M305-wood, synthetic, archangel, Blackfeather, etc

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hfx123

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What's preference and why? I've decided to keep one that I have and do some modifications based on some advice ffrom here and elsewhere. Not looking to go overboard so Blackfeather is probably out but..... Looking for opinions on design, weight etc

Prefer the wood look but not the easiest to find. Thanks
 
I have a wood stock and a GI fiberglass stock on my M305s...I think I like the fiberglass best. The wood stock needed a fair amount of trimming to fit. One of my rifles [preowned] came with the original Norc stock painted matte Krylon green...I don't hate it. The matte paint takes away from the slipperiness of the Norc quite well.
 
I have an Archangel stock and a RS Blackfeather. Two very different stocks, and materials.

The RS Blackfeather is an awesome chassis, with many options to adapt and customize. Its also made in BC Canada. Hard to beat in my opinion.

Candocad.
 
With what i have here, i have 4 norc stocks, 1 USGI special grade woodstock, and 2 USGI fiberglass stocks
While not being that attractive to the eye, i love the weight and fit of USGI fiberglass, on the plus side if i use a rifle in rough conditions i won't worry about stock like i would with let's say a blackfeather
 
I have personally owned many, many M-305, M-14s, Poly and M1A rifles. I currently have 11 in the locker...... See my EE add for verification!

I have personally used several different stocks and Chassis;

The Chinese wood and plastic. Italian Walnut, Boyd's Walnut. USGI Wood and fiberglass. McMillan Fiberglass/composite. Archangel, Troy MCS and the Black Feather Chassis. Professionally, I've had a Sage and a JAE across the bench as well.

I still have the Black Feather in my stable. If I ever come across a Sage (when I also have the cash) I will pick one up. I don't think I would sell the BLack Feather to get into a sage.

In my very humble opinion, for my own uses; I prefer the USGI Fiberglass stocks for "daily use"; my "if you could only have one" choice. The weight, balance and durability are "aces". You can reinforce the stocks to make them a bit beefier. But IMHO not enough to be worth the effort. John Wolf in the US is doing some very interesting things with USGI fiberglass stocks, adding aluminum etc. I would give my left nut (if I can convince my wife to let me have it back) to play with one to see what the fuss is about! My second choice is a Boyd's Walnut.

The McMillan stocks. Well, there's a reason they are the gold standard. At $800 USD it's a bit spendy! But they take bedding like nobody's business. Never falter, never fail. They are monsters! They cost a lot, but do everything they are supposed to and nothing they aren't. The only real downside is the weight.... Those suckers seem to weigh a ton after a 10 round string of fire off-hand.

I prefer the JAE for quality over the Archangel but the Archangel wins on value for the buck, but I won't spend my own $$ on another one. The ergonomics of them is pretty darn good.

The blackfeather beats the Troy, on price and tune-ability (again in my opinion, YMMV). But the Troy looks way more "bad azz" than the BF.

The USGI wood stock is easily as good as a Boyd's, they seem to fetch more $$ used than the Boyd's does new, so I'm not a "believer" in USGI wood. Don't get me wrong, the USGI wood stock at $125 is a winner. At $225 it costs more than a new Boyd's does landed at my door.... That and old wood warps, so you never know if the stock is a winner till you get it. There is always a place for a "retro" build with a faux selector sw, and the USGI wood is the winner in that dept. The Italian Walnut stocks are BEAUTIFUL.... A bit too pretty for me..... I like to use my rifles, not hang them on the wall and stare at them. The Italian Walnuts I have seen are a touch "softer" than the Boyd's walnut seems to be, so they seem to mark-up and dent a bit easier.... The Italian, Boyd's or USGI wood stocks are all suitable for bedding (if that is a goal). I believe it's something to keep in mind when re-stocking.

The Chinese stocks are not stocks I hesitate to take off and toss or sell. The best thing about them is that you can take the stock metal out/off and put it in any wood stock! The Boyd's (for instance) are quite reasonably priced with-out stock liner or butt plate.

Be realistic and honest with yourself before spending hundreds or thousands on a stock or chassis!

All that said..... I would really like someone to make an aluminum copy of a USGI Fiberglass stock..... Something a fella could epoxy bed. No fancy tensioning screws and an adjustable cheek rest.....

John
 
m14medic.ca said:
I have personally owned many, many M-305, M-14s, Poly and M1A rifles. I currently have 11 in the locker...... See my EE add for verification!

I have personally used several different stocks and Chassis;

The Chinese wood and plastic. Italian Walnut, Boyd's Walnut. USGI Wood and fiberglass. McMillan Fiberglass/composite. Archangel, Troy MCS and the Black Feather Chassis. Professionally, I've had a Sage and a JAE across the bench as well.

I still have the Black Feather in my stable. If I ever come across a Sage (when I also have the cash) I will pick one up. I don't think I would sell the BLack Feather to get into a sage.

