Bell and Carlson Medalist A5 Stock

[CHROME]

Anyone have any experience using this stock? Mainly from the prone position? Good, bad....etc. Comments welcome.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I had one on my 338-375 Ruger built on a Rem 700 SS Ultra Mag action. It's a good stock and works fine from the prone position. It's heavy and the comb is pretty high so cleaning rod handles rub on the top of the stock in front of the butt plate when making passes through the bore from the rear.

It's also a pretty heavy stock since it has the full aluminum skeleton from the fore end all the way through the wrist. Something to consider if going on a hunting rifle. But the finish is good and the stock is solid as a rock.

I ended up selling it because my 338-375 Ruger is a hunting rifle. Really didn't like the square fore end when carrying the rifle in hand through the woods. Very uncomfortable when carrying it in one hand by the fore end, and the lack of checkering and smooth painted finish was slippery when I had my gloves on for cold weather.

But for a tactical or target rifle it would work well, especially from the prone position. Though it has a square 2.5" fore end, it's not what you'd consider a 'bag riding' stock for applications like BR shooting.

Being that my rifle's intended use is for hunting, it now wears an all carbon fiber ultralight stock from AG Composites.

Though the Medalist A5 didn't work for my application of the rifle as well as I'd liked, it is a very good stock and probably one of the sturdiest stocks on the market.

 

[Phil3]

Anyone have any experience using this stock? Mainly from the prone position? Good, bad....etc. Comments welcome.

I have the A2 variant (non-adjustable comb), and while I still have it, it has some issues.

I bought the stock to fit a Howa heavy barreled action. The action dropped right in, but the action bolt holes (2) did not line up with the holes in the stock. Closer inspection revealed that the rear tang of the action was hard against the cut out in the stock. Hmmm..., if that is happening, how is the recoil lug (integral part of action forging) fitting against the aluminum bedding block in the stock. I put a thich dab of grease on the face of the recoil lug and put the action in the stock, pushing the action as far rearward as the stock (and rear tang cut out) would allow. Pulled the action out and the the dab of grease, around 1/8" thick, was not even touched. All recoil would have been absorbed by the rear tang!

I relieved some of the tang cut out and got the action to fit and screw holes to line up, but the recoil lug was still not touching the bedding block. Bedding was needed and had it done. But, the notion of dropping in the action and going shooting immediately was not going to happen.

The stock itself is decently made, the palm swell is large, and it is heavy, but also solid. I really like the new style 6 model they have, but am leery about fit.

Phil

 

[Milo 2.0]

I've been around a couple of these, IMO, a cumbersome pile. This one form HS Precision for a few bucks more a easier to handle stock.
https://redhawkrifles.com/products/...ion-tactical-stocks/hs-precision/pst025-97-hs

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I have the A2 variant (non-adjustable comb), and while I still have it, it has some issues.

I bought the stock to fit a Howa heavy barreled action. The action dropped right in, but the action bolt holes (2) did not line up with the holes in the stock. Closer inspection revealed that the rear tang of the action was hard against the cut out in the stock. Hmmm..., if that is happening, how is the recoil lug (integral part of action forging) fitting against the aluminum bedding block in the stock. I put a thich dab of grease on the face of the recoil lug and put the action in the stock, pushing the action as far rearward as the stock (and rear tang cut out) would allow. Pulled the action out and the the dab of grease, around 1/8" thick, was not even touched. All recoil would have been absorbed by the rear tang!

I relieved some of the tang cut out and got the action to fit and screw holes to line up, but the recoil lug was still not touching the bedding block. Bedding was needed and had it done. But, the notion of dropping in the action and going shooting immediately was not going to happen.

The stock itself is decently made, the palm swell is large, and it is heavy, but also solid. I really like the new style 6 model they have, but am leery about fit.

Phil

Well no stock I've ever received was truly 'drop in' ready with a perfect fit, no matter what the manufacturer says and regardless of how much money I spent. There will almost always be some level of fitting needed, whether minor or major. And a rifle should always be bedded anyhow if you want the best performance.

