Lightweight Thumbhole Stock

[ntrl_brn_rebel]

I'm just about ready to begin working on my first lightweight hunting rifle...the days of packing heavy rifles for miles are done for me... Getting weak I guess

Carbon Fiber...space age materials are fairly new to me in conjunction with rifles... Until the last few years I gave little thought to weight...just wanted a gun that shoots...

So this is my plan...I just did some trading for a brand new Remington model 700, 300 ultra for the action..(I'll soon be selling the barrel/stock/trigger) I'm planning on keeping it 300 ultra, timney trigger, proof research carbon fiber barrel....my question is stock options...

I really like Thumbhole Stocks, have had many and have liked them since I started shooting one when I was a boy..so I would really prefer to have Thumbhole...

Is anyone out there building LIGHTWEIGHT, strong, possible carbon fiber thumbhole stocks???? I see plenty of non thumbhole, and I guess if it really comes down to it to keep it light I'll go with one but I really want my cake and to eat it too...thanks ahead of time guys... I really appreciate it...

Also if anyone could give me a rough value on a new stainless 300 ultra barrel, factory stock, and trigger that would be awesome...

 

[Broz]

Check out McMillian Lazaroni Thumbhole. They come in two styles now. I have one I put on my 300 win and if memory serves correctly it was just under 2 lbs. Mine is the first design with the higher cheek piece.

Jeff

 

[WildRose]

I'm just about ready to begin working on my first lightweight hunting rifle...the days of packing heavy rifles for miles are done for me... Getting weak I guess

Carbon Fiber...space age materials are fairly new to me in conjunction with rifles... Until the last few years I gave little thought to weight...just wanted a gun that shoots...

So this is my plan...I just did some trading for a brand new Remington model 700, 300 ultra for the action..(I'll soon be selling the barrel/stock/trigger) I'm planning on keeping it 300 ultra, timney trigger, proof research carbon fiber barrel....my question is stock options...

I really like Thumbhole Stocks, have had many and have liked them since I started shooting one when I was a boy..so I would really prefer to have Thumbhole...

Is anyone out there building LIGHTWEIGHT, strong, possible carbon fiber thumbhole stocks???? I see plenty of non thumbhole, and I guess if it really comes down to it to keep it light I'll go with one but I really want my cake and to eat it too...thanks ahead of time guys... I really appreciate it...

Also if anyone could give me a rough value on a new stainless 300 ultra barrel, factory stock, and trigger that would be awesome...

Manners makes some extemely nice thumbhole stocks that are light weight and strong as hell. Give them a look.

Before you dive off too far into this financially though I'd highly recommend you try shooting a lightweight 300 Rum if you can get your hands on one.

One reason you see a lot of very nice carbon fiber wrapped barreled magnums for sale at low prices and low mileage is because the recoil from them can be pretty brutal.

You can end up spending a great deal of money on a really cool rifle you just can't stand to shoot because it hits you like a sledge hammer every time you pull the trigger.

I have one Model 70 with a factory magnum sporter bbl on it in 300 Rum and while I'm not overly recoil sensitive myself it'll flat knock the snot out of you with every shot.

 

[Broz]

I agree, Manners does make a very nice stock, and I just put one of their thumbholes together last week. I loved it. But the cheek weld is lower I believe than the McMillian and the manners I used had an adjustable cheek piece which did add weight. This was one of the reasons I went with the McMillian as it has a very high rollover cheek piece and I can shoot it with out the need of an adjustable or add on. Even with my 30 moa rail.

jeff

 

[Unofficial Gun Addict (UGA)]

I concur about shooting one first. About a month ago I was at the range and the only other guy there had a carbon fiber 300 wm. I knew him from a dairy my wife used to do book-keeping for and he was the vet. He started showing me his new gun and at first... I thought it was a 22-250 or maybe a 223. Then he handed me the rifle which weighed nothing and I looked at the stamp... 300 winchester magnum. I was pretty stunned. I looked at the tiny little barrel and then at the muzzle. Heck... It was hard to even imagine that this thin little barrel could handle the abuse a 300 wm could dish out. I think he said on the whole package... He was in over 5k. I was impressed, but I have to admit... That gun beat the crap outta that guy while we were there shooting... And the worse thing was... He walked away disappointed because his groups were downright pathetic... And he said this was the second time he'd been out trying to find a cartridge it liked. He had 4 boxes of different ammo this trip and I'm not sure how many he had tried during the previous trip. I can tell you when he left... He still had some ammo remaining in the boxes... But he could hardly lift his hand to shake mine goodbye.