In my very humble opinion, for my own uses; I prefer the USGI Fiberglass stocks for "daily use"; my "if you could only have one" choice. The weight, balance and durability are "aces". You can reinforce the stocks to make them a bit beefier. But IMHO not enough to be worth the effort. John Wolf in the US is doing some very interesting things with USGI fiberglass stocks, adding aluminum etc. I would give my left nut (if I can convince my wife to let me have it back) to play with one to see what the fuss is about! My second choice is a Boyd's Walnut.

The McMillan stocks. Well, there's a reason they are the gold standard. At $800 USD it's a bit spendy! But they take bedding like nobody's business. Never falter, never fail. They are monsters! They cost a lot, but do everything they are supposed to and nothing they aren't. The only real downside is the weight.... Those suckers seem to weigh a ton after a 10 round string of fire off-hand.

I prefer the JAE for quality over the Archangel but the Archangel wins on value for the buck, but I won't spend my own $$ on another one. The ergonomics of them is pretty darn good.

The blackfeather beats the Troy, on price and tune-ability (again in my opinion, YMMV). But the Troy looks way more "bad azz" than the BF.

The USGI wood stock is easily as good as a Boyd's, they seem to fetch more $$ used than the Boyd's does new, so I'm not a "believer" in USGI wood. Don't get me wrong, the USGI wood stock at $125 is a winner. At $225 it costs more than a new Boyd's does landed at my door.... That and old wood warps, so you never know if the stock is a winner till you get it. There is always a place for a "retro" build with a faux selector sw, and the USGI wood is the winner in that dept. The Italian Walnut stocks are BEAUTIFUL.... A bit too pretty for me..... I like to use my rifles, not hang them on the wall and stare at them. The Italian Walnuts I have seen are a touch "softer" than the Boyd's walnut seems to be, so they seem to mark-up and dent a bit easier.... The Italian, Boyd's or USGI wood stocks are all suitable for bedding (if that is a goal). I believe it's something to keep in mind when re-stocking.

The Chinese stocks are not stocks I hesitate to take off and toss or sell. The best thing about them is that you can take the stock metal out/off and put it in any wood stock! The Boyd's (for instance) are quite reasonably priced with-out stock liner or butt plate.

Be realistic and honest with yourself before spending hundreds or thousands on a stock or chassis!

All that said..... I would really like someone to make an aluminum copy of a USGI Fiberglass stock..... Something a fella could epoxy bed. No fancy tensioning screws and an adjustable cheek rest.....

John
Click to expand...

Wow. Thanks that pretty much sums up all the info I was looking for. If I wanted to get a Boyd's which is it? I see norinco and norinco/Chinese in drop arrow then no models. I see m14 and it is field design slim GI without selector cut. Then the handguard separately in walnut.

Is this the one?
 
hfx123 said:
Wow. Thanks that pretty much sums up all the info I was looking for. If I wanted to get a Boyd's which is it? I see norinco and norinco/Chinese in drop arrow then no models. I see m14 and it is field design slim GI without selector cut. Then the handguard separately in walnut.

Is this the one?
Click to expand...

I'm going a little blind on the models offered, but can talk around the issue.

The selector switch notch does take away from the right sidewall rigidity. If you don't need the visuals, don't choose one. The underside of the back of the receiver contacts the wood. If the wood is twisting under recoil because of the cutout, you won't have as stable a bedding surface as you need.

Fat M14 stocks are NRA legal for High Power shooters although not NRA competitive against the ARs and spaceguns. Slim would be the same profile as USGI.

Secondly, the Boyd wooden handguards are not USGI but a commercial effort to improve on plain looking issue fibreglass parts.

If I understand the question, one of the problems with Chinese receivers in USGI stocks is one pin wants to dance out of place. TacticalTeacher showed us how to epoxy a stub of popsicle stick inside the receiver and avoid this problem. Probably Boyds is offering an answer to that quirk.
 
Well my experience is nothing compare to m14medic but I think I can still had to the conversation.

To me it all comes down to what you want out of your m14? Do you want the more tactical look or the more traditional look? Do you plan an shooting irons or scope, are you wanting to mount stuff on you m14, is weight a concern, do you plain to hunt or target shoot? And if sonat what distance?
 
hfx123 said:
Wow. Thanks that pretty much sums up all the info I was looking for. If I wanted to get a Boyd's which is it? I see norinco and norinco/Chinese in drop arrow then no models. I see m14 and it is field design slim GI without selector cut. Then the handguard separately in walnut.

Is this the one?
Click to expand...

This one,

https://w w w .boydsgunstocks.com/ProductDetail?ItemCode=4A4001D1V117

Any Nork or Poly built after 1999 will more or less drop-in. You may have to trim back a bit of the wood so the stock ferrule will clearance properly. It is relieved for the longer US style oprod guide rod retaining pin. A dollop of epoxy (or wood filler) is all that is required to keep the retaining pin in place on your chi-com rifle. As a short term fix, a piece of tape will keep the pin from walking out.

