Tactical Stock For Varmints?

[Left Hand Dave]

Building a Varmint rifle in 6mm AI on a 700 long action with a 28" Rem varmint contour barrel. I do not own any tactical stocks and have considered the following for this build.

McMillian A3
McMillian A3 Sporter
Manners T6A
Manners T2A

Can anyone give me input on how these stocks will work for this application? I would be shooting from prone or off of make shift rests hunting mostly for groundhogs. Any suggestions other than what is listed is also appreciated.

Thanks
Dave

 

[Left Hand Dave]

Guess I am a trend setter and the first one to think about this.

 

[codyadams]

I would say they are all very similar, I have a Bell and Carlson Tactical Medalist, which would best compare to the McMillan A3 you are considering, and I like it for varminting. The adjustable cheek rest would be a good addition though, especially for varmints. I have spent hours looking through my glass at prairie dogs, and if you don't have proper eye alignment it makes for a very sore neck at the end of the day. I have a stock pack on mine that gives me perfect eye alignment, and I keep my Kestrel, a dope card in case my phone battery dies and I no longer have my ballistic calculator, and a few pairs of earplugs in it for quick access.

The wide square forend of my stock is great in bags, but is uncomfortable off hand. But if I only shot off a bipod or bags, it's great, and cheaper than the 2 you listed, though if I could afford it I would prefer a manners or mcmillan as well....

In all reality though, you won't go wrong with any of those stocks. I like the tactical style stocks for varmints. They are designed to be comfortable for extended periods and very stable off bipods or bags. Good choice on chambering by the way, the long neck of the 6mm AI will help with barrel life of that hot rod.

 

[Greyfox]

Building a Varmint rifle in 6mm AI on a 700 long action with a 28" Rem varmint contour barrel. I do not own any tactical stocks and have considered the following for this build.

McMillian A3
McMillian A3 Sporter
Manners T6A
Manners T2A

Can anyone give me input on how these stocks will work for this application? I would be shooting from prone or off of make shift rests hunting mostly for groundhogs. Any suggestions other than what is listed is also appreciated.

Thanks
Dave

The A3 style stocks were designed for precision prone shooting, and a very popular choice for Varmint and big game hunting applications. I think they look and balance well with heavier barrels. I have this style stock on a few of my hunting rifles. This is a recent build using a Bartlien Varmint contour barrel/26". The stock was a drop in/pillar bedded. I epoxy bedded the recoil lug recess. It shoots bug holes, and fits me perfectly whether shooting prone or upright.

 

[Left Hand Dave]

Cody, Greyfox,

Thank you for the input it means a lot. Some of these decisions that have to be made can be difficult when going outside of what you are accustom to. The input gives me additional information so that even if I make a costly mistake I don't feel like it was caused by a lack of research at least.

Greyfox that is a pretty rifle. I can't wait to get some of my builds done.

Dave

 

[bobinpa]

I like the HS Precision M24 vertical grip stocks. I have several of them. They feature an aluminum bedding block and are wide enough to shoot off of a rest but have a rounded bottom for a bipod or sticks. They are inexpensive, compared to McMillan and usually in stock at Stocky's stocks. Check out this link.
I hope this helps you out.
Bob
https://www.stockysstocks.com/stock...ster-70-stocks-fixed-pst-035-036-053-055.html

 

[Booney]

What twist are you going with

 

[Left Hand Dave]

Booney,

I am going with an 8 twist for the 105s and should be able to shoot the 87s well too. I have always used lighter bullets but this build will be set up for longer ranges on ground hogs and steel plates. This summer I am going to stretch some distances to learn long the long range stuff. I have some XP-100s for out to 1k and this summer I am pitching the comfort zone out the window so I can learn how to do what I want to do. I hate missing but I figure the path to success is going to have a lot of misses on the way.

 

[Left Hand Dave]

bobinpa,

Unfortunately it looks like they don't make that left handed in the long action. I have noticed this with their varmint version. Guess they figure lefties don't use long actions. I will have to show my buddy that stock though he is put together backwards: and may want to try that one out. We have had many discussions about who is backwards

 

[bobinpa]

I have 2 close friends of mine that are left handed and they struggle all the time with finding left handed things..... I've been told that HS Precision will make it left handed but I have never confirmed it. It may be worth a phone call though. Good luck

 

[Left Hand Dave]

I will give that a check thanks.

Dave