What would you do, 6BR stock help?

[Toby]

I have just received my new 6BR Sako back from the gunsmiths, I haven't had the chance to shoot it yet but will be running the barrel in shortly.

I am a bit of a gear pimp and have McMillans on all my other rifles apart from the CZ 455.

This Sako is a M591 Varmint with wooden stock.

I enquired about the price for a McMillan for it and was quoted just under 8000 NOK bedded for a Sako Varmint stock.

This was a bit more than expected, the last one I bought was maybe 4-5 yrs ago and cost 5500 NOK bedded. I realise that the dollar rate has gone up.....

 

My question is, am I likely to notice much difference accuracy and consistency wise with wood (either bedded or unbedded) compared to a McMillan? I like to generally get the best from my kit so if it means saving then so be it. Seen as 6BR is one of the most accurate cartridges I dont want to sell it short by scrimping.

 

How well do your wood stocked rifles shoot?

 

 

Thanks,

Toby.

[gbal]

Toby, Shoot it as it is first-if its good (I'd think .3 moa) I doubt than anything would improve that,or that you'd need the improvementreally. Barrel isthe big factor.If it isn't up to expectations/needes,then you have a base line toimprove,maybe. It does notsound like a 'competition'rifle though,so just how good does it need to be-yes,BR can be/usually is very accurate.

 

You dn't specify which McMillan,but the standard Sako factory replacement comes in about £500 in UK,and bedding £150-200 ;So 8000 Kroner (£656 @£.082) seems pretty much comparable,for what that is worth.

There may be other reasons for restocking of course,but there is no way of telling precision improvements-and the better it is in thewooden stock,the less room there is to improve-which is good news,really.

 

Others here may have experience-but one offs are limited,and even more so are a few groups-you really need aggregate data over a hundred or so,before and after...well,maybe that will be forthcoming.....

 

I get around .3 from a 223 Sako,and that more consistently from a 6PPC-both varmint,wood and laminate-though aggregating for say 25 shots is less likely-maybe the odd one out of group would be fixed by restocking-and maybe not (it wasn't allowed in competition here,so no choices).Nothing I shoot at now would be better done with a .1 moa improvement,except my occasional satisfaction-and there are other even better choices ffor that.

I hope yours shoots superbly as is...though you may still want to change it!

 

gbal

[Toby]

Thanks for the reply.

Are your Sakos bedded or factory standard?

[gbal]

Toby,all as from the factory.

 

1972 243 Forrester heavy barrel- sub 1/2 moa,before I knew what moa was,and using basic reloading.

Not many got bedded back then either.

Sako 75 PPC laminated : well under 1/2 moa in bench rest,though sometimes would not hold .3 for sting of 5.Bedding was not allowed in rules

 

Sako 223 Varmint 75 seems to shoot well under 1/2 moa,maybe .3-haven't done much (any ) load development. .3 will do just fine,No useful gains likey from bedding-it's fine as is,and isn't intended as a competition rifle.

 

Bling doesn't bother me-au contraire I'd be embarrased with a tricked up rifle that didn't shoot so much better,and very consistently-not just the odd goos group;and I'd rather spend a few pence more on bullets that might might just be a tad better (club competitions. Or use the Stolle 6PPC,and just accept that anything above .1 is my errors.

 

Others of course might (have to) make different choices,and have different ideas of precision and consistency and what makes for an elegant or stylish or effective rifle.Thats fine. Some spend more on the stock than they save with a second rate barrel. Well,depends on whether you want (arbitrary) looks or unalloyed performance. Both are tempting,I admit,but my priorities are precision first,and if achieved,I just don't care much about.stocks.

 

g

[onehole]

Hi Toby how you doin,,,,good to hear you have finally had your 6BR built,,,,,your question? well I,ve had a few Sako 75,s with the Varmint Laminated stock fitted and they have al shotl very very well and agree with all gbal has been saying.Only two of mine were bedded and I,m not sure if I saw any improvement in grouping but then my type of shooting and benchresting is nothing like the true competition set ups using all the latest gear etc. What I will say is that getting the stock to fit you will definitely pay dividends and I have gone to some pain in either restocking or reshaping to achieve a very comfy and repeatable hold on things.Raising the comb and and pistol grip mods hugely improved handling and length of pull of course.We are all different shapes and sizes but stocks only come in one.Take a look at your pistol grip and comb ,,,you gotta be honest your little pinky is hanging of the bottom and the comb only gives you a view of the action not down the scope,,,,think you know what I mean,,,,,,,,I would not waste my money on having a Sako copy Mcmillan fitted...your standard stock will do just as well,,,,,,regds D

[1sakonut]

Hi Toby,

Just had my sako75 6ppc restocked into a Joe west thumhole target stock ,the action was bedded into the stock by Neil Mckillop and I can say it has made a good rifle even better and a pleasure to shoot, not put many rounds through it yet but first impressions are it was money well spent.

