Boyds Rifle Stock

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charlesb
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Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by charlesb » Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:18 am

Today I ordered a new stock for one of my rifles, from Boyds. Right now my Howa bolt action in .223 sits in a Hogue rubberized black stock. It's pillar-bedded but I do not really trust it for shooting from the bench.

The Boyds stock is a laminated thumb-hole varmint style stock to go with my short-action, heavy barreled Howa. This is the only stock design they have available for the heavy-barreled short action Howa. I paid a bit extra to specify the "coyote" color combination, with cream color mixed in with two darker shades of brown. I also specified the "99%" gloss finish, as this is a range gun.

They say 10-14 days before it ships, then UPS will take 4-5 working days to deliver the package - so if all goes well, I should be able to report on how it worked out in three weeks or so. I intend to glass bed the action, the Howa has a flat bottom and an integral recoil lug like a Mauser. It will respond well to being securely bedded.

This is what it looks like, right now. (Click image to see it larger.)
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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by Bullseye » Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:33 am

I can't wait to see it with the new furniture, be sure to post a pic when you are all through.

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by charlesb » Tue Oct 27, 2015 7:43 am

I"m one of those people who gets a big kick out of waiting for an upcoming event. I mark it on the calendar and get obsessive about it, but it's all in fun.

I've decided not to shoot the gun again until I get the new stock. I already know what it will do as it is.

My son and I were going to buy an electro-chemical engraver to mark our logo on custom rifles, but I am a ham radio operator and found a schematic so I can build my own instead. It's just a transformer with a bridge rectifier and a few switches. - I could almost build the whole thing with some of the stuff in my electronics junk box. They put out 12-24 volts at 2-4 amps, switchable for AC or DC. It's just a small power supply that I can build for half the price of the commercial units, and have some fun putting it together. To a ham radio operator, the smell of hot soldering resin is comparable to the smell of Hoppes #9 to a shooter.

DC current removes metal, you use a plastic stencil to control the shape for lettering, etc... AC current blackens the metal, if you want to do that. The current has to go through a felt pad soaked with salt water, or a salty-wet Q-tip grabbed by an aligator clip will do small jobs.

The weather is getting cold, so I'm starting to look for indoor projects. There is an ugly old 20 gauge bolt-action shotgun that has been in the family since I was a kid. It will wind up being a Frankenstein's monster after I practice rust bluing and electro-engraving on it. Nobody wants to shoot it, as it recoils all out of proportion to the strength of a 20 gauge shell. I used to get bruises from it as a kid. Well, now it's my turn to dish out the punishment!
Last edited by charlesb on Wed Oct 28, 2015 7:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by Bullseye » Tue Oct 27, 2015 8:19 pm

Building something is typically better than buying one, unless you're short for time and need the task completed in a hurry.

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by blue68f100 » Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:12 am

There is some rust bluing formulas that look and hold up better than the hot dip tanks if done right. I've seen some some very pretty blue jobs done by rust bluing it just takes longer to do.

Etching steel will be the fun part. The hard stuff is getting the stencils like you want them.

I've got my own projects in the works. 458SOCOM for the hogs here in east Texas. When my neighbor looked at my hog trap I built for my dad several years ago he make a comment that the door opening was too low. He said he has been picking up 1 hog on his game cameras that's in the 400# range. It's a monster compared to the other we see.
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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by charlesb » Wed Oct 28, 2015 3:48 pm

The 458 SOCOM ought to handle a big pig just fine. That's really a honking round!

The rust blue won't give you a gloss finish like the hot-tank system, in fact they say not to bother polishing finer than 320 grit for a rust blue job. It gives you a kind of light matte finish with a sheen to it. - It looks good next to a linseed oil finish on the wood.

I'll probably just send off for my etching stencils. There are outfits that will take a B/W image and turn it into stencils for you.

It'll be a few months before I need the etching setup, it will be for custom rifles I put together, and I haven't even started on one yet. - I'm still rounding up the parts and working out what I want to do at this stage.

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by charlesb » Wed Nov 04, 2015 5:58 am

An update on the Boyds stock:

I was given the impression that it would be late this week before the stock would ship... Well, here it is Wednesday morning and I have an eMail from UPS saying the the package will be delivered tomorrow.

So, it looks like Boyds does not notify you when its on its way, they just ship it.

I plan to do more business with Boyds in the future, so it is good to know what to expect.

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by charlesb » Thu Nov 05, 2015 1:18 pm

The stock arrived today. One thing unusual was that my account was not billed when it was shipped from Boyds, but a few days later when it was going to arrive.

