Stock replacement on remington 700 SPS Varminter

[dodge]

Just bought this rifle in 308 and am thinking of replacing the factory stock with either a Bell & Carlson or a HS Precision. Both of which is in my price range. My question is which one and why would you use that brand.

 

[TNBilly]

6 of one half dozen of another......... B&C is generally heavier..... you really need to see if you can lay hands on both if you can and see your preference. Everyone "fits" different, it's personal don't ya know!

 

[allaroundhunter]

I added a B&C A4 style stock to mine and it is great. Heavy, but I didn't get the gun with the intention of it ever being one that I carry for too long. I will get a picture of it up for you here soon if you'd like.

 

[LeonCarr]

I went with the Choate Tactical Stock (Different stock than the Ultimate Sniper or Ultimate Varmint) on mine due to having issues with B&C and H-S Precision stocks having the stocks crack around the front swing swivel studs and having sling swivel studs pull out of the stocks with a Harris Bipod attached.

I would pick the Choate Tactical Stock over the H-S Precision or the B&C any day.

http://www.riflestock.com/store/do/product/TRS/25-01-01

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[C-grunt]

How did you pull the sling stud out of the B&C? They are connected to the inner aluminum chassis. I have heard of it happening with the HS Precision stocks.

I run a B&C stock on my SPS-V and it's been a great stock. I will eventually replace it with a full chassis system though.

 

[AK103K]

I have a B&C M40 on my SPS. So far, its worked well, much nicer than the Overmolded it came with. No troubles with the bipod/stud yet.

 

[EchoM70]

I've got two Remington 700 Varmints set up with bell and carlson medalist stocks. No complaints at all, very satisfied with both.

 

[LeonCarr]

The B&C Medalist I had was advertised as having the full length aluminum bedding block/chassis. Mine must have been made on a Friday or a Monday because the aluminum chassis stopped about one inch short of the sling swivel stud. It made me so mad when the swivel pulled out that I verified it by cutting the forend inch by inch with a hacksaw .

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[rhinoh]

Dodge- are you trying to improve accuracy? If so you might be disappointed. My .308 heavy barrel 700 "varmint" is not near as accurate as it should be. I borrowed a Choate that free floats the barrel to see if it improved. It did not, sure was glad I didn't buy one...

 

[cat_IT_guy]

Very happy with my B&C stock on my SPS Varmint. It is much cooler looking and much heavier/stockier than the boring black factory stock.

On a sidenote, and apologies for threadjacking a bit.... but EchoM70... is that a KRG bolt lift on your rifle? Do you like it? How solid? I've toyed with trying to DIY thread my bolt but that makes me nervous as replacement bolts arent exactly drop in. The KRG appeals to me.... if its really solid and not cheap feeling.

 

[Detritus]

Put a B&C on mine about 3 years ago. been rather happy with it. (please excuse old pic and cluttered workroom)



as for a stock change improving accuracy.. I have to say that in my case it didn't improve the rifle any (ie the rifle did not become anymore inherently accurate) but it improved how I the shooter interfaced with the rifle. meaning that my ability to get a consistent and steady hold was improved.
But Handloads and a Timney trigger so far have made the biggest improvements.

Also I haven't skim-bedded the stock yet so that may make a small improvement when I do.

I've toyed with trying to DIY thread my bolt but that makes me nervous

Did that about 18months or so ago.



cut the factory Knob down to a square shape (used a mill since I was a machine tech student at local college at that time), Ground the squared area down to just over 5/16" and round on a bench grinder and then ran a 5/16-24 Die over the stub. the steel Remington uses for their bolt knobs is surprisingly soft btw.


Reminds me I need to take up to date pics of this rifle...

 

[EchoM70]

On a sidenote, and apologies for threadjacking a bit.... but EchoM70... is that a KRG bolt lift on your rifle? Do you like it? How solid? I've toyed with trying to DIY thread my bolt but that makes me nervous as replacement bolts arent exactly drop in. The KRG appeals to me.... if its really solid and not cheap feeling.

Yes it is the KRG Bolt Lift. I've had it on the rifle for about a year and so far I really enjoy it and would buy another one if going the tactical route again. My main selling point was it isn't permanent, if I wanted to go another route with the rifle I could.

It's fairly sturdy and it does not feel cheap, but there is a small amount of play in it. Hardly enough to notice or cause a problem, but it's still there. You have the option to epoxy bed it and I've heard that clears up any play you might experience with it.

I would definitely recommend it, I've been more than pleased with it.

