Questions about HS Precision stock on Rem 700 action

02 June 2007, 20:08

I have a Rem 700 in 270 I got back in the early 90's. I had put on an HS Precision stock within a year of getting the rifle new. This stock hurts to shoot. I knew it wasn't me or the round itself when I loaded up 42 gr. of 4064 with a 150 gr bullet. Velocity was about 2400 fps (I have a chron.). It still hurt. Quite a bit. Then I shot my Browning BLR in 7'08 with a 140 gr. factory load which was right at 2700 fps. It was like a creampuff.

So I figure part of it might be the recoil pad. Maybe some of it is the stock design.

Can you change the recoil pad on these things? Can you do it yourself? How much does a job like this cost for a gunsmith to put on a Pach. decelerator?

When I hold the rifle in a normal shooting position, the trigger is right in the middle of my index finger; right between the two joints. This seems uncomfortable for me and then I wondered: Just where is the trigger supposed to be on your finger when shooting?

I have to consciously move my face up toward the scope in order to get the whole scope picture. This also seems unnatural and uncomfortable. The scope is a Leupold VariX II on a one piece Leupold base. FWIW, I held a Leupold fixed 4X next to it. Same thing. Same distance needed to eye to get the whole scope picture. The scope is mounted as far back as it can be.

I ask these questions to try and determine if this rifle just does not "fit" me, or if there are things I can do. Going by guidlines I've read here and on bullberry's site, my length of pull should be around 13.5", which is what the Remington is.

Any thoughts? Thanks for any help/advice.

02 June 2007, 22:40

dedseven

JWK,

I once read about a Marlin rifle that was unusually painful to shoot. Turns out that after installing a thick recoil pad someone left a short screwdriver bit inside the pad. As the pad compressed under recoil the bit would become exposed and stab the shooters shoulder! As I remember the rifle changed hands twice before the painful mystery was solved. Probably not your problem but itâ€™s worth checking.

03 June 2007, 00:18

OMJ

Call H-S factory and they will tell you how to remove the factory recoil pad. I epoxied two wood dowels into the rear of the stock so that I would have something to screw into when mounting the new pad.

03 June 2007, 00:24

Westpac

quote:
Originally posted by JWK:
I have a Rem 700 in 270 I got back in the early 90's. I had put on an HS Precision stock within a year of getting the rifle new. This stock hurts to shoot. I knew it wasn't me or the round itself when I loaded up 42 gr. of 4064 with a 150 gr bullet. Velocity was about 2400 fps (I have a chron.). It still hurt. Quite a bit. Then I shot my Browning BLR in 7'08 with a 140 gr. factory load which was right at 2700 fps. It was like a creampuff.

So I figure part of it might be the recoil pad. Maybe some of it is the stock design.

Can you change the recoil pad on these things? Can you do it yourself? How much does a job like this cost for a gunsmith to put on a Pach. decelerator?

When I hold the rifle in a normal shooting position, the trigger is right in the middle of my index finger; right between the two joints. This seems uncomfortable for me and then I wondered: Just where is the trigger supposed to be on your finger when shooting?

I have to consciously move my face up toward the scope in order to get the whole scope picture. This also seems unnatural and uncomfortable. The scope is a Leupold VariX II on a one piece Leupold base. FWIW, I held a Leupold fixed 4X next to it. Same thing. Same distance needed to eye to get the whole scope picture. The scope is mounted as far back as it can be.

I ask these questions to try and determine if this rifle just does not "fit" me, or if there are things I can do. Going by guidlines I've read here and on bullberry's site, my length of pull should be around 13.5", which is what the Remington is.

Any thoughts? Thanks for any help/advice.

Ignore the scope for this "On Line" fitting. REMOVE THE BOLT FROM THE GUN AND SET IT ASIDE. Put on the maximum layer of clothing you will normally wear when using the rifle.

Shoulder the rifle like you normally would with the butt of the stock pulled snuggly into the pocket of your shoulder. With the gun pointed in safe direction, grip the stock like normal and place your finder on the trigger.

