified FN Mauser stock:

Between the option of a straight grip or modified, (swept and slimmed) standard pistol grip there is a third option: A small modified protrusion that would affort some of the benefits of a pistol grip without being full sized. I hate to use the example of the Springfield 1903 "scant" stock because I think they are butt ugly, but that's the idea. I have seen some old rifles that have what appears to be an gracefully tapered pistol grip like add-on. (look at the third photo down here) Springfield

The challenge will be to visualize what would be aesthetically acceptable to you, and then have the care and patience to make it happen.

Here's what I would do:
1. Draw a straight line from the heel of the stock through the bottom of the grip cap snug against the vagina"cunt line" and lop off all the excess material. Place the smallest grip cap you can find as far aft as you can, trace the outline, and rasp all the wood back to this line. (stop there if you like the results)
2. If I didn't find that pleasing I would make something like a backwards version of the mid-point schnabels you see on the forearms of some Mannlicher stocks. (might make a nice match for a butterknife bolt handle if you shape it similarly...)
3. If I still did not like the results I would turn it into a straight stock.

I will be interested to see which direction you take this. Please post photos!

P.S. Lord Frith, thanks for the nautical rope/female anatomy lesson, I never knew that!

Thanks guys for all the suggestions and instructions. I will get a picture of the grip cap tomorrow. Right now I have to get ready for night shift. It's my last one of the week then I'm off for a week. I had planned to take the monte carlo off and will most likely take the cheek piece off as well, or at least modify it to a more visually appealing size. I doubt there is much I can do to this stock to make it worse and if I screw it up I do burn firewood. Thanks again. I will keep you posted.

Mart

quote:

Originally posted by mart:
if I screw it up I do burn firewood.

Not sure if your were joking or not, but please don't do this! I love a challenge and would take it off your hands to salvage what I could as long as you don't totally destroy it in the process...

If all else fails, build up the areas you need with epoxy putty and spray it down with Krylon.

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Frith:

Just for the record, the adjective I used to describe the valley behind the grip is appropriate in this case. It is a term used in describing the valleys in a twisted rope or line when splicing, braiding or whipping the bitter ends. Nautical.


Luck,

Stephen

Ashley.

I did a stock reshaping like this last winter, and did a post showing how I did it as I went. Here's the thread:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...231095151#4231095151

I think by thinning the cheekpiece, and reshaping the wrist, you will have about enough room to redo the pistol grip into something that looks okay.

dave

As requested here are some pictures of the grip. I did not have a steel grip cap on hand to compare it with and cannot find the cheesy plastic one that was on it. Hope this helps with the ruler.

Mart

I can see that the grip is too long, but I can also see that if you shorten it (should be less than 1/16 inch from rear grip surface to bottom of stock line) you will also make it smaller and from your photos there is not much left to work with. You could open up the grip some (about 1/4 inch) by using Dressel's small grip, filling the present screw hole and relocating grip cap as far to the rear as possible. call me and I can further explain. 830 634 2229