A couple Christmases ago my wife bought me a Boyds Classic laminate stock for my Stevens 200. I ended up shelving the stock for a couple years because I had a new job and wasn't able to find the time to hunt. Fast forward to the present and I'm back at it. For the time being I am still using the factory stock.

My plan is to pillar and glass bed the Boyds stock post-deer season. However, I was hunting in the rain today and pulled the action from the plastic stock to dry it. While it was apart I test fitted the Boyds stock -- and then I ran into a problem.

I know that minor fitting is often required for these aftermarket stocks (and I would note that I did not try to install the centerfeed mag-well yet), but I was wondering if any of you thought this was a defect or something typical that you'd see from Boyds? I could easily relieve the wood to the right of the bold handle, but there's still an unsightly gap on the left side. See annotated photos below.

The fit up front is great...



However, at the bolt cut-out it looks like this (and it binds up really tight)...





And this is how the original Tupperware stock looks for comparison...





It appears that the cut-out on the original stock is at an angle, while the Boyds' stock is straight up and down...



Is that a defect or poor design? Given that it's been almost 3 years since my wife gave me the stock, I really doubt that Boyds would do anything under warranty. I think it's just 90-days. I am trying to decide if I should live with it (relieve the wood to the right of the bold handle) or look for a different stock.