Custom stocks

Mcmillans are overpriced for what they are, IMO. they have quite a following but a lot of that is, IMO, brand worship and because of their military use. their military use, undoubtedly, is due to their insane durability. thats their main strength - they can take a serious beating whereas an HS Precision cannot.

HS precision stocks are a good deal for the price, and you can often find remmy 700 take-offs from Varmints, Senderos or 700Ps for sale cheap. they are significantly lighter and have superior full length aluminum bedding blocks, and will be just as accurate... their downside is that they are significantly less durable than a Mcmillan.

ergonomically the palm swell and overall shape of the HS Precision is excellent, and the texture is much grippier than the Mcmillans. the Mcmillan is not only much more money, but it needs to be bedded for additional expense where the HS Precision does not. (do not bed them - there is no need to bed a full length alum bedding block - the company actually specifically tells you this and you void your warranty by bedding them).

in the $800 price range i would be considering something like the AICS, which to me would be worth the money for the DM conversion, added durability, thumbhole (this is a negative to some) and coolness factor.

in the extreme low end price range like the Bell & Carlson Duramaxx -- IMO they do not offer enough of an upgrade over your factory tupperware stock to justify wasting the money. often they are a downgrade, actually.
 
ergonomically the palm swell and overall shape of the HS Precision is excellent, and the texture is much grippier than the Mcmillans. the Mcmillan is not only much more money, but it needs to be bedded for additional expense where the HS Precision does not. (do not bed them - there is no need to bed a full length alum bedding block - the company actually specifically tells you this and you void your warranty by bedding them).
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Yet many well respected gun builders recommend skim bedding stocks with the aluminum bedding block to provide more surface area for bedding.And the mcmillan grip angle suits me much better than that of the H-S Precision.
 
Mcmillans are overpriced for what they are, IMO. they have quite a following but a lot of that is, IMO, brand worship and because of their military use. their military use, undoubtedly, is due to their insane durability. thats their main strength - they can take a serious beating whereas an HS Precision cannot.

HS precision stocks are a good deal for the price, and you can often find remmy 700 take-offs from Varmints, Senderos or 700Ps for sale cheap. they are significantly lighter and have superior full length aluminum bedding blocks, and will be just as accurate... their downside is that they are significantly less durable than a Mcmillan.

ergonomically the palm swell and overall shape of the HS Precision is excellent, and the texture is much grippier than the Mcmillans. the Mcmillan is not only much more money, but it needs to be bedded for additional expense where the HS Precision does not. (do not bed them - there is no need to bed a full length alum bedding block - the company actually specifically tells you this and you void your warranty by bedding them).
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Interesting observations. I'm curioous as to whether you have owned and used eigther? The HS precision is a club IMO, and "significantly less durable than a McMillan" is a pretty big deal.
 
I generally find that if you can't whittle yourself a stock out of something you have sitting around the basement like an old SMLE or P-14 stock, that you might just as well spend twenty or thirty bucks and get one of them new-fangled plastic stocks. Not sure who this lad McMillan might be, but from the sounds of it he is making a pretty penny for his stocks...........

Wonder if he has one that would fit my young lad's Cooey? That stock needs to be replaced............

:p

Doug
 
stubblejumper said:
It would probably improve your shooting skills,but it wouldn't make your rifle stock more durable or stable.If the stock warps,the point of impact can change enough to cause a miss regardless of your shooting skills.
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Improved shooting skills would make me more accurate with any and all of my guns. A better stock would make only that one rifle better, but my point is that if you aren't already shooting the rifle as accurately as it can be shot, a better stock may be a very expensive way to demonstrate that you aren't as good as you can be. I think anyone should spend their own time and money as they like, but I suspect a lot of people have more potential to improve their shooting skills than to improve their rifle. (In my own case, it's more than a suspicion.)
 
chuck nelson said:
Interesting observations. I'm curioous as to whether you have owned and used eigther? The HS precision is a club IMO, and "significantly less durable than a McMillan" is a pretty big deal.
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i own 2 HS Precisions on two separate Rem 700s. one of them was briefly upgraded to a Mcmillan A-2, i ended up not liking the stock at all and it (the stock) was sold last year. i do admit the resale value on Mcmillans is quite good :)

'significantly less durable' is a big deal in the military, i agree - which is no doubt why they use them. for the average hunter it most definitely isnt - i seriously doubt anyone will ever destroy an HS Precision stock during even careless hunting and benchrest use. i said the Mcmillans were much more durable - i never said the HS Precisions were flimsy.

stock fit/ergonomics is going to vary from person to person. i am by no means suggesting ordering either before he goes and actually picks one up and tries it in the store.

i actually forgot to answer the real question the poster asked:
Do you guys find its worth the extra $$ on a hunting rig.
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NO.
on a hunting gun just about any factory stock will give you good enough accuracy. you dont need sub-MOA to kill a deer.
on a varmint gun, it sure is nice to have a good stock. on a benchrest gun you definitely should look into one.
 
NO.
on a hunting gun just about any factory stock will give you good enough accuracy.
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Tell that to a former hunting partner who missed two bucks in a row because his walnut stock had warped and changed the point of impact by 6" at 100 yards.
 
his question was about mcmillans and high end fibreglass stocks, not comparing the virtues of wood vs synthetic vs laminate in wet weather or high humidity.
obviously a walnut stock will warp in wet weather, but had your friend bought a $300 stevens with a $50 plastic stock on it it wouldnt have warped. he didnt need a Mcmillan, HS precision, AICS, etc.

so again, i say NO you do not need a mcmillan on a hunting rifle.
 
tupperware can warp, from what Ive read, although not as vulnerable to warp as wood

manbearpig said:
so again, i say NO you do not need a mcmillan on a hunting rifle.
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no definitely not needed, but if you want one, they can be had for a moderate amount of money. Im glad we dont all shoot stevens 200s
 
Gotta ask manbearpig...what is a hunting rifle?

