It started out as a 35 Remington and the stock had a big flare on the left side that went from the back of the trigger guard all the way down the side of the grip to the rear of the base of the grip. This made it quite comfortable for a right hander to shoot but also quite impossible for a left hander to shoot.
I sent the barreled action off to Kevin Cram of Montour County Rifles to rebarrel it with a 18.5" Model 7 260 Rem barrel I had and while that was being done I went to work on the stock. First I stripped off the finish then went at that flare with some wood chisels and sandpaper. Then I put a sharper angle on the forend, restained the stock and put on six coats of hand rubbed polyurethane. I ended up with the ambidextrous stock you see in the pictures.
The action wasn't initially bedded to the stock but it fit so tight that I had to insert a punch up into the front action screw hole and drive it out. That wouldn't do at all, so once I received the barreled action back from Kevin I relieved a bunch of wood around the action and opened up the rear of the barrel channel for the new barrel. I bedded and floated it with Acraglas gel dyed brown. This was my first experience with glass bedding an XP stock, but I think it went okay.
I just finished everything up so I haven't had the chance to shoot it yet. I'd be embarrassed to say just how many hours I spent on this thing, as it was my first experience with reshaping and refinishing a wood stock and bedding an XP, but I'm happy with the result.
I sent the barreled action off to Kevin Cram of Montour County Rifles to rebarrel it with a 18.5" Model 7 260 Rem barrel I had and while that was being done I went to work on the stock. First I stripped off the finish then went at that flare with some wood chisels and sandpaper. Then I put a sharper angle on the forend, restained the stock and put on six coats of hand rubbed polyurethane. I ended up with the ambidextrous stock you see in the pictures.
The action wasn't initially bedded to the stock but it fit so tight that I had to insert a punch up into the front action screw hole and drive it out. That wouldn't do at all, so once I received the barreled action back from Kevin I relieved a bunch of wood around the action and opened up the rear of the barrel channel for the new barrel. I bedded and floated it with Acraglas gel dyed brown. This was my first experience with glass bedding an XP stock, but I think it went okay.
I just finished everything up so I haven't had the chance to shoot it yet. I'd be embarrassed to say just how many hours I spent on this thing, as it was my first experience with reshaping and refinishing a wood stock and bedding an XP, but I'm happy with the result.