Boyds also offers an unfinished stock. Sanded but raw wood. The finished one listed above will come stained but not sealed. The last order I placed, I ordered 4. 2 of them were not finished quite to my liking so I wound up sanding them out and applying a watco Danish oil (walnut color) finish. It takes me about 7 days to do a proper job and an additional 2 weeks for the finish to cure..... Worth every second IMHO, but not if I had to pay someone to do it!

This is the Boyds handguard,
https://w w w .boydsgunstocks.com/ProductDetail?ItemCode=4A4001D10117

A very nice addition. It will sit quite a bit higher that a standard HG. It will need to be shortened 1/8" to properly fit your Chinese rifle. A pretty good looking enhancement, if you are really into LOTS of walnut.
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
I'm going a little blind on the models offered, but can talk around the issue.

The selector switch notch does take away from the right sidewall rigidity. If you don't need the visuals, don't choose one. The underside of the back of the receiver contacts the wood. If the wood is twisting under recoil because of the cutout, you won't have as stable a bedding surface as you need.

Fat M14 stocks are NRA legal for High Power shooters although not NRA competitive against the ARs and spaceguns. Slim would be the same profile as USGI.

Secondly, the Boyd wooden handguards are not USGI but a commercial effort to improve on plain looking issue fibreglass parts.

If I understand the question, one of the problems with Chinese receivers in USGI stocks is one pin wants to dance out of place. TacticalTeacher showed us how to epoxy a stub of popsicle stick inside the receiver and avoid this problem. Probably Boyds is offering an answer to that quirk.
Click to expand...

In reply to the bolded portion above:

You are correct, but with one small interjection.

When I bed any M-14 pattern rifle, I do it in 4 stages or steps. First is the front ferrule. I trim back (or build up) the wood or material behind the metal ferrule and epoxy it in place. I them trim back the stock liner and epoxy it in place. I then bed the receiver and then finally the trigger pack. Takes about 5 days, with only 8-9 hrs of actual working time..... It sure eats up bench space!

If I was to bed a Chinese action into a USGI wood stock I would have to add a 5th step. You would have to fill (and then trim) the selector cut-outs. I would do this with the same epoxy I use for the other bedding steps (I use Devcon plastic steel #10110). IMHO it would look "f-ugly".... But there would be no point in bedding a USGI wood stock with-out filling those spaces, for the exact reasons you mention. Why go through all that work, time, effort and material to do a sub-standard job that would have no practical benefit?

John
 
It's tough to beat a USGI synthetic stock for general purpose use, it's durable & weather resistant.
When you want more from your stock, you have many options, and I've tried almost all of them.
Most of the stocks I've tried over the years have been sold off.
The ones I still have are boxed up, even the tiger birch E2.


My personal favorites are the SAGE EBR, and the Blackfeather "RS".
The EBR is heavy & bulky, and it has a bunch of screws, but it works very well as an accuracy enhancing stock.
The "RS" is light with ###y lines & curves. Accuracy is great, and you can set it up & tune it to meet you needs.

I currently use one rare SAGE chassis, and two Blackfeather "RS".
Also, I am probably the only person that has found more than one Chinese Chu wood stock that I like.
 
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Yeah I don't know what it is but I keep going back to the walnut look. I don't want it shiny I want it to look like it was waxed flat. Maybe an unfinished and treat it myself. I have lots of tactical looking things and I don't want to make the damn thing any heavier
 
Personally, i have a wood stock one just for the vintage look
USGI walnut, reflexion of lights in shop might make it look shiny but its pretty matte.
150$ shipped of the here EE, so worth to shop around a bit sometimes.
I put a vented USGI handguard just cause

Lower one, brown in middle is USGI fiberglass



 
hfx123 said:
As for Boyd's good to go to Canada as long as order is sub 500?
Click to expand...


I have a Buddy who ordered a Boyds stock, it was not much work to get it to fit. I would like to do the same thing with my own M305, just havent got around to it yet.

I like the rifle, it shoots great, easy to clean and disassemble, but I don't like the clunky plastic stock. I'd rather have real wood. I don't mind the weight, its much lighter than the C-9 LMG that I used to carry in the forces.
 
fiddler said:
I have a Buddy who ordered a Boyds stock, it was not much work to get it to fit. I would like to do the same thing with my own M305, just havent got around to it yet.

I like the rifle, it shoots great, easy to clean and disassemble, but I don't like the clunky plastic stock. I'd rather have real wood. I don't mind the weight, its much lighter than the C-9 LMG that I used to carry in the forces.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's where I'm at with the one I have. It would feel nicer without that plastic. I have lots of plastic sks so I was thinking something woody. wood will make it less evil lol
 
I am not a fan of E2 stocks, they do have a fertain vintage look to them, but now that treeline purchased freds stocks, can't wait to get a tiger stripe wood stock!
 
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