What happened to my stock?

[MDM]

I couldn't figure our why my bedding was no longer making contact at the rear action screw. Now I know. The stock was just spreading apart when I tightened it down. See the crack that runs all the way through the rear pillar section and down to the bottom of the mag well. Runs clear through the mag well side to the trigger side. What caused this? The rear screw was only torqued to 35 in lbs. It is a Stocky's Bobby Hart LRT.

Stocky's put me in contact with the makers and said they should take care of me.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h270/dm2596/100_0037.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h270/dm2596/100_0035.jpg

[dcloco]

This was a Stocky's stock....and they put you in contact with the manufacturer? HUH?

[MDM]

Yep. That kind of had me scratching my head too. Keystone Sporting Arms is who they said made the stock. http://keystonesportingarmsllc.com/

I could not reach anyone as it was after 5pm. I'll try tomorrow.

[bootsmcguire]

At least Stockys would talk to you long enough to give you the number. I have been waiting for a call from their customer service dept. since March.

[5spd]

This was a Stocky's stock....and they put you in contact with the manufacturer? HUH?
That caught me also....so they ARE NOT Stockys stocks I see now which just makes them a middleman seller?
Sounds like..."We just sell them not warranntee them" excuse.
Hopefully the real stock maker will take care of the issue, keep us informed.

[Kinetik1]

I had a old factory stock do this in between the front action screw to the mag well. If Stocky's (or whoever) will not help you, this is what I would do. Dremel out the crack about 1/16" as far down as you can and remove the pillar. Install pillar on action and re-bed around the rear action screw. Follow bedding techniques on this site, or accurateshooter.com as really good illustrations on bedding.

[MDM]

I called Keystone and they were very nice. The lady is sending out a UPS call number and they will pick it up free of charge. She said they would look at it but it did not sound like something they would fix, probably just replace it. We'll see what happens from here, but it sounds promising. It just sucks that I will have to start from scratch and re-bed, hog out the barrel channel for a full bull and get new pillars. Hopefully the rifle will be back in service in a couple of weeks. It's my dad's and we shoot tactical matches every weekend.

[jdhord]

I'm going to guess that the cause is the action wasn't making firm contact with the pillar when it was bedded. Then when you tightened it up, the action wedged the laminate apart. I bought a BVSS recently, which was trying to do the same thing because the action was bottoming in the stock before it contacted the pillar. (because when Savage sanded the action, they took off too much material around the rear action screw) I knocked out the pillar, took some of the shoulder depth off in a lathe, re-bedded the pillar, end of problem.

[r29l20]

[quote=jdhord ]
I'm going to guess that the cause is the action wasn't making firm contact with the pillar when it was bedded. Then when you tightened it up, the action wedged the laminate apart. +1

[MDM]

I see what you are saying, but if that is the case the stock design needs reworked. The pillars Stocky's suppied need to be about 1/8" longer. Then there would be issue with the magazine retaining clip fitting around the pillar as the clip only has clearance for the screw and not the pillar. Are the pillars usually that proud on the factory centerfeed stocks? If so, how does the retaining clip fit around the pillar? I would like to see a picture a factroy wooden centerfeed stock if anyone has one.

[jdhord]

On my BVSS factory stock the clip was sandwiched between the pillar and the action. It's a cheesy setup. I ditched the whole setup and put a Whidden block in mine.

[GaCop]

I had the same thing happen with a walnut stock I modified from staggerfeed to a centerfeed. I cut the notch for the "L" clip and when I reinstalled the action, the stock split pretty much the same place yours did. I ended up replacing the stock.

[rossman40]

I have been running into plys of laminate being soft like punk wood. I did a bedding job on a rifle recently and there was one ply of laminate that I could scrape out with my thumbnail. Only about 4" long but from the magwell forward. Like there was a dead spot in the wood. Since almost all the laminate in gunstocks comes from one place (Rutland Plywood) maybe their QC is slipping.

[MDM]

Well, I finally got a reply on the stock:

Good Afternoon, I checked with the wood shop supervisor, and went over your stock, email & pictures again, & I'm afraid there is nothing we can do. Our warranty states that once a stock has been altered in any way it voids the warranty. The stock shipped from us in perfect condition, exactly the way it had been ordered, and fit properly to the Savage rifle action it was meant for. Once a customer starts doing "custom work", it is no longer protected under warranty. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Sincerely Erin @ Keystone Sporting Arms, LLC


I understand their warranty language gives them an out, but hoped they would take a different approach. I guess their stocks are not made to withstand the rigors of bedding, lol. I will just be sure not to get another stock from them I guess.

[r29l20]

That really blows, but all is not lost,you can still fix it. I would put one of those recoil pins in it. I'm not sure what they're called but you can get them at hardware stores. They have a head on both ends, and screw into each other. Someone else might know what they are called.

[sharpshooter]

Push the pillar out and super glue the crack. Then re-set the pillar with epoxy.

[SMK Shoe]

I love their reply. Great way for them to stand behind their product. I can't see how you opening it up and bedding it would weaken that area enough for it to crack. It will defiantly make me think twice before I order anything from stockys. All they had to do was replace the stock and it would have been worth Soooooo much more in free positive advertisement on the forum. I wonder if they realize how many people read this forum. :-\ :-\ :-\

[psharon97]

Thanks, good to know I didn't order a stock from them. Sorry for your bad luck, but it does sound like you can fix the stock yourself.

[MDM]

Push the pillar out and super glue the crack. Then re-set the pillar with epoxy.


I'm not sure if I will be able to get the pillar out since it's in there with Devcon pretty good. I was so mad that they didn't offer anything, not even a new stock at a discount, that I almost told them to keep it since they would not stand behind there products any better than that.

I'd like some suggestions on a fix. Super glue might be thin enough to get down into the crack. I'm just worried about long term.

[Quickshot]

I've seen stocks repaired by drilling a hole thru the stock from side to side, pushing thru a serrated brass pin loaded with epoxy as well as loading the crack with super glue or epoxy. You would need to be pretty accurate with the drill in this case going thru that thin section back of the pillar. Thats what I would try and then releive the reciever channel before you rebed the action making sure that it doesn't need to force into the stock. Just trying to make the best of a bad situation. It looks as though you are stuck with it so good luck with the fix. I don't think it's hopeless. It will probably work out just fine. .02 Quick