Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

[CobraGT40]

Hey all
I have been putting off ordering a new stock since I want to make sure I get the right one for me. I have settled on a Bell & Carlson A5 Tactical for my Remington 700 SPS Varmint .308... However, every time I punch in the details for the order I end up second guessing myself on some things...
I was hoping some of you might be able to clear up a few qustions I have.
First off, My 700 has the hinged floorplate, but I want to switch to a drop box mag setup. Does the B&C stock allow me to use the hinged plate and then still be able to switch to a box mag setup later ? Budget is kind of tight so I'm building up this rifle piecemeal-like.
Secondly, I read in a few other forums that the B&C A5 needs some slight alterations to fit the rifle ? However, I also read other posts saying everything drops right in...

Thanks in advance for your advice !

Scott

 

[MQXL308]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

I dropped my aac-sd right in as soon as I got it from Stockys..
I used the factory floor plate for about 4 months till I could
get the dbm set up.. Had to be inletted by a smith.. Has a
aluminum bedding block, so doing it myself was out...
first pic is without dbm

Second is with dbm

Do have some closer pics of dbm if you would like

 

[turbo54]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

I think the A3 Bell and Carlson stock is a great value, but I'd spend the extra for a McM or Manners over the A5.

If budget is tight, why not just get the A3, and do a DIY type cheekpiece?

 

[Beef82]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

B&C's are pretty good, I have two (not that model) and have found no faults with either, one's over 20yrs old.
That said the rifle should drop right in without any modifications if the rifle is stock. Aftermarket triggers sometimes have clearance issues but that can occur with any stock. If anything is majorly off prohibiting installation contact B&C.
They will work with the factory floorplate, without inletting I believe the Wyatt's DBM is the only option. There was however a post on here recently that mentioned forthcoming factory inletting options, but that was to my knowledge unofficial, and there was no mention of anticipated delivery date.

 

[TB2Blazer]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

I have the B&C Light Tactical not the A5 but I absolutely love it. I would not hesitate one bit to go with the B&C. Mine dropped right in no problem.

 

[CobraGT40]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

That's a dang good looking setup you have there... I would like to see some more pics of that drop mag setup if you could? What one is it ? I'm thining of goinf with the M4 flush mount from Stocky's....It claims that it should drop right in B&C stocks ?

 

[pistolpacknpete]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

It will drop in but its single stack proprietary mags. It's worth the extra money for a different dbm. I just ordered a pt&g for my b&c a5. I like mine and my REM dropdd right in. All I can say is that its kinda heavy. But It's a good stock my gun shoots pretty good

 

[MQXL308]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

some close up of the PT&G dbm, also included one with the factory floor plate before install..

 

[MPrimo]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

For what it's worth, the Wyatt's DBM fits a B&C with no inletting required and works pretty well. They do not use AI mags (they use a proprietary single stack) but it still works for me on a 223 VMT.

 

[gl51virus]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

It is a damn good stock. I used the Wyatts Bottom Metal and it was drop in. I went with a Rock Creek #7 contour barrel and my Gunsmith said he had to open the stock up just a little bit. I would say it is a good choice.

 

[Boltfluter]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

Hey Guys,

Here is a pic of my Light Tactical stock and PT&G bottom metal. Fit was perfect. just dropped right in with no issues. This stock is a prototype from B@C as far as the inlet is concerned. They will be offering the Badger inlet in the near future.These stocks are a great value for the money. Hope this helps.

Regards, Paul.

[img:left]

[/img]

 

[pistolpacknpete]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

hey paul are u saying that the inlet on that stock is a badger inlet footprint and that the ptg dbm will drop right in?

 

[kiff]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

Yes Yes Yes

 

[Boltfluter]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

Just like Dave said. "Yes, Yes, Yes. "It is a perfect fit. Amazlng that the fit is so good right out of the box. You can't beat this bottom metal for 129.00.

Regards, Paul.

 

[CobraGT40]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

Thanks so much for all of your input and advice...and the great pictures. I'm definitely going with the B&C A5...Main reason being that since I am over 6'6" and have long gorilla arms, the fully adjustable butt stock will be far more comfortable. I have several rifles that are very uncomfortable to shoot for this reason (i.e. M1 Carbine and Yugo SKS).
As far as the DBM setup I'm still up in the air...and since I have a few months before I have the extra dough, I'll just worry about that later.
As far as ordering the stock...Stocky's has them on back order. any idea how long it'll take once it's ordered ? With the weather turning nice I can't wait to get it installed and start practicing.

