Boyd's Stocks - Sporter Barrel Channel

[Dimner]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question.

Boyd's offers their Heritage, Classic, Prairie Hunter, and Platinum all with a standard sporter barrel channel. Does anyone know if the barrel channel of these three stocks can be opened up to accept a #3b contour? I know the literature on their site says they cannot be opened up to a bull barrel profile, but perhaps they can be opened to a #3b?

Hopefully someone has experience with this. Thank you.

 

[Herzo]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question.

Boyd's offers their Heritage, Classic, Prairie Hunter, and Platinum all with a standard sporter barrel channel. Does anyone know if the barrel channel of these three stocks can be opened up to accept a #3b contour? I know the literature on their site says they cannot be opened up to a bull barrel profile, but perhaps they can be opened to a #3b?

Hopefully someone has experience with this. Thank you.

Appropriately sized wooden dowel wrapped with 60 grit sandpaper. Finish with 220 or similar and seal with your finish of choice.

 

[Dimner]

Thank you, I will give that a try. However, I do not have the stock yet. Before I order I'm wondering if their Heritage, Classic, Prairie Hunter, and Platinum have enough material to free float a #3b without blowing through the channel's wood.

 

[centershot]

I had to go to whatever their thumb hole stock is because opening it up to the diameter of my barrel would have done just that. I was leery to do this as I never owned a thumb hole before. I opened it up just fine and love the thumb hole. On a prairie dog rifle.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Grayboe is having a 25% off sale through tomorrow on their stocks if your looking for another option.

 

[Old Navy]

Post the barrel dimensions. That might get a better answer.

 

[Dimner]

Just received a reply from Boyd's

The Pro Varmint and Varmint Thumbhole can have the barrel channel opened to accept a barrel up to 1.25" in diameter.

The SS Evolution and Barracuda are considered 'any barrel channel' due to the design of the stock. The only section that has wood, is located at Point A (see the diagram at the bottom of the email)

The rest of the stock shapes can accept a barrel up to .920 in diameter.

So it looks like I'm good to go. The #3b is 0.900 @ 6" and 0.700 at 26.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I know a remington magnum fits just fine. Most call that a #3 taper. If the chamberer has the stock he can match the shank up and you wont have to do any sanding at all

 

[AccelR8]

I rebarelled a Remington 788 in .222 and fitted it in a Boyd’s Classic.

The barrel is a Wilson #4 Sporter from Ragged Hole Barrels. I finished it at 25” and the muzzle diameter is about .690”. It is about 1.200” at the recoil lug and .800” at the end of the fore end.

The stock was one of those that Boyd’s calls “Fast Fire” or something, meaning it’s already made and ready to go. Somehow I felt this particular one was maybe a mistake or one that was ordered but didn’t get delivered or, whatever. Anyway…

The original factory barrel was quite skinny, tapering quickly from the receiver with a sharp taper of a few inches in length and then a lesser taper about to .500” at the muzzle. I had no problem opening up the barrel channel and there is plenty of wood remaining so the fore end doesn’t look too thin, if any of that makes any sense. One issue however is that the two barrel tapers are different enough in profile that at a point just after the Wilson barrel’s initial taper from the receiver, the stock’s barrel channel was actually too wide and the gap there is visibly wider than the rest of the fore end. Much too wide for me to try to even it out by sanding the rest of it bigger. So, there’s that.

Again, hope that makes sense and that it helps.

 

[jpx2rk]

I put a Boyd's AT1 on a RAR with a aftermarket barrel that has a muzzle of around .850" Did a lot of sanding to get it all to fit.

 

[M60A3TTS]

Even in a stock configuration, with a sporter or MilSpec, Boyds are at best 80 percent stocks. Yeah, you can drop your action in and bolt it up, but there is lots of room for improvement.

 

[ben-o]

I have a Boyd’s platinum that we opened up to fit a Douglass #5 contour. I think that’s about as big as you could go before running out of wood.
I agree with the comment that these stocks can be improved. It’s amazing what you get for the price, but I took a rasp to mine and made it a lot better.

 

[Dimner]

I have a Boyd’s platinum that we opened up to fit a Douglass #5 contour. I think that’s about as big as you could go before running out of wood.
I agree with the comment that these stocks can be improved. It’s amazing what you get for the price, but I took a rasp to mine and made it a lot better.

Excellent to hear. A douglas #5 is pert near a 3b as one can get. I think I'm gonna gonna go with the douglas #4 and maybe the heritage stock.

Thanks a bunch

 

[Dimner]

Even in a stock configuration, with a sporter or MilSpec, Boyds are at best 80 percent stocks. Yeah, you can drop your action in and bolt it up, but there is lots of room for improvement.

80% is more than fine by me. I have rasps, chisels and lots of sand paper. I'm a decent hand at the woodworking, however never got the hang of hand cut dovetails. I have a similar adversion to synthetic stocks and inletting my own wood blank. So the best I can figure it's down to Boyd's or richards microfit. Richards has much better profiles, but I know will take more work. So for this project, it will be a Boyd's, sandpaper, and bedding compound.