Lightest stock

[grumpygunguy]

What have you found to be the lightest available aftermarket stock for a long action with a top bolt release? Of course I'd prefer cheaper than a Manners, so maybe a better question is what is the best value per ounce?

[jpdown]

The Stockade Hunter with a blind magazine is the best LA light weight (30 oz.) aftermarket stock I've found for the money. But you'll have a long wait for a custom build. I suspect the B&C Savage Sporter would have a similar weight. The Savage metal DBM frame assembly and mag. bottom cap will add about 9 oz. to the stock verses going with a blind magazine stock. Also look for someone selling a take-off Savage 111 LWH walnut stock (28 oz stripped). It is the lightest wood stock I've found for a Savage LA. Mine is 2 lbs, 6 oz after replacing the plastic bottom parts with metal.

The lightest, low cost stock option is to use a Savage factory synthetic stock (ex. Trophy Hunter, 16 LWH) with the Axis style DBM magazine. Bed the action and recoil lug area including the 1st stock well in front of the recoil lug since this is a stock weak point. Then add a 1/4" stock forearm pressure point (8 lbs) under the barrel 1" from the forarm tip. http://www.shootingtimes.com/gunsmithing/gunsmithing_0206/ . I recently did this with a Savage 16 LWH. It cut my hand load groups size in half and the forend no longer has any visible flex with a tight sling hold or bipod. I also replaced the cheap plastic TG with metal one and sprayed on some Krylon webbing paint for texture, grip, and a custom look.

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y333/jpdowns54/PICT0006_zpsdvcm1mct.jpg (http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/jpdowns54/media/PICT0006_zpsdvcm1mct.jpg.html)

[grumpygunguy]

Thanks. The B&C stock is 3+ lbs. according to Midway's website and that's quite a bit heavier than I was hoping for. Your's is a sweet looking rifle. I didn't realize the Axis stock would fit a 110.

[J.Baker]

Thanks. The B&C stock is 3+ lbs. according to Midway's website and that's quite a bit heavier than I was hoping for. Your's is a sweet looking rifle. I didn't realize the Axis stock would fit a 110.

It won't. He's referring to the factory synthetic stocks on the Trophy Hunter rifles that use the Axis-style detachable magazine.

[jpdown]

+1^^^. The synthetic stock on the Savage Trophy Hunter and Savage 16 LWH use the same plastic mag bottom assembly and release system as the Axis.

[SidecarFlip]

What have you found to be the lightest available aftermarket stock for a long action with a top bolt release? Of course I'd prefer cheaper than a Manners, so maybe a better question is what is the best value per ounce?

Cheap isn't in my dictionary of firearm parts anyway...

Manners Carbon Fiber first (I have 3 myself and one had the action fitted and bedding machined personally by John Manners) and 2, Kelly MacMillan and a MacMillan Carbon Fiber stock. Both light, both durable and both expensive but, you get what you pay for.

My personal opinion is a stock Savage furniture is better than a Boyd.... JMO.

[m12lrs]

No doubt McMillan edge technology. 22 Oz

[SidecarFlip]

I guess it all depends on what you want out of a build. I want light and rigid with quality. Not much choice in my opinion (again). The older I get, the lighter I want. I don't want to be lugging a tank up a mountain or dealing with a heavy rifle on the 5th day of a hunt when it's all I can do to drag myself along. Manners and MacMillan stocks appeal to me not only for fit and finish but the way they shoulder and length of pull.

I took an 11 Lightweight hunter in 308 and really tricked it out and while the 11 is light to begin with, I shaved another pound off with the Manners and a light contour Bartlien tube, even mounting a 30mm scope. I plan on dropping even more with a 1" scope this year. I'm shooting for 6 pounds loaded. and scoped. When I was younger, weight wasn't an issue. It is now. Every ounce counts, from my pack (Ebrelstock) to my hunting clothes ( I wear Kuiu camo with Merino wool underwear) to my bino's, rangefinder and spotting scope/tripod and sleeping bag and tent. I want to be as light as possible and like all things light, it's expensive.

This isn't after all, a poor man's sport. On the plus side, once you have it, it don't go away anytime soon. I plan on using my equipment until I cannot hunt any more and pass it on to my son. Quality equipment lasts a long time, cheap equipment don't.

[FW Conch]

Spend away My Brother. David Rockafeller will love You for it.

