Reply With QuoteYes. The B&C Medalist is a fantastic stock, great upgrade and not real expensive at all.
The aluminum bedding block is a nice feature.
I'm looking to add a better stock to my 116, 7mm mag. It has detach mag. Is the Bell and Carlson Classic Sporter Medalist much better than the factory stock? They say it weighs 2.4#. Is it that much more rigid than the factory stock ?
Appreciate any opinions.
Yes. The B&C Medalist is a fantastic stock, great upgrade and not real expensive at all.
The aluminum bedding block is a nice feature.
INFERNO
I just got my B&C Medalist a week or two ago (my thread is a few down the page here). It's crazy how much better it is than the factory stock. It's much more rigid than even my Boyd's laminates. With my Boyd's, I can still squeeze the forend towards the barrel and force movement. With the B&C, I can't get hardly any movement. The recoil pad is excellent, and the stock just feels good in-hand. I got the blind stagger feed model, and just converted it to centerfeed. It's a work-around, with some milling and fitting needing to be done, but I'm planning on picking up the one you mentioned for another 111 that I want to keep the DBM feature on. Should hopefully drop right in.
I say get it, and post up a review!
Last edited by Inebriated; 09-23-2015 at 07:51 PM.
Well, I ordered the Classic Sporter for the 110 bottom-release DBM. I'll let you know my impressions when it arrives, if you're interested.
Yes indeed. That's exactly what I'll be ordering !
Slated to be here Monday! Also, big shoutout to Stocky's. I ordered it from them, and selected USPS 2-Day for $15, passing on the UPS Ground for $23 and UPS 3-Day for $29, I believe. Next morning, got an email from someone at Stocky's, saying they recommend against USPS for stocks "as they have a habit of losing or ruining everything we give them", so she bumped me to UPS 3-Day and covered the cost difference. THAT is A+ customer service.Originally Posted by LRPut
Great information. So they had them in stock? On the website they are showing "back ordered "
This is the one I ordered, not the other one that they have listed, and I ordered the bottom bolt release model. If yours is a top release, then yeah, it would appear they're out. You can chat with them directly, and they seem happy to help.
Okay, I got it today, installed it, and some quick impressions...
The stock is great in-hand, and the cheekpiece is ridiculously comfortable. However, it has a slimmer and lighter forend than my blind mag version, pictured above, which I wasn't expecting. This forend has about as much play as the Boyd's I mentioned, but is still a big improvement on the factory stock, and just using off a bipod now, I'm not seeing any sway like with the factory forend. So that's good. The bottom metal was a direct drop-in with no fitment issues, and the stripped weight is maybe 6 oz over factory. So minimal weight added. And it has the same Pachmayr pad as the other one, and I can attest to how well it's working on the .338, so it should be a welcomed addition to your 7mm mag.
Overall, the stock feels much better than both the Boyd's or the factory stock. I can't speak to accuracy gains yet, but I have a feeling that a $130 Boyd's with a good recoil pad and a decent glass/pillar bedding job would tighten up groups just as well as this, and show similar rigidity off the bench. Like I said, I have no data on the group improvement, as I never bedded my Boyd's, but I've seen groups posted here of the setup, and it seems hard to improve on. However, in-hand and in the field, the B&C is shaping up to be a much better stock for me. I've done a lot of hunting with the Boyd's, and it gets slick in the rain, and it also gets scratched up easily. The B&C is going to be harder to scratch up, it's lighter, and the web texture on it did aid grippy-ness while I used it in the rain this weekend... It seemed like the stock got more grippy with damp hands.
So, for $270, I think it's the best thing I could do for my rifles, the way I use them. If you're going to do bench work, you'll have to weigh your options, and I'm certainly not an expert at all in that area. But, I do have a good idea of what works for me in the field, and the B&C seems like a winner from the scouting and shooting I've done with it. Both are still new, they may crumble into dust or something, but barring something like that, I think they're big improvements. I'll have pics of the new one up in the Picture forum later tonight or tomorrow.
Great write up. Thanks for taking the time !!! This will be a hunting rifle for me. Carry gun. Only time on the bench will be for sighting. Had hoped the forend would be a little more rigid than you indicated. Look forward to pics.
It's still stiff in-hand, you don't feel it flex at all, but like the Boyd', I can squeeze the barrel towards the handguard and force movement. But it feels excellent.
Edit - I posted the thread. I also expounded some on the flex, I think it's a factor of having to lose material for the DBM, not a slimmer forend... After looking side-by-side, the forends are the same, the more squared, flared bottom for the DBM frame just made it seem slimmer up front.
Last edited by Inebriated; 09-28-2015 at 05:49 PM.
Thats a good looking rig brother!!! I'm leaning towards black with gray web. My gun is stainless and the barrel is blue. Thought the contrast would be good.
Thanks bud! That black w/grey web and stainless combo looks great, Weatherby makes a rifle with a blue action and stainless fluted barrel with the same stock, and it looks killer!
Are you still liking that stock? Had a chance to shoot any? I'm still torn. Might actually convert mine to an internal box mag to shave a little weight. Clips are sure handy though.
Still loving it, man. Much more than the factory stock, and I really am liking it so much more than the Boyd's that was on it.
I posted the "review" thread here, and I posted the group below there. It's not a rigorous accuracy test or anything, but 3 rounds of 168gr TTSX's, and the adjustment shot in the center.
But more importantly, the gun is just comfy, light, and balanced... Overall fantastic. This stock is inlet for factory DBM parts, but you can buy a hinged floor plate from Savage if that's what you'd like. I do prefer a blind mag as well, but I think I'll be happy with a stainless DBM. I'm just not content with the polymer. The green Checkered model on the Hog Hunter, slightly different than the Classic Sporter on the '06, is a blind mag, but it's also a heavier stock. Not by much, but I think having the added fiberglass covering the entire bottom adds to the weight.
The group;
Excellent! What caliber you shooting?
Thanks, that was the .30-06.
Do you know if they make then for LH actions?
There are several good stock makers out there, but not as many as their used to be, wish Bishop was still around...B&C is one, Boyd's is one, Richards is one for 95% semi-finished ones. I have several Boyd's that DON'T bend and I've had a couple of B&C's but none now and if you are bending the BARREL there isn't anything wrong with the stock...I can bend the barrel on most of the very best, hi-dollar stocks by squeezing hard but the stock doesn't move...or am I miss reading your post??? Even Tupperware stocks with full alum bedding blocks are very stiff, but still can be bent a bit if you go grizzly on them.
Basically you need enough clearance in the barrel channel so the barrel vibrations aren't interfered with...~0.030" is enough for most hunting and twice that for air flow in varminters that can get hot.
Enjoy your "new" rifle.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks