Boyds Pro Varmint for F/TR

[LRNEWB]

Hey I'm looking at buying a Pro Varmint stock to replace the factory stock on my Savage 10T for F/TR matches. I know there are better options out there but my funds are on the budget side of rifle building. I'm wondering if anyone has used this stock in competition and if so how much work was put into it outside of bedding/pillar bedding.

 

[boltman13]

I have a Savage in 223 with a Xcalaber 28" bull barrel at my smiths being pillar bedded, and put into a Boyds Pro Varmit stock with their adjustable cheek piece. It will be my mid range F-TR rifle. I am having him add as much weight as practical, removing 2 of the three sling posts and fill in the blind magazine as well. I was pleasantly surprised at the looks and fit of the stock and can hardly wait to get it from my smith and start using it.

 

[mac86951]

I'm doing one myself; it was picked up on this site. I'm happy overall, though, would recommend having barrel channel routed on order.

My experience is tricky, a 98mauser. Good fit, ive inlet for the bolt handle, small work around mag well/bottom metal, and my time is spent getting shorter barrel channel to larger diameter barrel (by far most time). Not hard work, some tools can help save time, others do the job right. I figure for the cost I could afford to make a mistake, and build character.

-Mac

 

[waldo1979]

How does the stock track? It has a pretty steep taper on the tail.

 

[mac86951]

How does the stock track? It has a pretty steep taper on the tail.

Better than my sporterized rifles, but it isn't a BR stock for sure. The taper and non parallel surfaces are more akin to bipod/varminting. If you want repeatable tracking for BR, it'll be some effort to cut rear to parallel with front, and a flat surface. Varminting, it'll be fine by me.

 

[waldo1979]

Better than my sporterized rifles, but it isn't a BR stock for sure. The taper and non parallel surfaces are more akin to bipod/varminting. If you want repeatable tracking for BR, it'll be some effort to cut rear to parallel with front, and a flat surface. Varminting, it'll be fine by me.

If you're shooting of a harris bipod i guess you need some taper but I want a flat tracking stock and I'll use my Duplin to handle elevation. =)_

 

[Mozella]

Hey I'm looking at buying a Pro Varmint stock ..... snip..........

Last year I built two Savage/Shilen rifles, one for F/TR and the other for F-Open. The .223 F/TR has a McMillen stock while the F-Open is a 6mm BR with the Boyds Pro Varmint stock. Truth be told, the McMillen is in no way worth six times as much as the Boyds unless perhaps if you use it for a club because it's a bit stronger. I actually prefer shooting with the Boyds. Go with the Boyds and don't look back.

There is plenty of information about bedding on the Internet and you can do this easily yourself. Use Devcon 10110 even if it seems a little expensive. Other than bedding, you'll want some way to attach your bipod. I prefer a T nut epoxied into the forearm to capture a threaded stud as opposed to a stud simply screwed into the wood.

 

[LRNEWB]

Hey thanks guys for the comments I have been getting my butt handed to me at work the past week so I haven't been able to reply to anyone. It's good to know that others use this stock for competition. I'm still new to FTR (May will be my 3rd match) and don't have the cash to build up a best of the best rifle so I'm going with what I can to get the best results possible.

 

[LRNEWB]

Last year I built two Savage/Shilen rifles, one for F/TR and the other for F-Open. The .223 F/TR has a McMillen stock while the F-Open is a 6mm BR with the Boyds Pro Varmint stock. Truth be told, the McMillen is in no way worth six times as much as the Boyds unless perhaps if you use it for a club because it's a bit stronger. I actually prefer shooting with the Boyds. Go with the Boyds and don't look back.

There is plenty of information about bedding on the Internet and you can do this easily yourself. Use Devcon 10110 even if it seems a little expensive. Other than bedding, you'll want some way to attach your bipod. I prefer a T nut epoxied into the forearm to capture a threaded stud as opposed to a stud simply screwed into the wood.

Yes that's the plan with the Devcon 10110. I have a buddy that is gonna help me with pillar bedding and we had talked about putting something like a t nut in for the Sinclair bipod to attach to.

 

[Mozella]

............ SNIP............ and don't have the cash to build up a best of the best rifle so I'm going with what I can to get the best results possible.

