Gunsmithing Advice on Finishing a custom Composite stock to fit rem 700 short action

[a2d2r2]

I have a Remington 700 LSS mountain rifle 7mm-08 that I am planning on converting from a Laminate stock to a Wildcat composite stock. I am not a gunsmith, however I am excited about learning how to finish the stock myself.

What would be the best way be to remove the material for the bolt handle on the stock? Please see picture below.

I plan on using inletting black on the action to identify what spots need to removed for the action. What tool would you use to remove the high spots? I was thinking maybe a Dremel or HF Rotary Tool.

 

[johnnycat]

A Dremel will be fine but go slow and watch your control! I have hogged out and almost ruined a couple stocks in the past and had to do some kind of redneck patch up job with fast-steel putty to build up an area and do it again.

Lesson learned - be patient and slow!.

 

[Wannashootit]

Not complicated. I do it for bent bolt mods on old, straight-handle military rifles such as Mausers and Mosin-Nagants.

I generally use a carbide burr in the dremel for this, but one of the small sanding drums will work.

As said- you can always remove more material but you can't put it back. Well, you can in this case with composite (or wood) that can be painted- but try not to need to go that route.

Lay the action in the stock, lower the bolt handle.
Take a sharp pencil, and carefully scribe the outline of the bolt handle at the top edge of the stock, and a short way down the side.
Naturally, the depth of cut is going to be nearly all the way through at the top and less as you work down.

Relieve a bit of material, replace the action and mark again. Check each time to see where contact is being made, and relieve that area- working from top to bottom until the bolt closes fully.

It's CRITICAL that when you think you're done- to make sure the bolt is FULLY in battery and that there is a slight gap all the way around the handle between it, and the stock. Failure to do so could result in a bad day from a bolt being partially out-of-battery when fired.

Never done it, but for a stock that's going to be painted I've always wanted to try hogging the side of the stock out for the handle, wrapping the handle with some painters/masking tape (to create some gap/clearance) and then coat it with release agent. Then, "bed" the bolt handle into the side of the stock. Should end up with an absolutely perfect reveal around the handle.

 

[Mike Casselton]

Take some masking or painter's tape and lay it over the mountain rifle stock where the bolt cutout and ejection port are.

Do a pencil rub over both areas and then transfer those to the new stock.

Like this:

You can then transfer the lines to your new stock.
I laid the Remington action into the stock first to have a good reference point, then transferred the lines.

This pic just shows the alignment point (pencil marks), but not the new cutout.

This stock was originally for a Winchester so it also needed some fill. (That's an understatement)

When it was completed, you couldn't tell it had ever been anything other than a Remington stock.

Just work slow and test frequently.