 

[dodge]

It's not so much for improved accuracy but I don't really like the factory stock. So far I haven't shot it enough to really see how it will shoot due the weather here. I'm not a really big fan in shooting in 20 degree or colder weather. With what I have shot it ( 22 rounds) I was able to put 5 shots into 1" to 1 1/4" group with 3 touching each other. The other two was pulled slightly which opened the group. I believe this was due to the X Pro trigger that wouldn't adjust to a lighter pull. I have just recently installed a Timney trigger on it and hopefully get to the range this weekend to shoot it some more. I also need to replace the scope (BSA Contender 6x-18x)that I have on it with something better but I had this one laying around and it will work until I save up to funds for a better scope.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

I went with a HS precision on my deer rifle (700 in 7mm-08). I had a choate or something on it an the accuracy went from being a tack-driver to garbage (versus the wood stock, which had warped). It's now a tack-driver again and the stock weighs nothing. That coupled with the mountain profile barrel makes the thing weigh nothing. It has a full length aluminum bed.
Either will serve you well. There's a decent thread on comparing the two on snipershide
http://forum.snipershide.com/snipers-hide-bolt-action-rifles/132335-bell-carlson-vs-hs-precision.html

 

[jakk280rem]

I would choose B&C just cuz I'm still not happy with HSP using Lon Horiuchi in their print ads.

 

[willymike]

Or, as another alternative: A Boyd's tactical laminate stock. I put one of these on a 700 SPS (.243 Win with bull barrel) to replace the cheap stock that came with the rifle. I paid roughly around $110 for the stock and it has worked great to improve accuracy. I've found the laminate stocks to be as good as the synthetic ones, and for a lot less money. The barrel and action dropped in perfectly without any modification. These are very stable stocks and of excellent quality. If this would interest you, I'd recommend you check their web site.

I'd be glad to send a photo, but the rifle (and one of my boy's) are about 150 miles away attending college. I just hope they both pass petrology this semester.

 

[Detritus]

Updated Pic this thread reminded me to take and upload.



Scope, rings, base, and Bolt knob are all new since the other pic I posted.

 

[X hunter]

My sps came with a Mcmillian stock but I replaced it with the "ultimate sniper" stock. Absolutely no complaints. If the stock makes a rifle less accurate, that simply means it wasn't properly fitted.

 

[AK103K]

If the stock makes a rifle less accurate, that simply means it wasn't properly fitted.

True, and sometimes what we are led to believe will correct an issue, actually works in reverse.

I had a late 80's, early 90's era 700V in .308, as did my one buddy. Both rifles came with those ugly polyurethane finished wood stocks common of the era.

My rifle shot unbelievably well, literally one holers, right out of the box, and my friends rifle was running about neck and neck. When we slipped a dollar under the barrel doing the old free float test, we were amazed to see there was a spot on both, just in from the end of the stock, that was not free. There was a small pad at that point that the barrel contacted the stock.

My buddy insisted that that "pad" should not be there, and removed it so the barrel floated the entire length. Mine was shooting so good, I figured Id leave it alone and see how it went. We both shot the rifles a couple of times a month, all year long, and in all weather. Interestingly enough, his rifle did not stay consistent, and mine didnt ever seem to stray.

Remington didnt scrimp on the poly when they sealed the stocks, and they did seem pretty much impervious to weather changes. I dont remember now if my buddy resealed what he removed or not, and if that was in fact an issue. Mine never seemed to change POI from month to month, wet or dry. His did seem to wander around a bit.

 

[joed]

I went with the B&C Medalist but more conventional. No problems at all and the rifle went from 1" groups to about 1/2".

 

[rhinoh]

If the stock makes a rifle less accurate, that simply means it wasn't properly fitted.

Well -maybe- Remington certainly doesn't fit their plastic Varmint stock at all..the barrel does not free float and the "stock" stock is really flexible.
My .308 heavy barrel 700 shoots like crap compared to my Howa 1500 and my Ruger American.

I did a bunch of playing with it- I found an O-ring placed on the barrel at the end of the stock helped some. A Limbsaver rubber donut helped a lot. A trial with a Choate free floating stock helped not at all.

When I get around to it I'm gonna trade off or sell that 700...absolutely useless to me when a much cheaper and much lighter Ruger American outshoots the daylights out of it.

 

[50 Shooter]

A friend of mine and myself both bought Rem 700's in .308 when the VSSF hit the market. With Fed. gold medal match the rifles both shot 1/2"-3/4" groups. My friend put the super sniper stock on his and it shot little ragged holes, for the price of the stock its hard to beat. If the accuracy is improved that much its worth the money.

I helped him set it up, we adjusted the trigger, made sure the stock wasn't hitting anything and then torqued the bolts down per instructions.