Stocy's Heritage Classic vs Richard's Microfit vs Other?

[mattri]

Looking for a nice laminate wood stock with a monte carlo profile, non thumbhole, that will accept heavy sporter or light varmint barrel contours. I really like the Boyds Prairie Hunter but it doesn't open up enough for the heavier contours.

The Microfit comes with the option of a wider forearm, and has a great profile. There are plenty of people who have these stocks and love them, as well as those who didn't like them as much. The vast majority of complaints that I've read have to do with finishing, fine-tuning the inletting etc, which is of no concern to me. Here's the stock:

http://www.rifle-stocks.com/rollover.htm



I haven't really heard much about the Stocky's, this is the one I'm looking at:

http://www.stockysstocks.com/servlet/the-532/*NEW*-Heritage-Classic-Sporter/Detail


Thoughts?

[nsaqam]

The inletting is certainly a concern if it prevents you from shaping the stock to your preferences.

My second Richard's Lucky-if-it-Fits stock had a magazine inlet so ridiculously large that I broke into it long before I removed the perch belly from the stock. Good for nothing more than firewood.

[mattri]

Not sure if I'm following you re the mag well-could it nt be filled in? Also, you mention it was your 2nd stock from them, how was the other?

[nsaqam]

Yes it could but with what? This was a AA Grade walnut stock intended for use on a high quality Mannlicher stocked rifle. Even if I filled it with walnut the repair would've been easily visible after finishing.

My first RMF stock was for a nice sporterized 1917 and it turned out very well after a TON of work.

Another thing about RMF is that their wood grading is HIGHLY optimistic.

[mattri]

Good to know, thanks. I'm just looking for a laminate- nothing fancy. Anyone know of another company that makes a non-thumbhole laminate with the monte carlo profile with a forend wide enough to accept muzzles with a .700 diameter?

[JWW123]

with a .700 muzzle dia. i would think the boyds praire hunter would fit mine did i called boyds and they told me how far up from recoil lug to measure barrel and dia. was ok give them a call good luck

[mattri]

That's really interesting. According to this it won't fit:


http://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?15926-How-much-can-a-Boyds-barrel-channel-be-opened-up

[LRJammer]

I just finished a new stock for my FN PBR-XP a few months ago. I used a Richards Microfit stock and couldnt be happier with it. They didnt make exactly what I wanted so I ordered one in a benchrest profile that was larger in all dimensions and then cut it to the profile that I wanted with a band saw and then shaped the rest with files. The inletting was ever so slightly undersized but that is exactly what they tell you about it on their site. I would rather have to do some fitting and have it be perfect than to have it be oversized. It was not something that can be done in an afternoon and throw a finish on it. It takes some work on your part but I love that kind of thing and now I have EXACTLY what I wanted that was not available anywhere else short of an insanely expensive custom made stock.

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

Howdy. First post, been reading a while, yada, yada, yada....

I have a 111 w/DBM, but in spite of that and all of the negative things I've read about Richard's - much of it quite old - I thought I'd give them a try. Unlike the other leading stock vendors they do not indicate on their website that they don't support DBM models, so I sent them an e-mail on 5/24 asking whether or not they offered any of their stocks in a DBM configuration. I received a reply six days later (5/30). But rather than answering the question, "Helen" responded with a one-line request for a picture of my rifle's floorplate. I took this as an encouraging sign and, two days later, responded with three good photos of the floorplate, the magazine as a whole and the bottom of the rifle in general.

I heard nothing back until 6/21, and even then my question was not answered. Once again I received another one-line question...this time wanting to know which stock style and type of wood I was interested in. No, "Yes, 'X', 'Y' and 'Z' stock(s) can be made in a DBM configuration. Which one are you interested in?"...just another question. I responded by saying that I was no longer interested in doing business with them as I was not comfortable risking time and money with a company that couldn't be bothered to answer a simple question from a prospective customer even after nearly a month.

So, I guess it's a mag conversion and either Boyd's or Stocky's for me.

[LRJammer]

Funny how any referenct to RMF leads to nothing but dirision on this site. Wonder if the fact that Boyds is a contributor would have anything to do with that?

Boyds selection just flat out sucks on ice. They better get what they do right, because their profile selection just flat sucks. There isnt any stock they make that I would take for free, except for firewood of course.

[mattri]

Do you have a RMF?

[LRJammer]

Yes I do. Read my post three posts up about building a laminated M-40A1 copy for my FN PBR-XP build.

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

Funny how any referenct to RMF leads to nothing but dirision on this site. Wonder if the fact that Boyds is a contributor would have anything to do with that?