A sheep rifle? One that sits in the rear window of a pickup? One that gets carried to a tree stand for deer?

My serious hunting rifles wear fiberglass. Maybe not all McMillans, but they're a great stock. If you do any serious back country hunting, the value of a top of the line stock becomes evident.
 
Gotta ask manbearpig...what is a hunting rifle?

A sheep rifle? One that sits in the rear window of a pickup? One that gets carried to a tree stand for deer?

My serious hunting rifles wear fiberglass. Maybe not all McMillans, but they're a great stock. If you do any serious back country hunting, the value of a top of the line stock becomes evident.
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Well said!
 
If I had to supplement my living by guiding coastal bear hunters during monsoon conditions, I'd have my rifle bedded into the best synthetic stock I could buy. For sport hunting, walnut & laminated have served me well. But a McMillian Swirly would look kinda kewl on my coyote killer :D
 
I have two McMillan stocks, and while they are not perfect, they are both very good.

The stock on my .375 sees much use, and as a result the colour has rubbed of in the contact areas. The only design issues I had with this stock is that the pistol grip crowded the trigger guard requiring me to put an adapter to deflect my fingers below the trigger guard in recoil. This small fix resolved the problem nicely. The other issue is that the comb is a bit high. As a result shooting with the ghost ring requires that my cheek is squashed down onto the stock making recoil a little more unpleasant. The stock has proven stable in wet conditions and dry, heat and cold, and I would buy another without hesitation.

My target rifle wears a fully adjustable A-5, with the wheel adjusted cheek piece. I had my gunsmith added a rail to the underside of the forend so that the PH bi-pod could be set out at the end of the stock or the hand-stop could be set at intermediate positions. The issue I've had with this stock pertains to the adjustable butt plate. I wish the adjustment was a bit longer so that the butt plate extension tube was not right at the end of its adjustment when I shoot prone. In addition to this, I think the addition of a top and bottom guide rod or a key way attached to the main tube would be useful in preventing the butt plate from turning. While I am mostly happy with this stock, it was expensive, and as a result I would look around before buying another due to the issues related to the adjustable butt plate.
 
RickF said:
Gotta ask manbearpig...what is a hunting rifle?
A sheep rifle? One that sits in the rear window of a pickup? One that gets carried to a tree stand for deer?
My serious hunting rifles wear fiberglass. Maybe not all McMillans, but they're a great stock. If you do any serious back country hunting, the value of a top of the line stock becomes evident.
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i have said i think that HS Precision stocks are worth the money. i just dont think a Mcmillan is worth twice as much. in some ways i feel a lighter HS precision with its full length alum bedding block is superior.

i still stand by what i said in answer to the original posters question - the average hunter does not need either. the factory synthetic or laminate stock is perfectly fine. Average Joe hunter is not going to become a better hunter by buying a $600-700 Mcmillan for his hunting rifle and i hope none of you would suggest it. it takes some seriously irresponsible gun snobbery to suggest something like that to someone honestly asking if it will make them a better hunter.

if he wants to become a better hunter, buy a dozen boxes of cheap ammo for a fraction of the cost of a Mcmillan and work on your offhand shot placement.
 
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this Ontario hunter (Bob Dutton) took this soon to be record monster buck with a bow just now at the end of Nov. the full story is on the Ontario Out of Doors forum.

why is this relevant?
his groups are probably larger at 25 yards than yours are at 200 with any factory Remington, Savage, Ruger, Winchester, etc in its factory stock, and bowhunting is a lot less forgiving.
no, you do not need a $600-700 Mcmillan to hunt.
 
First of all lets get some facts straight. A McMillan does not cost twice as much as an HS Precision, and the ones I own cost nowhere near "$600-$700". My McMillan also weighs less than your HS. I guarantee it. By your own admission a McMillan is significantly stronger. $150 worth of significance is money well spent IMO. Then there is the issue of average Joe Hunter and his big game hunting battery. Most, in all likelyhood, have more rifles in the safe than I do. A good reliable virtually indestructable laid up fiberglass/graphite stock is worth much more to me than an extra Remington SPS topped with a Bushnell Banner in the safe. It's cheaper as well.

No, a McMillan will not make you a better hunter. It just might keep you in the field longer though and I've noticed that better hunters gravitate to better things.:eek:
 
Beautiful buck.

HS stocks? They NEED the aluminium block as they aren't really that stiff without it. Ever stop to think however, what happens due to common manufacturing tolerances, when the aluminium is not is alignment with the barreled action? It happens more commonly than you might think. Then you have to bed the stock to your barreled action, just like any stock without the bedding block.

You're right of course. You don't need a McMillan to hunt. Or camo, or binos, or a quad, compass...
 
I have had many mcmillan's over the years, they are a fantastic stock.I have never paid over about $600-$700 for one.No you don't need one,but if you are a gunnut it isn't about need,it's about what you like.Let's face it shooting and/or hunting is not an inexpensive sport,if spending $500 on a stock seems crazy to you,you are also not likely to go out and buy 30bx of ammo to just plink with.A good quality laminate is great as well but a light weight rifle just seems to beg to be bedded into a light quality synthetic.
 
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