Good morning.
I have a stock that I need to hollow for balance. Is there a drill that is better than others? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Bill

I would use this one:

I have had good results with forstner bits, used with an extension. They cut cleanly with very little tendency to tear.

use with a brace,

Just to avoid possible confusion ....... It's a Forstner bit. Good suggestion, red oak.

SRH

Stan,

You are right, of course, and that is what I typed. Auto spell check got me again!

A forstner bit is usually the way to go for a clean cut, but I can see where igorrock would mention the spade bit. A quality forstner bit with an extension, don't forget to check that the extension bulge clears the hole size, can set someone back forty plus bucks.

Careful, it's not always so easy to control a forstner bit free hand, and someone may want to go in at an angle to follow the lines of the stock. Whatever the choice, if it's heading off track, stop and call it good.

If you are unfamiliar with Forstner bits and have never used one, a gunstock is not the place to start. Ditto with a spade bit. If this is a one time deal just use a brace and bit and do it by hand. In fact, the use of any power tool inside inside a butt stock isn't a particularly good idea unless you are doing it regularly.

Good morning gentlemen,
I wound up using a 3/4 Forstner bit in a hand drill. This was the first time using one. Held the stock and action in a vise with the comb parallel to the table. Layed out and center punched the hole locations, drilled 4ea. holes, 3" deep with about a 30 percent overlap. The drill was amazingly smooth and EZ to control.

The project has come out perfect so far, in that I removed 1-1/2 oz of wood and moved the balance 3/4" farther forward. I'm going to build a 3" extension and drill the top 3 holes to 6" and take out another 1oz. I was shocked at the change in the balance/feel with only 1-1/2oz removed.

Thanks for all the help!
Oh, this is a restocked 20ga Flues with 28" barrels. With the 1-1/2oz removed, it is right at 5lbs 11-1/2oz. If all goes well, it will be 5lbs 10-1/2oz next week.