Again....Thanks guys !

Scott

 

[pistolpacknpete]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

i would look in the classifieds theyre always on there but dont last long. midway carries them from time to time. i bought mine on here for 400 brand new in box exact color i wanted too. i wouldnt order anything just incase they pop up on day. keep and eye on clissified, stockys, and midway. i looked everyday in those three places. my search only lasted a week

 

[ASTROMAN1]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

I have this stock and it is much better than factory but be aware it is also much heavier. It is drop in but the QC on some have not been so good. Check the action fit before making any mods for the DBM. The Wyatt's is the drop in option for DBM but I didn't like the single stack mag so I went with a different DBM (Atlas worx and accurate mags 5rd and 10rd) and had a smith mill the action ($65). Best stocking vendor I could find was:

http://www.redhawkrifles.com/products/stocks/bellcarlson/tacticalstocks

Good luck!

 

[CobraGT40]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

Thanks Midkansasguy and Astroman ...I have about a week and a half before I plan to order my stock so I'll be sure to check around a bit to see if something pops up. I really like Stocky's but the A5 has been on backorder every time I look. Redhawk Rifles has exactly what I'm looking for and appears to be in stock.
I don't know about you guys, but when I finally have the $ saved and finally order it I want it asap without "backorder blues"

Thanks again you guys ! I'll be sure to post pics...

Scott

 

[ckruse]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CobraGT40</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks Midkansasguy and Astroman ...I have about a week and a half before I plan to order my stock so I'll be sure to check around a bit to see if something pops up. I really like Stocky's but the A5 has been on backorder every time I look. Redhawk Rifles has exactly what I'm looking for and appears to be in stock.
I don't know about you guys, but when I finally have the $ saved and finally order it I want it asap without "backorder blues"

Thanks again you guys ! I'll be sure to post pics...

Scott </div></div>
I hear ya! Man I hate not having it available when the funds are! FWIW, I bought a Remington AAC-SD from Redhawk just after Christmas this year. They were excellent to deal with, and as I recall had about the best price around on the B&C stock you are looking at. CKruse

 

[CobraGT40]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

After looking around for a few hours today on a possible second-hand stock and also searching a few other sites I found that I either had to wait for a backorder or settle for a colour I didn't particularly care for by purchasing second-hand. So I went to Redhawk's site and saw precisely what I was looking for. I sent them an email to make sure this is what will work on my 700 and they answered me back within 45 minutes or so telling me just what I wanted to hear...so I ordered it up. However, after I punched in my info and clicked "purchase" I noticed I had accidentally bought the LA version...Oops. I immediately called them and explained my blunder and he told me "I thought that looked wrong, you just emailed me about a short action and you bought the long action...figured it was a goof".
In short, he fixed the mistake within seconds and my stock shipped 2 hours later. I am EXTREMELY happy with the customer service ! and saved a few bucks compared to Stocky's.
I should have it by the end of the week and I'll be sure to post pics !

Scott

 

[CobraGT40]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

Thanks again for all the advice everyone...
Redhawk has already shipped my brand new B&C A5 and it's scheduled to arrive Saturday or Monday morning...Not bad considering I ordered it Tuesday afternoon. In the meantime, here's a couple pics of my Remy with the factory stock (which I plan on selling if anyone is interested). As soon as I get the new B&C installed I'll be sure to post a few more pics. I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas...

 

[CobraGT40]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

Hey all...New stock showed up today so here's a couple pics. Perfect fit, installed in 5 minutes. Redhawk custom Rifles' customer service is awesome!.

Next upgrade is a Wyatt DBM next month...Going to try this thing out at the range tomorrow, we'll see what my 200m diference will be over the SPS stock.

Thanks again for all your advice!

Scott

 

[pistolpacknpete]

Re: Advice on Purchase of Bell&Carlson A5 Stock Please

i would go with a PTG since u are on a budget. ptg 129, 5 round aics 65, inletting 75 grand total of 269. wyats is 250 for same set up. the single stack mags are going to be longer and i think they look funny