Click image to see it larger.
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I paid a little extra for the "coyote" color scheme, and the glossy finish. The acid-based finish has a smell that I associate with "Made in China" even though the stock is US-made. - It just has that smell. I guess a polish job will fix that.

The fit was really excellent, it dropped in but with no detectable slop. The inletting work was very sharp-looking, it looked as nice as the outside.

I've just put it on for a few pictures, The gun will not be fired with the new stock until after I've glass-bedded it.

So now I can recommend the Boyds stocks.

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by Bullseye » Thu Nov 05, 2015 8:52 pm

Looks pretty nice.

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by blue68f100 » Fri Nov 06, 2015 8:32 am

That's one pretty stock......
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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by charlesb » Fri Nov 06, 2015 9:52 am

There's something about that color combination, and it being glossy that brings official sporting equipment to mind, like the old laminated tennis racquets, the wooden head drivers for golf, or something that you might see at a bowling alley.

I've been told that sometimes glass bedding is not necessary with this stock so I'm going to see what it does as it is before making that decision. The .223 is almost without recoil on a gun this heavy so it may not really be required.

My son and I tried shouldering the gun a few times last night and he suggested reducing the barrel from 24" to 18" in order to improve its handling qualities. I think that if we did that, I would stick with the scope that I have on it now, a Nikon P-223 4-12x40 that is designed for a .223 load that moves a 55 grain plastic-tipped bullet at 3240 fps. Sighted in at 100 yards with that load, the scope has markings on the elevation barrel for 100, 200, etc. up to 600 yards. It's really designed for use with AR15's, so cutting the heavy barrel down to 18" would probably work out just about right.

That would make it a kind of heavy walking varminter, closely emulating the excellent handling qualities of our Savage 93 in .17HMR:

The Savage 93R17 BTVS:
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My son and I revere the little Savage because we seemingly cannot miss with it. It is without a doubt the best handling rifle that I have ever owned. When I had my cotton farm in south Texas, this was the gun that went with me for my morning walks around the property, and it has accounted for no small number of varmints. Here in west Texas, we are wanting something very similar to the 17HMR but in .223 Winchester instead. - The varmints are bigger here (coyotes and pigs) so something with a bit more power and reach is required.

We hardly ever shoot the 17HMR any more, but it has a place of honor on the wall, and my son and I both like to take it down every once in a while just to enjoy how it feels on the shoulder. If I can get this Howa .223 to that point, it will be "mission accomplished" here.

I found that Pacific Tool and Gauge, the same folks who make my preferred barrel-crowning tool has replacement bottom metal for this rifle in aluminum that allows the use of five or ten-shot removable magazines. The magazines are steel. - So I'm guessing that the next step is to buy the 11 degree crowning tool for 204,223 and 6MM from PTG, along with the removable magazine kit for the Howa.

I'm excited about how this rifle is turning out. If it really does end up being a .223 twin to our old Savage 17HMR, then it will definitely be a keeper.

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by charlesb » Sat Nov 07, 2015 6:15 pm

I got it out to the range today, but the wind came up right about the time I got set up. - A cold, blustery wind! Yuk.

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I fired a few rounds, but it soon became evident that I would be shooting no cloverleafs today! - too windy.

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by Bullseye » Sun Nov 08, 2015 10:02 am

I gather the "bedding" process went smoothly?

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by charlesb » Tue Nov 10, 2015 11:24 am

I've just got it bolted down into the bedding, I'm using Devcon "steel epoxy" that is dark gray, it's one of my favorites as it takes it overnight to set completely. The better-mixed, slower curing epoxy will always come out tougher.

It was all prepared and ready to bed yesterday, but I had to leave it at that point as a business matter came up. - So today I just had to give it a last look, mix up the epoxy and stick it together.

I can probably pull it out of the stock late tonight, but I will probably just wait until morning.

I have to order a barrel-crowner for the smaller calibers, ( 22 rimfire, centerfire fire through 6mm). I like the 11 degree target crown right out to the outside edge of the barrel, so that's the cutter I'll order.

The plan is to reduce the heavy barrel from 24 inches to 18 inches, and give it a target crown. Then, I'll be working on replacing the bottom metal, and set the gun up to take a five-round removable steel magazine.

I've been shooting it a bit for fun, but there's no point doing any more load development until the barrel is shortened.

Keep your fingers crossed that the gun and stock will separate tomorrow morning! :P

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Re: Boyds Rifle Stock

Post by Bullseye » Tue Nov 10, 2015 5:49 pm

Devcon is good stuff, I use it frequently.

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