doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Restocking a Mannlicher type stock? Pics added

I've got a Remington Custom Shop Mannlicher in .257 Roberts I pulled out the other day. Looking at the nicely shaped but hideous looking laminated stock with precise (note sarcasm) 18 LPI checkering, I resolved restocking might be a worthy project. My very loosely formed plan is to duplicate the original stock and to also put some proper guide screws in place (current are hex headed). Then I looked closer and surmised that the current metal to wood fit is pretty hideous as well with lots of gaps etc. So, I think the first thing to do is to glass bed the existing barreled action to the current stock. After that is completed, then I can send out that stock as template/pattern to the duplicator.

Course to do all the above, I've also got to find and acceptable stock blank. The rifle is 39" long and that includes a 1" factory Pach pad. So, would a blank of 39" long work? Also, the gun is just short of 1 3/4" wide, so I'm guessing I need a blank at least 2 1/4" wide.

Course then I've got to figure out what wood to use. It will be quartersawn because that's what I like, but trying to choose between hard black walnut or Claro, or step up to some California English.

Anyway, before I make any mistakes, I wanted to see some opinions on what I'm about to step into.

PS. I built a .270 Winchester for my father about 25 years ago, using a Interarms barreled action and a 90 percent inlet Fajen stock in black walnut. Turned out pretty well (he still has it), but I discovered then that a dremel tool was pretty evil and that Fajen black walnut was pretty porous. I think I have much more patience now and know how to slow down. Back then I had work and two kids under the age of 4 running around the house. Anyway, appreciate any ideas and if anyone has done this a few pictures would be great.

Tut
There were some 600 remingtons stocked somewhere in europe that you can find pics of on the web. They look a lot better than Remington's stuff. How does this rifle shoot now? When I stocked my 600 350 I glass bedded it to the muzzel and fit the cap tight.
The custom shop stuff liooks pretty good in the pictures. But Remington is not what they used to be. As to the hex screws I think that was done so you could use a torque wrench. Torquing a Remington action is important Especialy the old 3 screw ones.The only thing i would change on my 600s would be the plastic trigger guards. I also have an early 700 varmint BDL and quality is very high on it. Suspect a lot better than the new stuff. Wood and checkering is perfect.
I would shoot it,glass bed it, shoot it again for comparison and if you improve it put it back in the safe. Only thing better than the laminated stock is a composite. No plastic guns in my house except the 12 ga. mosberg 500 pump.
Tom

Thanks Tom. I don't like the way it looks, but this little gun will shoot. I've got a little Leupold 2.5 X 8 Vari III on it and it will shoot under an inch at 100 yards with good ole fashioned 117 Remington round nose factory loads. Just would like to have it look like a nice gun. Came with an ultra tight chamber. Factory rounds are even tight in it. Maybe that's why is shoots so well. I've killed a pile of whitetails with in. I like the Roberts round for what is was intended to be. A light recoiling accurate enough round. Gathering what I've heard on the web, mine shoots a bit better then most.

Tut
Is this your rifle?
http://www.remingtoncustom.com/HunterGrade_7CustomMS.aspx
If it is I have been lusting for one myselfe. Could you bring the quality issues to Remington and see what their reply is. maby try for a non laminate replacement stock. Remember what you have is about as good as it will get in performance.
Tom

tut, These suggestions come from someone who has taught stockmaking to numerous folks both experienced and first timers.
I would not recommend a fullstock for a first project and I wouldn't much count what you did 25 years ago as experience. That said the Rem. from the Custom Shop is pretty handsome for a Rem!!
Blanks need to be somewhat oversize to achieve good layout, both in width and length. Fullstock blanks need particular focus on forend grain as well the normal considerations. I'd make a plexi template with a forend extension. All Black walnut is porous, English is always prefered. That said long English is expensive. 2 1/4" thick is normal, ends of blank may need trimming for minor checking.

Even the best machined stock leaves lots of work, sometimes better off with less machining if you know what you are doing. Forend bedding is always critical, even more so with fullstock. Must have some sort of muzzle cap with a plan for installation and bedding. Forends are particularly difficult to hold while shaping, movable stand neccisary.
And about 179 more things...
Check out the Ottmar rifle on my website for a truely elegant fullstock!
Best,
Steve

That is indeed my rifle except in .257 Roberts. Awesome looking gun from ten feet away, just not once its laying in your hands and your looking down at it.

Agree with SDH's that this may be a monumental undertaking. However, I'm not totally in this alone. My local gunsmith builds 1,000 yard benrchrest rifles and has said he is more then willing to help me through this. I've got a really wonderful stick of very hard quartersawn Claro that is 40" long and fiddle from head to toe as they say. However, I'd like to go for english if I can summon the courage to pay for it.

We will see where this goes. SDH, I'll take a look at the mannlicher your referencing. BTW, I've got both of your doublegun books. They are always close to my computer and I have followed your guidance on what to look for in a stock blank and that has kept me from making some very stupid mistakes.

IMO the key to a goodlooking fullstock is that the the forend must have a concave underlineine. This is true of both the Remington factory job and SDH's Ottmar rifle. Put a straightedge against the pics to see. If the line is convex or even if it is straight the forend will look fat. The original 1903 fullstock Mannlicher Schoenauer, which gave its name to the style, had a deeper concavity than the above referenced two examples. Looking at my own 1903, I am not sure which I like better.

tut, I'd use that claro you've got if it's as nice as you describe! Especially if you've aged it yourself. 40" of fiddle would be...
and Thanks for your kind words.
(BTW: .257 Roberts is about my alltime fav!)

Mark, you are absolutely correct about the bottom line of the fore-stock!
I call it swamped.

Just looked the blank over again and will take a few pictures this weekend and post them. Length is longer then I remembered at 42". Big blank as its 9" deep at the butt. Hasn't cupped or warped a bit since I've had it. I've had it two years. Currently the wood meter puts it at 11 percent moisture content. I'm not going to do anything to it for another 6 months at least as I want it to cure a tad more. That would put it at 3 years since it was supposedly cut. PS. I trust no one when it comes to wood, that's why I purchased a Delmhorst wood meter. I bought a piece of Turkish one time that was supposedly cut three years ago. My wood meter showed it at 13%. I decided to keep it because it was nice for the price, but it sure wasn't cut three years earlier for sure.

Steve, I thought swamped referred to a barrel, usually octagon but could be round, that was larger at breech and muzzle than in the middle. Had not run into it used for forend contour, but I suppose it could be. Probably the Germans had a word for it, at least six or seven syllables.