Sometimes all I have to do is spend 10 minutes to relieve the stock a little for a rear tang safety lever, or 5 minutes for a little sanding to give a magazine box some play or another 5 minutes to make the action screw holes a little bigger with a drill bit so the screws don't contact the stock. Then other times I may have to spend over an hour grinding with a Dremel and hammering with chisels on the action inletting and barrel channel while checking the fit each time I remove a little bit of material. But I've never purchased any aftermarket stock from $200 to $500 and on up to even $800 without having to do some level of work to get a 'near' perfect fit prior to bedding the barreled action. The only way to truly achieve a PERFECT fit is with a quality bedding job. I prefer using Devcon steel puddy. Without bedding, there is no such thing as a perfect fit.

 

[Phil3]

Well no stock I've ever received was truly 'drop in' ready with a perfect fit, no matter what the manufacturer says and regardless of how much money I spent. There will almost always be some level of fitting needed, whether minor or major. And a rifle should always be bedded anyhow if you want the best performance.

Sometimes all I have to do is spend 10 minutes to relieve the stock a little for a rear tang safety lever, or 5 minutes for a little sanding to give a magazine box some play or another 5 minutes to make the action screw holes a little bigger with a drill bit so the screws don't contact the stock. Then other times I may have to spend over an hour grinding with a Dremel and hammering with chisels on the action inletting and barrel channel while checking the fit each time I remove a little bit of material. But I've never purchased any aftermarket stock from $200 to $500 and on up to even $800 without having to do some level of work to get a 'near' perfect fit prior to bedding the barreled action. The only way to truly achieve a PERFECT fit is with a quality bedding job. I prefer using Devcon steel puddy. Without bedding, there is no such thing as a perfect fit.

Your comments surprise me. I have to believe that the actions are pretty consistent in dimensions from one to the other. I just don't see how something that is machined on automated machinery would have gross errors in dimensions. My understanding is that most stocks are inletted using CNC machinery, which should result in accurate cutting and resultant fitment of the action to the stock. I know there are tolerances, but in my case, the error was over .125"! To me, that is just VERY poor quality. I guess I expect too much, but given that a Manners or McMillan can be north of $800 just for the stock alone, the idea of having to hammer and chisel on the thing to fit an action, seems to me, simply absurd and completely unreasonable.

Surfaces are imperfect, in the stock and action, and some bedding to ensure a 100% custom fit is expected, but it should not have error dimensions that I can measure with a ruler.

More reasons it seems to buy a chassis, but perhaps they have their own set of problems. I don't know.

Phil

 

[M99]

Anyone have any experience using this stock? Mainly from the prone position? Good, bad....etc. Comments welcome.

I use one for my 6.5 Creedmore F-Open rifle and it works very well for me. Solid and easy to handle. Too heavy for a hunting rifle though. Its meant for bench rest or prone competition shooting.

 

[Richard Whitcomb]

Anyone have any experience using this stock? Mainly from the prone position? Good, bad....etc. Comments welcome.

I have mine in a 6.5 Creedmoor savage 12FV I bought at Cabell as for $419 . It shoots one hole groups at 100 yds with 41 gr of H100 V. Great bench rifle.

 

[mauser284]

I have mine in a 6.5 Creedmoor savage 12FV I bought at Cabell as for $419 . It shoots one hole groups at 100 yds with 41 gr of H100 V. Great bench rifle.

Yes the stock on the 12FV is not very good if you want to run a bipod and load it up it is flex city. I suspect they intend for most people to pitch the stock on the 12FV. When I got mine even before I put a bipod on with just my index finger and thumb I could push the stock forend into the barrel with ease. Sadly it seems to be the norm. I am not anti-plastic but I am against flex prone non-rigid plastic stocks that do not at the very least do what a cheap POS wood stock would do. Plastic is cheap enough that they can at least make a stock that is not that flexible! There are plenty of plastics to chose from besides recycled pop bottles! Not a Savage thing as all of the OEM's have gone to the lowest common denominator with regard to stocks!