New Calling Rifle SPS Tactical
- Thread starter COhunter
- Start date
Hogue overmolded stock ? Doesn't sound factory. I'd personally shoot it after installing the trigger tech trigger leaving that Hogue stock in place. I have a Hogue stock and even tho it's nothing fancy, it allows the rifle to shoot very well. H335 with 53 Vmax bullets is a great 223 combo. 26.0 grains works for mine. SMK 69s shoot well also but with the almost equal BC number of the 53 Vmax to the 69SMK, I think I'd stick with the 53s. Velocity is much higher and groups are tiny.
That being the case, it's a decent stock. Mine is free floated and shoots the rifle very well. Definitely a huge upgrade from Remington's Tupperware stocks that make contact along the under barrel along the forearm. Hogue makes two stocks. Pillars and bedding block. One is better but both are decent.
Cemetery21
NRA Life since 1975
That can be addressed by a couple of members on this forum. I only have one of the later model Remingtons with the enlarged firing pin hole. Greg bushed it and furnished his firing pin and it is sweet. Better even than the old bolts.
Hogue oversold stock is descent, but not very rigid. Over time, couple of years, it may start weakening resulting in the tip of the stock making contact with the barrel. This is exacerbated by the use of a bipod. Depending on your budget, you can either change out stock now in favor of something rigid with a v-block, or keep using the rifle as it is knowing that at some future point you will need to replace the stock.
If you are trying to get most accuracy out of this rifle then the first 2 upgrades are the trigger and stock.... biggest improvement for the $.
If you are trying to get most accuracy out of this rifle then the first 2 upgrades are the trigger and stock.... biggest improvement for the $.
I had a Hogue on a Weatherby 7mm mag for about 12 years. I bedded it and never had any issues of it breaking down or weakening at the forearm and make contact with the barrel. I did use a bipod often but not entirely. I purchased one for my daughter's Remington 700 SPS Varmint .243. Purchased it here and it also is bedded. I needed a lighter stock for her rifle than the Boyd's Thumbhole I had on it. The factory Tupperware Remington was garbage and did make contact with the barrel in several places and not worth putting any time in. We'll see how it works on her rifle. Worked great on my Weatherby for years and made that rifle a tack driver.
Same experience here, years of use at 30 below zero to 100 degrees. No signs of any degradation at all. I have several ,nothing special but they work . I bed them and make sure they have plenty of room around the barrel .
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searcher
Gold $$ Contributor
If your stock is the one with the aluminum bedding block, doing a skim-bed with acra-glass is all that is needed to get you an accurate stock. I did this to mine, replaced the trigger with a Jewell and set pull at 1 1/2 pounds. Here are a few loads that shoot great in mine - as well as a few buddies' rigs with minor powder tweak. Barnes 50 Varmint Grenade, 24.1 IMR8208XBR, Rem. 7 1/2 primer. / 50 V-Max, 23.0 Reloader 7, Fed Match A/R primer / Berger 52, 24.2 IMR8208XBR, Rem 7 1/2 primer / Berger 52, 22.1 Accurate LT32, Remington 7 1/2 primer. Have shot sub-1/4" MOA 5-shot groups with all of these. I also put on a clamp-on Whitt Machine Company brake (they machine to fit your barrel measurements) so I can see the hits and takes muzzle jump down to almost nothing with these small bullets. Good Luck.
COhunter
Silver $$ Contributor
The LTR stock i purchased has the bedding block in it but the houge stock i'm going to replace does not. I have read where it is wise to skim bed as searcher suggested as the aluminum isn't an exact copy of the receiver. I found a lb of viht N133 today at my local sporting goods retailer, having read good things about it in the 223, it made it's way home with me. Now to do my prep work on brass to get ready for when the stock arrives. Thanks for all the input fella's, i will put it to good use
I have had one for many years now, I think I bought it back in 2012ish. I put it in a BC medalist and skim bedded with Ernie the Gunsmiths Accu risers, it was the first bed job I ever did. Ended up putting a basic Timney in it, and a wyatts box mag set up for long bullets. I have tried everything from 40gr to 75gr. The go to load is a Nosler 70gr RDF with AR Comp at 2850fps, consistently half MOA out to 450 yards.
