Microfit stocks?

04 February 2002, 10:58

DeBee

They are having a sale on wood now- factory seconds and blemishes... no dealer discount on the sale however.

If you could get one of these where the blemish is located out on the forend I think you'd be alright because the forends are about 12" long. Try to speak to one of the technicians making the stocks and selecting the blanks, the phone answerers aren't very helpful/knowledgable... tell the techs exactly what you want and expect- they are pretty straightforward.

I recently ordered a AA Bastogne with fiddleback grain in the Old Classic 102 style for my Belgian FN Mauser .270 winter project- still waiting on that one. I'm going to try to "pancake" the cheekpiece and I specified the grain pattern and color be concentrated in the butt and body as I will be cutting away most of the forend and adding an ebony tip for an 8" forend length... they said they'd do their best to accomodate my wishes...

www.rifle-stocks.com

06 February 2002, 01:01

D Hunter

How much work do they require to get a stock from them to a piece of shooting iron? "D"

06 February 2002, 05:39

<k wood>

I've used them, like the other guys said they are a good stock for the money. In my experience, they take a little more work than an Elk Ridge stock. Either way you will have quite a few hours into inletting and finishing.

06 February 2002, 05:56

Kent in IA

Is there a better alternative?

Kent

06 February 2002, 06:48

DeBee

Yes, can we do better for a semi-inleted stock?

I really like the Old Classic styling- I'd even go for a style with no cheekpiece... nothing wild.

06 February 2002, 07:42

scot

Richards did not have a classic stock several years ago. I ordered an expensive piece of wood from them and was told it was a semi inleted "classic". I have done upwards of 100 classic stocks in my life. I know of what I speak, and what an American Classic stock is. They did not send one. What they sent was more like a Weatherby hybrid. There was insufficient wood remaining to make a classic out of it. I had to send it back. They were fine with that and we both walked away on good terms. Lesson here is be sure of what you area getting.

It's getting tough. With Fajen's reorganization about 10 years ago, the options are limited.

06 February 2002, 07:53

scot

quote:
Originally posted by scot:
Richards did not have a classic stock several years ago. I ordered an expensive piece of wood from them and was told it was a semi inleted "classic". I have done upwards of 100 classic stocks in my life. I know of what I speak, and what an American Classic stock is. They did not send one. What they sent was more like a Weatherby hybrid. There was insufficient wood remaining to make a classic out of it. I had to send it back. They were fine with that and we both walked away on good terms. Lesson here is be sure of what you area getting.
Be really sure the "classic 102" or "old classic" is what you want. The one I got was not a "classic" or even properly layed out.
I am probably on the "picky" side. I used to charge in the $1000 range, depending on details, for labor on a stock,I don't do stocks anymore. That is bush league compared to the real stockmakers. Even so I did not feel right about charging for a stock that was anything but up to my standards. Their stock could not be made into my version of a "classic" with correct lines. My version looks a lot like Dakota's stocks.
It's getting tough. With Fajen's reorganization about 10 years ago, the options are limited. Make them from a plank?If you know what you are doing it is no as tough as you might think. You need to know what you want and the difference between a rough cut and a finishing cut. If you dink around with a rasp you could spend years shaping it.

06 February 2002, 15:27

Major Caliber

Try Great American Gunstocks.

06 February 2002, 16:00

Craftsman

This post has been hashed out before but here I go again.

Richards runs a picture of an "Old Classic" style stock in their ads. That is NOT what you will get. They simply take the California Monte Carlo design stock, knock the hump off the comb and cut a shadow line around the cheek piece. It will still have a tight curved pistol grip (picture shows open grip), it will still have a *#!#!)^+~#~^! Weatherby square fore end (not enough wood left to make it classic round shape) and the grip section makes a radical drop behind the tang giving it a gaudy California look.

I have complained about them mis reprsenting their product with that picture to no avail.

One time I ordered 2 stocks. One was XXX American Walnut for a small ring 98 Mauser. The other was XXX English walnut for a large ring 98 Mauser. First they lost my order, finally when I received them I got 2 CLARO walnut stocks, both for large ring 98 Mausers.

When ever you call them they are passive resistive. Very congenial and nice but you just go round and round in circles with them.

Also their duplicators must be worn out. The inletting is very crude and tends to be oversize.

The only good thing I can say about them is I have gotten some relatively good figured wood from them. That doesn't do much good when you want the rifle to resemble a Dakota or Kimber and it looks like a #^!~%*#(* Weatherby.

07 February 2002, 05:50

Customstox

The last time I used either Richards or Great Amer. gun stocks was to get a utility blank to build a pattern. For $50 or so it saves me a lot of time getting to that point. Like Craftsman said, the blank from Richards was basically unusable for a classic. The one from Great American was much the same, I ended up using it but had to add wood just to get the comb back up where it should have been. It was a waste of time for me. I have about 10 patterns now and most are oversize and I then have blanks duplicated on Hoenig duplicators after I glass the action into my pattern. I then have enough spare outside wood to shape the blank to what I want. This is not the approach for the one time user but it works for me. BTW, duplication on a Hoenig will set you back about $250 with your wood, but final inletting will take about 2 hours.

Chic Worthing

07 February 2002, 11:57

larrys

I used a Richards and it did take about 100 hours to get the way I wanted it. I do my own forend tips and caps so square was no problem. If you go to Great American and the bargain page, you can at least see the styles on real stocks. You can also try www.wenig.com and there is also show-me gunstocks. They are both in Lincoln, MO. Show-me is ex-fajen employees that bought most of their stuff. Sorry I forgot the phone number.

08 February 2002, 05:49

scot

Richards runs a picture of an "Old Classic" style stock in their ads. That is NOT what you will get.

I was trying to be kind before, not to flame and such. I am in complete agreement with the other two critical posts. If you want a classic stock, do not buy from them. If you want a Weatherby type go right ahead. Since they did mis-represent their product I will never do business with them again.

08 February 2002, 11:26

Major Caliber

I have their Modern Classic, on a .458 win Mark X. It fits me well, and is easy to shoot for a .458 win.

08 February 2002, 13:52

Terry Blauwkamp

I buy their $49 ecomomy stocks all the time.

Always get more than my moneys worth.

I like the design with a flat forearm.

Usually I don't care what the wood looks like, as I just paint it black, and add a little "spray grit" to the right areas and go hunting.