When I fit a guns length for a customer, I like to see about a one inch clearance between the nose and the knuckle of the thumb, inch and a half max. Anything less and you're likely to whack your nose under recoil, and anything much longer and you will have to strain to see through the scope.

From this you will need to determine whether you need to add length, or, reduce the length. Don't worry about the position of the scope because it can be moved to accommodate the final fit of the rifle.

Now, the HS Precision stocks recoil pad is glued on. In order to replace that pad, you are going to have to cut the old pad off. If you need to shorten the stock then you simple mark the stock where you need to make the cut, and cut it. You then have to fit and epoxy a block of wood, or, something similar in place to attach the new pad to. If however you need to add length, well, let's hope you don't.

Go check the fit and let us know what you find out.

03 June 2007, 00:57

JWK

Thanks, Westpac. The stock seems to fit OK according to your instructions.

I don't see how the scope can be moved. It's as far back as it can be.

Maybe I just really hate the feel of this stock. I don't like the grip and having that awful recoil pad glued on, well...

This might be just the excuse I need to get a new gun.

I would be very interested in how you solve the problem of the scope being too far forward, just in case I can't afford a new gun this year (I probably can't).

03 June 2007, 01:10

Westpac

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.as...+EXTENSION+RING+SETS

03 June 2007, 04:08

JWK

Ah, I see. Thank you. That makes it even easier to make the decision to get rid of this rifle.

Ya ever notice how some rifles just don't "click" with you no matter how much quality is there (how much money you dump into it with expensive parts and gunsmithing)?

So it goes. Thanks for the info. That's very helpful.

03 June 2007, 07:18

Dwight

Sell the stock on Ebay and then buy a Bell and Carlson stock that comes with the decelerator pad installed already.

03 June 2007, 08:44

Kingfisher

The HS Precisions come with Decelerators, unless they've changed them. The one on mine was. If you're going to replace it, go with a Limbsaver. I just recently went through the same exercise. I had to break the old one off then I put the stock in a vise and gingerly sanded off the leftovers with a belt sander. I then predrilled the holes and fitted a limbsaver to it. No block of wood or anything in between required, and this is on a 338/378.

03 June 2007, 08:49

Westpac

quote:
Originally posted by Kingfisher:
I then predrilled the holes and fitted a limbsaver to it. No block of wood or anything in between required, and this is on a 338/378.

So you screwed the pad to the foam core?

05 June 2007, 08:27

Kingfisher

There's no foam. The stock is composite throughout. Mine is anyway, and with screws of the right length and pre-drilled holes it snugged right up nice and tight.

05 June 2007, 08:36

Westpac

quote:
Originally posted by Kingfisher:
There's no foam. The stock is composite throughout. Mine is anyway, and with screws of the right length and pre-drilled holes it snugged right up nice and tight.

I don't believe I've seen any HS Precision's like that. All the ones I have seen have cores made up of very dense polyurethane foam. That's why the pads are glued on.

05 June 2007, 14:26

RenegadeRN

I just purchased a new Rem 700 in .308 that has the composite stock on it. However, the pad is only about 1/4" thick.

Are ALL Remington rifle composite stocks made by H-S Precision? I am going to have to replace the pad as well. However, I'm not even a 'bubba' so I won't attempt it, but like to know how things are done. Will/should there be any issues later down the road with the wood and epoxy? I didn't figure there would be since the original is glued on, but always ask first. "Measure twice, cut once! Or in my case...measure a dozen times and cut once!" LOL!

05 June 2007, 17:44

Westpac

quote:
Originally posted by RenegadeRN:
Are ALL Remington rifle composite stocks made by H-S Precision? I am going to have to replace the pad as well. However, I'm not even a 'bubba' so I won't attempt it, but like to know how things are done. Will/should there be any issues later down the road with the wood and epoxy?

Not all Remington 700's use HS Precision stocks. The difference between their standard tupperware stock and the HS Precision are like night and day. If it looks like shiny plastic and bends easily, it's tupperware.

If you epoxy the block to the shell you shouldn't have any problems later on.