I can't speak for anyone else, but in my case Boyd's (or any other manufacturer's) relationship with the site has absolutely nothing to do with my opinion of RMF. I would have thought that the reason I cited for not wanting to do business with them was plenty clear, including the fact that it had to do with nothing other than the customer service (or lack there of) I experienced from RMF.


Boyds selection just flat out sucks on ice. They better get what they do right, because their profile selection just flat sucks. There isnt any stock they make that I would take for free, except for firewood of course.

A company having a great selection is utterly worthless to me if I can't even get them to respond to a simple product question within a calender month's time so that I can determine whether or not they have something that will work for me. Say what you will about Boyd's selection, but they not only went to the trouble to offer sufficiently clear and useful information on their website so that I already knew exactly what to order for my rifle (I didn't even need to contact them), but they both had it in stock AND shipped it the very next business day after I placed my order.

So I was quickly and easily able to order the stock I wanted - and that I knew would fit my rifle - from Boyd's on Saturday (07/14) night. It was delivered to my front door yesterday (07/19) and installed on my barelled action by 7:30 pm last night (I didn't even get home until 6:30). And the only reason it took me an hour was because I had to do just a tiny bit of inletting for one side of the mag well to clear a couple of protrusions from the action. That's 5 calendar days - or about 3.5 business days - from decision to order to having the product in my hands in excellent condition and installed with nary any real problem. Contrast that with RMF who couldn't even answer a simple question after over 3 weeks of elapsed time and multiple e-mails involving taking and sending them multiple photos of my rifle. And based on the volumes of feedback I've read from their customers I would have had to perform significantly more inletting and/or other work on the stock even if I'd been able to get one from them (and who knows how long THAT would have taken?)

[LRJammer]

Thank you for making my point. If you are happy with your Boyds POS, good for you. Some of us want something better.

[devildogandboy]

i sent Boyds an email on July 10th and had a reply on July 11th(same month, same year) about offering upgraded recoil pads and an varmint channel "classic". they responded that both these suggestions may be coming this year! i hope so, i prefer the classic over the thumbhole but the thumbhole stock works for the price. so far i have two of their stocks and need a third, but think i'll wait awhile and see if they come out with the "classic varminter" that i want.
anyway, i like Boyds and think they offer an quality product for the price for guys on a limited budget like myself!

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

Thank you for making my point.

I didn't even come close to making your point. But you clearly missed mine...by a country mile.


If you are happy with your Boyds POS, good for you.

This speaks volumes about you.


Some of us want something better.

Spending most of a month attempting to get a simple question answered (without ever succeeding) just so I can order a product and then wait who-knows-how-many-more-months waiting for it, only then to probably have to peform significant additional work on it myself because it isn't inletted to anywhere near as much of a "drop-in" finish as claimed doesn't fit my personal notion of "something better".

[Admin]

Funny how any referenct to RMF leads to nothing but dirision on this site. Wonder if the fact that Boyds is a contributor would have anything to do with that?

Boyds selection just flat out sucks on ice. They better get what they do right, because their profile selection just flat sucks. There isnt any stock they make that I would take for free, except for firewood of course.

It's pretty apparent you have something against Boyds and/or you work for or are buddy-buddy with the folks at RMF. Whatever the case, rest assured Boyds being an advertiser here has nothing to do with people's opinions of RMF. Being a lefty I'll be the first to curse Boyds for their limited selection, but when it comes to choosing between quality and quantity I'll choose quality every single time - and that would be Boyds. RMF has made their own reputation with their poor customer service and complete lack of quality control. Bashing Boyds simply because they advertise here will never change that fact.


Thank you for making my point. If you are happy with your Boyds POS, good for you. Some of us want something better.

Post up another snotty reply to someone like this and see where it gets you....I dare ya.

[nsaqam]

Never bought from Boyds but given what I hear about their QC and CS I'd not hesitate a second to do business with them.

RMF on the other hand I have tried, twice, and both times I felt the quality received versus the price paid and the CS was heavily skewed against RMF.

The second one I flat out felt I got completely ripped off both in the quality of the wood I paid for and even more so in the quality of the work.

I still have that piece of junk RMF stock in the basement as a reminder to never do business with them again.

[mattri]

Does rmf not accept returns? If you ordered a stock from them and weren't happy with it when it arrived, couldn't you just send it back?

[nsaqam]

They have a 100% money back guarantee including return shipping.

Seems good but if you do ANY work to the stock the guarantee is void.

Since both the outside and of a RMF stock are so rough it's hard to get an idea of the wood quality until you smooth out the stock a bit and apply water or mineral spirits to show the figure.

The grossly oversized mag inlet made the stock unusable only after beginning to shape the exterior.