[jfksc]

I had a spare wood trophy hunted stock laying along with the plastic bottom metal. I have since re-stocked the rifle into a nice walnut stock, but got the idea of having a spare stock for backpack hunts. The idea was to make the stock as light as possible.

I routered out a channel under the barrel, removing quite a bit of material. I also bored out the buttstock. You have to be careful not to go to far off path or else you will punch through. Lastly I removed about an inch of wood in the fore end and re-contoured it. I did a custom grind to fit recoil pad and painted it flat brown with black webbing. Stock came. It already had factor pillars in it.

Stock came in under 2 pounds. 1lb 13.5oz if I remember correctly. If you are serious about saving weight you have to use the plastic bottom parts and trigger guard. I upgraded my rifle to the metal for looks and feel but honestly it shot MOA with the plastic stuff and it's much lighter. When I put my 110 in this stock with the plastic it's about 7.5 lbs. That's with talley lightweights and a Leupold that only weighs 11oz. Savage actions are heavy. Look at everything, not just the stock. Talleys are the lightest rings and Leupold tend to be the lightest scopes. I really happy with the stock to the point that I might pick up a dedicated action for it. It's very light without being flimsy.

[grumpygunguy]

That's good advice. I've actually already followed it. The Leupold VX-2 I've acquired is 13.6 oz and I have a set Talley Lightweights on order.

I'm going with a blind mag so the "bottom plastic" won't be an issue for me.

[SidecarFlip]

Savage did just that with their 11 Lightweight Hunter furniture, it is an extremely light wood stock and... my rule of thumb is, 1" tube scopes are always lighter than a 30 mm tube scope, apples to apples so I run a 1" tube on my under 500 yard hunting sticks with no illumination (batteries are weight as is the mechanism).

The reason I prefer a CF stock over wood is, one, it's inert to moisture and 2, you can beat it up and it still looks good. Wood stocks don't take well to rifle scabbards or beating about like using a rifle for a walking stick. More than one time I've used my rifle as a brake when sidehilling and needed something to stop my downward slide....

[psharon97]

The MDT LSS chassis weighs in at 1.6 pounds. As long as you keep in mind the ounces, you can build a light weight, you can build a light weight stock. It won't be cheap, and honestly, a Manners would come in lighter. However, the chassis systems would be drop shipped much quicker.

[jpdown]

In my experience over the last 10 years in trying to build the most accurate, light weight and compact Savage hunting rifle with a wood stock, you'll save time and money by starting with the Savage 11/111 LWH. I recommend replacing the cheap, synthetic trigger guard with a metal one. Otherwise, it will flex, or crack depending on torque applied to the rear action screw. I also recommend bedding under the front of the synthetic frame assembly (surround) to support the front action screw and eliminate a potential flex point. I always fully bed Savage stocks for the most accuracy potential. The 20" LWH factory barrel is as light as it gets at 2 lbs which is about 6 oz lighter than a 22" factory sporter barrel of the same caliber. The LWH walnut stock also comes with a 1" Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad which is a must to help tame the added recoil that comes with reduced rifle weight. I've found adding 8 lbs of forearm tip pressure under the FW barrel improved accuracy, since the pencil thin barrels heat quickly and group size opens up. As noted in my post above, the Savage 16/116 LWH with a little bedding and forearm tip pressure is a good budget option if you prefer synthetic hunting stocks over wood. While the weight is about the same, the Savage 16/116 LWH synthetic stock is a full sized Savage factory stock (ex. Trophy Hunter) and not as slim or compact as the 11/111 LWH walnut stock.

[FW Conch]

The MDT LSS stock is a fine piece of metal. However, the 1.6/1.8 lbs does not include the butt stock, grip, or magazine. If I were to go with this chassis, I would want a fully adjustable butt stock, and that will easily double the weight. It is fine for a bench or lay down rifle.

But for a light carry rifle, for Me it is stock Tupperware, wood, or the other end of the price spectrum: "carbon fiber".

[Shorteound]

Give Stuart at wildcat composites a call. He builds an ultralight stock that weighs in at 17 Oz unfinished. At present he doesn't make one for savages - but he's making me up one right now in a short action model 70 mold and leaving a bit of extra fiberglass in there so I can ream out what doesn't fit and bed in the extra stuff I need. It'll be a bit of a project, but I took my barreled action in and we both figure it's doable. And while it's not a drop in, he only charges 300$ Canadian, for a stock that should finish at around 20 Oz.

Also, he bought my model 11 stock off me and he's planning on making a savage mold and offering savage stocks.