[Aussie Foxer]

Couldn't agree more with one hole's comments regarding comb height, good cheek weld and consistent grip is critical to accuracy in my book, also when shooting off a bench, an adjustable butt pad is essential too.

 

Rifle makers could learn a thing or two from some of the major air rifle manufacturers. Take a look at some of the Air Arms range of PCP's, especially the FTP 900, now that's a gun stock.

 

I find it so disappointing to mount a scope, only to find that when I press my cheek against the stock when shouldering the rifle, that my eyes are in line with the bottom of the scope mounts and not the eye bell.

[gbal]

Aussie,

there is no sensible arguement against good stock fit-or at least eye alignment.

But a look at short range Bench Rest rifles will present a very different picture to air rifle stocks-where complexity presumably has it's purpose,but seems extreme. BR stocks are not 'encumbered' by multiple adjustments-though they are no doubt made so as to give excellent scope line up.*

One test is to lok at their performance-poor sight control does not promote .2 5 sot groups!

Note too,that user reports are often that the stock feels better-fine- but much less often that the rifle shot substalntially better (see posts here) though that can happen,and I'm notat all against feel good factor.

But the fanciest mostdadjustable stock isno substitute for intrinsic rifle precision,though it might contributeto the shooter geting more accuracy out.

It does seem clear that air rifles make more demands than precision cfs. *Bench Rest of course may allow the shooter more flexibility to fit the rifle!

Super fit does make a shotgun much more shootable effectively-and once much money was spent on fit (like tailoring!);but as with rifles,it has to be function focussed-not fashion , fad or fancy per se. So there seems little sense in an expensive replacement Sako stock,duplicating the factory dimensions, at least not for accuracy reasons.

And a simple strap on cheek pad can be helpful,giving much of the functional benefit at very much less

expense. I should say,I have one of the very very few thunbhole stock BR rifles-aand there is no doubt a very good reason they did not catch on-or rather they " caught on'' too much and reduced fire control(off rests)...as ever,horses for courses,but see what the top trainers and jockeys have (best horses!) :-)

g

[onehole]

Couldn't agree more with one hole's comments regarding comb height, good cheek weld and consistent grip is critical to accuracy in my book, also when shooting off a bench, an adjustable butt pad is essential too.

 

Rifle makers could learn a thing or two from some of the major air rifle manufacturers. Take a look at some of the Air Arms range of PCP's, especially the FTP 900, now that's a gun stock.

 

I find it so disappointing to mount a scope, only to find that when I press my cheek against the stock when shouldering the rifle, that my eyes are in line with the bottom of the scope mounts and not the eye bell.

Yea wake up ,,,how difficult is it to make that pistol grip more handfilling or that comb to be set at a reasonable height for scope use and a very simple butt adjustment,,,most stocks out there would better suited to a shotgun,,,,O

[onehole]

My reshaped Sako 75 stock,,,should be easy to reproduce by a machine? with a compromise here and there? whats so difficult?

[gunner]

Take a look at this stock of mine , its a std Remington laminated thumbhole , dasherman pillar bedded it properly . A local chap cut in and fitted the cheek raiser and refinished the stocks laqour with grippey glass beads in the laqour in the for end and pistol grip . I think the two most important bits are proper pillar bedding and adjustable cheek piece . the lop is an easy fix as if you need it longer its an easy DIY.

[Furyan]

Thats very nice Gunner

[onehole]

yep very nice work done there Gunner just shows where comb should be ,,,,must be so so easy for manufacturers to get it right,,,they have had it wrong for far too long ,,,,we don't use open sights any more ,,,keep up,,,,,eh?

[Toby]

Will be shooting in barrel tonight at the range. Will see what the wooden stock shoots like this year.

If I replace it, something more ergonomic, like a McMillan game scout would be my next option.

[17 Rem]

I'll be very interested to hear how reliably your rifle feeds when you start actually using it, Toby.

[Toby]

Will report back.

3 dummy cartridges in the mag feed and eject ok.

[17 Rem]

When I was considering a 22 BR, dummy cartridges would sometimes cycle perfectly, sometimes not. I hope your experience is better.

[gbal]

One issue is the balance of dummy rounds is a little different-obviously DO NOT use live rounds,or even a fired primer case loaded.....but some 'cylinder' of near the powder weight-like a heavy 'pencil' ,can simulate the balance of a live round as some kindof check/warning of possible problems.....

 

gbal

[Toby]

Barrel break in went well.

No feed or ejection problems.

Nice weather as well so that was a bonus.

Surprised how little recoil there was.

 

 

[bewsh]

My reshaped Sako 75 stock,,,should be easy to reproduce by a machine? with a compromise here and there? whats so difficult?IMG_0262 (2).JPG

 

 

nice!

Carbon wrapped wood or full mould?