I was also shooting my stock browning abolt 300 wm with boss and my groups were all .76 and less at 100. I was testing loads and put more rounds downrange than he did, and I was feeling fine.

This said... Regardless of whether your friends believe that brakes are noisy... Or for wimps... I'm now of a firm belief that I'd never own a rifle of that little weight... In a 300 mag, without a brake. No freaking way. I wondered on the way home if the guy's groups were horrid because the gun was inaccurate, or because he was flinching like any sane man would... And perhaps closing his eyes. Just what I was thinking.

 

[WildRose]

I agree, Manners does make a very nice stock, and I just put one of their thumbholes together last week. I loved it. But the cheek weld is lower I believe than the McMillian and the manners I used had an adjustable cheek piece which did add weight. This was one of the reasons I went with the McMillian as it has a very high rollover cheek piece and I can shoot it with out the need of an adjustable or add on. Even with my 30 moa rail.

jeff

I personally really favor the high cheek piece rollover style stocks. Have not shot one yet but have mounted and tried them in different shooting positions.

I'm currently giving serious consideration to having one done in a grey laminate for one of my model 70's.

One thing I can say about McMillan's customer service is that I got them to send me a couple of their stock blanks to try for fit and feel and I don't know of anyone else in the business who does the same. All it cost me was the shipping each way.

That kind of personal attention is why I now own two of their stocks and will probably add a couple more in the fairly near future.

We're all built differently, there is no one stock design that will therefore fit everyone or their shooting style so I can't recommend highly enough trying out a stock before making a decision.

We all see a lot of very nice stocks that end up for sale "like new" or "barely used" because the new owner for whatever reason didn't like them as much when they actually mounted them as they did when looking at pictures.

I can't tell you Manners won't do the same thing, they very well might but before I'd cough up the money for one I'd want some shoulder time with the exact same model I'm thinking of buying.

 

[WildRose]

I concur about shooting one first. About a month ago I was at the range and the only other guy there had a carbon fiber 300 wm. I knew him from a dairy my wife used to do book-keeping for and he was the vet. He started showing me his new gun and at first... I thought it was a 22-250 or maybe a 223. Then he handed me the rifle which weighed nothing and I looked at the stamp... 300 winchester magnum. I was pretty stunned. I looked at the tiny little barrel and then at the muzzle. Heck... It was hard to even imagine that this thin little barrel could handle the abuse a 300 wm could dish out. I think he said on the whole package... He was in over 5k. I was impressed, but I have to admit... That gun beat the crap outta that guy while we were there shooting... And the worse thing was... He walked away disappointed because his groups were downright pathetic... And he said this was the second time he'd been out trying to find a cartridge it liked. He had 4 boxes of different ammo this trip and I'm not sure how many he had tried during the previous trip. I can tell you when he left... He still had some ammo remaining in the boxes... But he could hardly lift his hand to shake mine goodbye.

I was also shooting my stock browning abolt 300 wm with boss and my groups were all .76 and less at 100. I was testing loads and put more rounds downrange than he did, and I was feeling fine.

This said... Regardless of whether your friends believe that brakes are noisy... Or for wimps... I'm now of a firm belief that I'd never own a rifle of that little weight... In a 300 mag, without a brake. No freaking way. I wondered on the way home if the guy's groups were horrid because the gun was inaccurate, or because he was flinching like any sane man would... And perhaps closing his eyes. Just what I was thinking.

I got over the playing tough guy "I don't need no stinking brakes" attitude years ago. It's fun seeing your impacts and not being sore after an afternoon of shooting.

