[Cypress]

I got my new stock in and everything looks great but the barrel channel. I guess my barrel is slightly less than a #1 contour. Anyway, I've got a .030-.040 gap on each side for the last 6 or 7 inches. Not a lot but enough to bother me. Who has a good fix for this. The stock is walnut and I plan on finishing it with Tru-oil. I thought of using multiple coats of thick polyurethane to build up the channel but I'm not sure how well it will blend. Any help would be great !!! Thanks in advance.

[oneounceload]

Have you tried using Acraglas?

[LongRifles, Inc.]

Unfortunately your kinda stuck with "band aid" fixes.

You could try pushing the receiver forward to close the gap but chances are this will really dicker with the fit on the tang, the loading port, and the floor metal inlets. Obviously not the best option.

Acraglass can be blended to look like wood. It's not a simple process though. What I've done is take the clear stuff and then made a stain of sorts out of alcohol, walnut shavings, walnut shells, and some creative use with dies.

Mix the acraglass as you normally would and then add the stain mix to it. The alky will thin the resin which normally would be a bad thing (if you were bedding the action for instance) but for spot repairs and cosmetic stuff it'll be just fine so long as the surface prep is good.

You also may try steaming the wood a bit. If you raise the grain it just might close the gap some, but I doubt you'd get all of the gap to close.

If this is a real nice piece of wood (exhibition grade) then I'd have to hang a new barrel on it. Have the contour altered slightly to ensure a 1:1 fit (or whatever your after)

Good luck.

Chad

[LongRifles, Inc.]

Unfortunately your kinda stuck with "band aid" fixes.

You could try pushing the receiver forward to close the gap but chances are this will really dicker with the fit on the tang, the loading port, and the floor metal inlets. Obviously not the best option.

Acraglass can be blended to look like wood. It's not a simple process though. What I've done is take the clear stuff and then made a stain of sorts out of alcohol, walnut shavings, walnut shells, and some creative use with dies.

Mix the acraglass as you normally would and then add the stain mix to it. The alky will thin the resin which normally would be a bad thing (if you were bedding the action for instance) but for spot repairs and cosmetic stuff it'll be just fine so long as the surface prep is good.

You also may try steaming the wood a bit. If you raise the grain it just might close the gap some, but I doubt you'd get all of the gap to close.

If this is a real nice piece of wood (exhibition grade) then I'd have to hang a new barrel on it. Have the contour altered slightly to ensure a 1:1 fit (or whatever your after)

Good luck.

Chad

[Bart B.]

I'd leave it as it is. That's plenty of room to make sure the barrel doesn't contact the fore end in any shooting position/situation. It's typically an accuracy enhancement.

Winchester made some Model 70 stocks with a larger gap between fore end and barrel as the wood they used was a bit flimsier than normal. It worked well. But too many folks complained about that "ugly gap" between stock and barrel, so they quit doing it. Didn't matter that target rifles with heavier stocks had the same gap and folks loved them. Such is life.

[Cypress]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll see what I can come up with. If nothing else works I'll just have to make the gap even all the way and learn to like it.