F-Class is all about reading the wind. If you have a rifle which will reliably shoot sub 1/2 MOA at 100 yards, you're good to go. A 1 MOA rifle in the hands of a good wind reader will crush the guy with a 1/4 MOA rifle who doesn't read the wind very well.

Your proposed build, with a bit of load development, will have no problems achieving a five-shot 1/2 MOA with a reasonably heavy, high BC bullet at a pretty good MV. Once you find that recipe, it will be LONG time before your budget rifle will be the primary factor holding you back from achieving glory at the F-Class competitions. Good luck.

 

[Corey Schwanz]

I just picked up a Savage 12 in .308 for deer hunting but thought about playing with it for short or mid range F-Class as well. Not terribly happy with the synthetic stock from the factory and was looking at a Boyd's down the road this summer. This thread helped ease my mind that its a good stock for the money.

 

[Mozella]

Yes that's the plan with the Devcon 10110. I have a buddy that is gonna help me with pillar bedding and we had talked about putting something like a t nut in for the Sinclair bipod to attach to.

Figure out where you want the lug, or pick two spots for two lugs. Drill from the bottom using a drill smaller than the diameter of the threaded part of the lug. Then select a Forstner bit the same diameter as a SS T nut. Using the existing small hold to center the bit, drill from the top with the Forstner bit to create a recessed flat just deep enough to accommodate the T nut. You can also do this job with a spade bit, but be sure it's nice and sharp. Drill from the top and enlarge the hole just enough to accommodate the shank of the T nut. Drill only deep enough to accept the T nut, not all the way through. Then enlarge the remainder of the hole with a smaller bit just large enough to accommodate the threaded shank of the lug. If you want to get fancy, you could take a small Forstner bit and make a small recess on the bottom of the forearm for a washer, but I didn't. Then put a bit of epoxy on the T nut and tighten it using a suitable screw and washer to protect the forearm, tapping it into place if necessary, depending on if your T nut has little "teeth" or holes. When the epoxy is cured, install the lug, trim it to length if necessary, and try your tripod.

 

[LRNEWB]

Figure out where you want the lug, or pick two spots for two lugs. Drill from the bottom using a drill smaller than the diameter of the threaded part of the lug. Then select a Forstner bit the same diameter as a SS T nut. Using the existing small hold to center the bit, drill from the top with the Forstner bit to create a recessed flat just deep enough to accommodate the T nut. You can also do this job with a spade bit, but be sure it's nice and sharp. Drill from the top and enlarge the hole just enough to accommodate the shank of the T nut. Drill only deep enough to accept the T nut, not all the way through. Then enlarge the remainder of the hole with a smaller bit just large enough to accommodate the threaded shank of the lug. If you want to get fancy, you could take a small Forstner bit and make a small recess on the bottom of the forearm for a washer, but I didn't. Then put a bit of epoxy on the T nut and tighten it using a suitable screw and washer to protect the forearm, tapping it into place if necessary, depending on if your T nut has little "teeth" or holes. When the epoxy is cured, install the lug, trim it to length if necessary, and try your tripod.

I'm gonna a send you a pm.

 

[Ringostar]

Figure out where you want the lug, or pick two spots for two lugs. Drill from the bottom using a drill smaller than the diameter of the threaded part of the lug. Then select a Forstner bit the same diameter as a SS T nut. Using the existing small hold to center the bit, drill from the top with the Forstner bit to create a recessed flat just deep enough to accommodate the T nut. You can also do this job with a spade bit, but be sure it's nice and sharp. Drill from the top and enlarge the hole just enough to accommodate the shank of the T nut. Drill only deep enough to accept the T nut, not all the way through. Then enlarge the remainder of the hole with a smaller bit just large enough to accommodate the threaded shank of the lug. If you want to get fancy, you could take a small Forstner bit and make a small recess on the bottom of the forearm for a washer, but I didn't. Then put a bit of epoxy on the T nut and tighten it using a suitable screw and washer to protect the forearm, tapping it into place if necessary, depending on if your T nut has little "teeth" or holes. When the epoxy is cured, install the lug, trim it to length if necessary, and try your tripod.

I got a Boyd's Pro Varmint for my Kimber 82 Gov't. It came with 2 front sling studs for mounting a bipod. They weren't just threaded into the wood. The top side was hollowed out slightly below the barrel channel, and the studs were nutted from the top side. You can fill the hollowed cavity with bedding to hold the nuts permanent, or add extra weight in first.