Your vet friend reminds me of all the people I've seen selling similar customs who end up getting maybe half of their money back if they are lucky when they finally find someone willing to take it off of their hands.

My 300 Rum Senderos are my favorite rifles to shoot because of their weight and because of their brakes along with of course their inherent accuracy.

I just put a brake on my light Model 70 300 Rum because it was no fun to shoot whatsoever and if the brake does not tame it sufficiently it's fixing to become a donor for probably a 26 Nosler.

 

[mountainman56]

I always shoot heavier rifles in my magnums but I have recently had to change my mind a little on light weight rifles. A good friend of mine had a light weight 300 Win mag built for an upcoming marco polo sheep hunt. Initially we couldn't get it to shoot worth crap but after much loading and tinkering it has turned into a 5/8 to 3/4 moa rifle. In fact I recently tried another load with 200 grain lrx bullets that seems will outdo that.

The rifle has a predator 300 action, jewell trigger, little buggy whip 22" barrel, bell and carlson stock, a mini magnum muscle brake, talley integral rings and is topped with a Swarovski Z5 3.5-18. All up with an empty mag it weighs 8.1lbs. Personally I still think it would be a better package with a little heavier/longer barrel but it does pretty nicely.

Just for kicks (literally) we removed the brake last weekend. Very stout recoil with a lot of muzzle flip. In a ultra mag I'll bet it would loosen your fillings. On your build I would seriously consider an Assassinator brake. I will be ordering one for my RUM as soon as I can get the old Vias off and measure the threads.

 

[Unofficial Gun Addict (UGA)]

I just put a brake on my light Model 70 300 Rum because it was no fun to shoot whatsoever and if the brake does not tame it sufficiently it's fixing to become a donor for probably a 26 Nosler.

I hear you there wildrose. I got rid of a sweet shooting savage 7mm wsm several years ago because I always walked away from the range with bruises on my right shoulder. I'm 6'3 and 185lbs so I just don't have the meat to protect my collar bone and shoulder like some guys. I'm not a heavy coat wearer, so I found that gun just sat in the closet while I reached for my 30-06 or 308 when I wanted to hunt. I think my words to the guy I traded with were almost exactly what you said... It was just no fun to shoot it and I would also find myself flinching after a few rounds, even when making considerable effort not to.

I ended up trading it for a .243 wsm which I gave to my nephew so he'd have a deer rifle, because it didn't feel so much as a loss, but a gain in that I'd have a gun that was finally getting some use. Since I already had 2 243s in the closet... It seemed like a 3rd didn't make much sense... But it did put a smile on my nephews face.

I'm pretty sure my 300 wm has more recoil than the 7mm wsm, but I wouldn't know it because I went with the boss brake. Feels about the same or perhaps even lighter kicking than my 308. I love shooting it. No macho man crap for me.... And with this guys intended lightweight rig... I KNOW I would have a brake.

 

[fmajor]

Thumbhole stocks are really nice, but it's best to actually hold/shoulder before buying -especially when potential recoil is excessive as the chambering the OP mentions. I'd be adding a brake to the equation for sure.

Unfortunately actually holding/shouldering a nice custom stock that's not mainstream is pretty difficult...

It's hard to tell (for me at least...) how much recoil a given stock will transfer directly back to the shooter given each individual's different "hold". Not to mention the other variables such as overall rifle weight, chambering, loading (velocity/bullet weight/caliber), etc.

It would be an expensive punch in the nose to have all the best components - your best/favorite choices - assembled perfectly together into a tack-driving yet abusive, recoil generating machine. No fun and painful to shoot = no shooting enjoyment = minimal practice = no bueno.

 

[ntrl_brn_rebel]

I will definitely have a break, have not decided which one but I defiantly will need one and a quality one at that.....I appreciate all the replies and help!

I have shot a fair amount of lightweight ultra mags, 30-378's etc...and why I do believe they all usually give you a good wallup... To me being light is worth it as I'm bruised daily packing my other heavy long range rifles...my current 300 ultra does have the boss break and it doesn't kick much more than a .243.... I run a lot of rounds through it at competitions and have loved it... It does however weigh in close to 15#s