As I see it now COhunter has replaced the Houge with a HS Precision stock. To me, that's a great choice!!!!! I have several Rem 700's, & most all wear an HS -P stocks... I really like them... One of mine is the 5R 223, that came with a 24" barrel. I mostly shoot the Hornady 53 V-Max out of that rifle, & it shoots them very well!!!! Good Luck with your 'new' rifle, & let us know how it performs!!!! Hopefully, you can help out the Lady with the Coyote problem!!!!!
COhunter
Silver $$ Contributor
With work finally slowing down and hunting season is over, i have had some time to play with the gun a little. To make a long story short, i did skim bed the stock, put a triggertech trigger in it, and found 200 rds of lapua brass for it. After looking here and a couple of other sites, i settled on a 55gr v-max since that's what i have a bunch of and all other projectiles are "none to be found" thanks to covid and the election. Now for the powder, it has been a toss up between benchmark and varget. They both shoot very well with BM shooting just a little tighter and just a tad faster, but i don't think that the coyotes are going to notice. I will keep you guy's informed on how things turn out with both the load work and coyotes. Thanks for all the input and information
Does yours have a 9 twist barrel? I believe a 7 twist is usually recommended for the .224 caliber 77 grain bullets. The OP said his is a 9 twist.
COhunter
Silver $$ Contributor
Sorry for the lag in information about the gun and loads that i have put through it. My wife and i have been caregivers to both her parents as well as mine because all 4 have had covid and it has been a battle to say the least but we are all alive and healthy now. I have finally settled on both the 50gr and 55gr NBT with Benchmark powder, Win brass, and CCI 400 primers @ 2.260 oal. It has proven to be a pretty accurate rifle with most groups about 3/8" and some smaller but for a calling rifle, i will not complain. I will spend some more time with it and tweaking seating depth, different powders, and hopefully primers.
JEFFPPC
Gold $$ Contributor
So, why change the stock before shooting it? I have the same rifle, with minimal development its shooting .3 to .5. Nothing else done to it except tightening screws. I would opt for a better trigger over an immeadiate stock change. If i get around to bedding it , it might tigten a tength, or maybe not . This is the second rifle I have experience in with that stock. Both shot very well with no bedding.
COhunter
Silver $$ Contributor
Two hunting buddies had the exact same rifle and after watching them struggle with the stock, that was my first choice as an upgrade as i already had a trigger for it. And, 4 of my other hunting rifles wear HS stocks, so i am very comfortable with them. Never could get used to the tacky feeling of the houge stock either
Honestly, I would do both. Most shooters never recognize there is an issue and just give up on the rifle because it won't group reliably. It takes experience to know what to look for, and sometimes that experience is the newbie neighbor who makes a comment that the stock touched the barrel. And you say, "What and How?" You've checked for this before when shooting off a bag and there was no issue (bag was positioned further back where there is more support). You checked it when it was sitting there on the bench with the bipod. BUT, you never checked it while you were behind the rifle loading the bipod (forward/downward pressure) so that it bit into the bench to help manage recoil.
You can accurately shoot a stiff/heavy trigger, but if action is not rigid/supported and free floated in stock then your shots are going to be inconsistent. Each time you shoot you may be applying different amounts and direction of pressure onto the stock, and as it touches the barrel it will interfere with barrel harmonics differently from shot to shot.
You can accurately shoot a stiff/heavy trigger, but if action is not rigid/supported and free floated in stock then your shots are going to be inconsistent. Each time you shoot you may be applying different amounts and direction of pressure onto the stock, and as it touches the barrel it will interfere with barrel harmonics differently from shot to shot.
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