• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

stock stiffener

pawprint2

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 12, 2012
1,369
4
71
This is a question for all those guys on this board that seem to be able to do almost anything. I saw a product about a year ago that was sold as a stock stiffener (Viagra for rifle stocks I guess), it was sold for use with the common flexible stocks being used on so many rifles now days. It essentially filled in the front of the stock with this compound (some kind of epoxy you mixed), once hardened it was suppose to be very stiff. My question is does it work, any of you guys tried it? And if not, what other solutions have you come up with, other than the obvious of buying a new stock.
 
Standard two part epoxy will work for you. I did it to the fore end of a Hogue stock with Marine Tex and some aluminum rods.
 
i dont know about the fore-end other than fiberglass and a dremel, but i have heard you can take the shoulder plate off, and carve out the foam that are in many buttstocks these days (my remington factory stock included) and fill them with bondo (the car dent/scratch filler stuff). It will harden and give it more weight/rigidity. Add the fiberglass on the front, bondo on the rear, and you would almost have an expensive aftermarket stock that is super rigid.

Aaros, can you please elaborate on the two part epoxy??
 
I did that to my stock savage stock (aluminum rods and expoy in the forend.) Not worth the time. Those cheap stocks flex an incredible amount at every point. In my case it was still flexing like crazy at the mag well. Your really better off getting a better stock. I got a Choate Tactical. Solid, inexpensive, takes a beating.
 
I did that to my stock savage stock (aluminum rods and expoy in the forend.) Not worth the time. Those cheap stocks flex an incredible amount at every point. In my case it was still flexing like crazy at the mag well. Your really better off getting a better stock. I got a Choate Tactical. Solid, inexpensive, takes a beating.

Same here. My Savage stock was floppy as a noodle, so I built the forend up with resin, Fiberglas mat, and Fiberglas rod (driveway marker) after routing it out. The forend itself is pretty solid now, but that just means the forend moves separate from the rest of it. It flexes at the point where my work ended at the action.

I've heard of enough success with it that it must work fine if the rest of the stock is pretty solid, but if the entire stock is flexy, then you won't gain much by stiffening part of it.
 
I worked a cheep stock over several years ago. I routed out a 3/8" groove down both sides from the front to the pistol-grip and then epoxied a 1/4" steel rod into the groove from the front of the fore back to the pistol-grip area. It took a little bit of build-up and a bit of work sanding back down to "pretty". Remember spraying Krylon on for paint. It ended up working well.
 
check out youtube, search around and there is a guy that does it and you can see how to get it done right. we have it posted here too, a couple of guys have done it. but ill be honest, I cant use the new search for shit. so I have no idea how to find the thread for you
 
I've tried it several times just using epoxy and it really did not make a meaningful difference in the stiffness of the stock. I have found that making a small channel and epoxying a small dia round file into the forearm does significantly help with stiffness. Be careful not to lay in through the sling stud area or you will have a problem as files are difficult to drill through.
 
What about adding weight to like a HSP? I've saw a cpl people who "filled" the butstock with bondo, or something else, just for added weight for shooting off a bench or prone, and helping recoil. Is this possible?
 
I have a friend that did 2 part epoxy mixed with lead shot to add weight to his 22mag in the buttstock. We then chopped the forend just forward of the recoil lug and mounted the bipod there it looks a little funky but its pretty damn stable and accurate.
 
I had a Hogue pillar bedded stock on a Howa .243 and in the prone with a bipod or off bags the forend would contact the barrel (varmint contour) so I filled the barrel channel with JB Weld and it stiffened it up pretty well, I didn't bed the barrel to the stock with the epoxy, just filled in the ribbed portion of the forend, it wouldn't take a beating like a McMillian or B&C but it was plenty stiff for general hunting or target shooting
 
I stiffened up a crappy Savage stock with JB Weld and a carbon arrow shaft last year. Just the weight of the rifle caused the sporter barrel to contact the forend while resting on a bipod. After inlaying the carbon shaft, filling the voids with epoxy, and clearancing the barrel channel, the bipod can be loaded without barrel contact.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I just picked up a Marlin 917 vrx with scope and extras at gun show for cheap today.... this is the same way I did my Savage axis .308. Two steel rods, with 4400 PSI fast epoxy.

Just finished the synthetic stock on the 17 HMR.

1891065_760221033991125_169397435_n.jpg
 
very well, as you get rid of everything that's flexing in the front end. no other issues - just cut it, sand it, paint it.

bipod obviously will be back more toward the receiver, and the stud(s) will have to get relocated. also makes things lighter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: UCChris