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William Suter

Well-known member
Not how you were raised but a rifle stock. LOL!!
I'm looking at a Manners stock for my Howa. My action has a carbon fiber barrel and at the front of my stock the barrel measures 1.030. The Manners is used so the price is decent but the barrel channel measure .990 at the front. This means I will need to open it up at least .050 or even a bit more to get my barrel to fit the channel and maybe more to float. I keep thinking it isn't that much but I don't want to screw up a good stock or compromise the integrity of the fore-end either. What do you think?
 
I've opened up a lot of stocks, mostly McMillans, but Manners are built the same, ain't gonna hurt a thing.

Lay the barrel in/on the channel, & run a Sharpie along both sides of the forend for a reference point.

I use various sized wooded dowels, conduit, and/or sockets wrapped with different grits of sandpaper.

It can be somewhat time consuming, but easily done. Don't be scared to give it a generous float.
 
I've opened up the barrel channels on a fair share myself an I've seen a few that were really thin out towards the end of the stock. I know or should say, by the pictures he sent it shouldn't be a big issue, just some sanding and I have a box full of paper and different size diameter dowels to do the job. I just replaced a new stock because I had my head where it didn't belong and messed up a bedding job. I took a short cut and paid the price but that's a story for a later date when I want to tell on myself. He's dropped the price a little, maybe he will drop it once more or someone will buy it before I do. Its a want, not a need but it sure is nice. LOL I just want to make dang sure I won't mess this one up.
 
From an aesthetic point of view, I don't like it when you have to open a barrel channel up so far that there's no "flats" on tops of the forend towards the tip.

Structurally I'm sure it's fine. I have sanded the tops to make the flats, but those were on painted, not gel coated stocks, that I re-painted.
 
Alf this is the part that has me wondering. I don't like it when the stock looks paper thin or has a knife edge look. It only needs .040 to fit but will need at least that and more to float.
 
Why not fit the barrel to the stock and shoot it. It might surprise you. You can always experiment w/a bit of pressure at front of forend and if neither produces the accuracy you expect you can always float it.
 
I keep watching his add and lucky for me its for a Howa full size so its a pretty slow moving add. He did lower his price a little but not enough to matter one way or another. Its definitely a want and not a need but it sure would look good on my rifle, LOL. I just seem to want a lot these days and really don't need most of them. Being a gun-aholic gets expensive.
 
Well I bought the Manners stock. I got to looking at some of the pictures I ask for and the Manners is about 2 1/2 inchs longer than my stock measuring from the recoil lug to the front of the stock. That being said, my barrel tapers pretty quickly and it should work. If I have to sand the channel it looks to be very minimal. With a little luck (which I seem to be short on these days) it may be a drop in. The Manners should be a great improvement over factory. The factory stock is composite but has a finish like Browning uses. Feels rubbery and slick. Its a solid stock just feels weird.
 
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