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Ultimate Super Sniper!

8

88blazer

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 23, 2013
231
15
Port Orchard, WA
Figured that might get attention! lol.

Ok, Choate's super sniper stock has been ran down on the forum here quite a bit, for a long time from what I've witnessed. People like me are on a VERY tight budget. Mainly 1K a month Child Support. Long story, but you get the idea. I can't afford a Rock Solid, Tech this, Tech that, super duper sniper stock. My sorry pathetic budget is around $200.

I bought a Choate Ultimate Sniper Stock off eBay for $90, $15 shipping and have had it for about 2 years(still saving for the rest of build). The guy bought it thinking it was a short screw spacing. Lucky for me, I needed the 5.025". Seriously, for a Aluminum pillar bedded stock under $200 with adjustable check, front and rear...Is it really that bad? Or are people just bashing the"cheapest" good stock on the market. Basically the same that has happened to Shilen over the last few years. They produce damn fine barrels, CHEAP. Is all of this crappy "walmart" stuff or actually good for the average shooter on a budget?

Even a new Choate at $185, it seems to me a good deal for the tight budget scenario. Main question here is...should i expect a ton of rude comments about choate stocks at future local matches???

The point I'm trying to get at... some of us don't have a crap ton of money to buy $700 to $1500 in furniture. For people on a very tight budget(like me), are these Choates good for the money? I do love the looks, feel, bedding and adjust-ability. Any personal opinions and past experiences would greatly be appreciated.
 
Sounds like you are trying to justify your purchase to somebody.... But if somethings main redeeming feature is that its cheap what more is there to say.

If you are happy then crack on , but it is not good compared to other options, regardless of price.
 
I believe you answered your own question. If YOU are happy with it, if it gets you closer to an assembled rifle you can go out and shoot and enjoy, then it's the right tool for YOU. Years ago when $500 was all the money in the world to me I had a Savage police model on order with the Choate stock. It was the rifle I could afford with the most features. The LGS fucked up and never managed to get the rifle in, then Savage discontinued the model I wanted, so I cut bait and waited several years until I could afford what I really wanted.

In all honesty, yeah, some guys are probably going to make assumptions about you based on your equipment. BUT, if you and that equipment are shooting well and holding your own, then who the hell cares.
Build your rifle and shoot it. If it does what you want it to do, then you're probably smarter than a lot of us that have setups that cost more than some cars.

If you find that your setup isn't meeting your expectations, then start evaluating where to spend money to get where you want to be.

I personally look forward to some pics of the completed project with some nice tiny groups.
 
S12A, I know there are other options out there... but with my budget, its hard to build a good LR rifle.

You said "other options". Are there other stocks close to $200 to $300 range that would be better? If so, I can re-post this Choate back on eBay and purchase a better stock for a hundred or so more. But financially, thats my limit. I sure do wish I could afford more, just a few years out and would like to enjoy this rifle until then.

bogeybrown....I'l post some up in a few weeks when the rest of the parts get in and shooting has begun! :) I'll get past this hard time in life, just will take me time!
 
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glad you are happy.

i never said there were better options for the price. just that the price was the only good thing about that stock.

it is indeed hard to build a good LR rifle within a budget, although if you could get one cheap enough a HS precision or Bell and Carlson would be better.

it seems you only want positive opinions to re-enforce your purchase
 
Price should be taken into consideration after performance. Hell, my .308 is in a knoxx axiom stock and with handloads I can hold just over .5 MOA. If it works for you, and meets your needs, follow the advice posted here most often "save your money for ammo and training"

That video of Jacob and the 2x4 needs to be a sticky by itself.
 
OP, what action are you building on? If you try the Choate and can't make it work, I'd be willing to donate a Rem SA take-off stock, which with $200 to [MENTION=57399]stockdoc[/MENTION] for an adjustable cheekpiece may be a solution, there's actually some cheaper solutions for a cheekpiece as well.

I'm overseas, but if you decide that stock could help you, if I can get someone to dig it out from the bottom of a pile in my gun room I could get it sent out to you.

Shoot me a PM if I can help.
 
^Stand-up guy right there....since you are on a tight budget, get to know your gear extremely well (snap in) and that way when you send the real ones downrange, you will have a greater respect for making them count Then when you get good, It will feel even better to blow the Gucci guns out of the water with a little ol' Choate and no name scope and clip on bipods. Who knows maybe you could start hustling over confident shooters! Haha. Shoot for "pinks"!
 
[MENTION=95321]88blazer[/MENTION], I see you're up in Washington state. If you need a standup guy to do the assembly for you and not screw you around, check out JD Thomas at Highspeedshootingsystems.com he's in Yakima and did the build that my Rem take-off stock is from (he actually built that rifle twice).
He worked for some big names in the industry and does great work while keeping his prices fair and his turn-around times reasonable.
 
Years ago I went to a firearms instructors course with a pistol that was not in vogue at the time. During the classroom portion of the course, I took quite a bit of ribbing from the other attendees who were armed with far more stylish weapons. Their comments regarding my pistol ran the gamut of "boat anchor" this, and "doorstop" that. When we finally got to the range and I outshot everyone including the intructors with my substandard arm, everyone shut up. Except, of course, those who wanted to ask me questions about how I did what I had just done.

My point here is this: work with your equipment. Learn it inside and out. Then YOU decide if you need to upgrade anything. Don't get caught up in the "my gear is cooler than your gear crap." Make your own decisions based on your experiences and performance expectations.

HRF
 
hrfunk said:
Years ago I went to a firearms instructors course with a pistol that was not in vogue at the time. During the classroom portion of the course, I took quite a bit of ribbing from the other attendees who were armed with far more stylish weapons. Their comments regarding my pistol ran the gamut of "boat anchor" this, and "doorstop" that. When we finally got to the range and I outshot everyone including the intructors with my substandard arm, everyone shut up. Except, of course, those who wanted to ask me questions about how I did what I had just done.

My point here is this: work with your equipment. Learn it inside and out. Then YOU decide if you need to upgrade anything. Don't get caught up in the "my gear is cooler than your gear crap." Make your own decisions based on your experiences and performance expectations.

HRF
Click to expand...

Sound advice. OP, work with what you have and just remember that haters gonna hate.
 
Plenty of $5000 rifles outshot by guys with $100 pawn shop rifles. Its not all the rifle the shooter has to his part to.
 
I have the Choate Ultimate Sniper on a .308 Rem and the Choate Tactical on a Savage .308. I think they are both good stocks but I like the tactical version a little better.

And yes I do have experience with a higher end stock, I have a McMillan A3-5 adjustable stock on my .338.
 
If the rifle shoots well, and you are competitive, then who cares what people say. Spend your savings on ammo (if you don't reload) so you can practice. $500 worth of practice is worth more than a shiny new mcmillan that looks cool in pictures because you spent your bankroll on a stock.

Get good with what you got and upgrade based off your preferences based off of your experience. How shitty would it be for you to spend $500 on a stock based off of what everybody else has or says, and when the stock shows up you end up not liking it that much?

Same for a chassis.
 
88blazer said:
Figured that might get attention! lol.

Ok, Choate's super sniper stock has been ran down on the forum here quite a bit, for a long time from what I've witnessed. People like me are on a VERY tight budget. Mainly 1K a month Child Support. Long story, but you get the idea. I can't afford a Rock Solid, Tech this, Tech that, super duper sniper stock. My sorry pathetic budget is around $200.

I bought a Choate Ultimate Sniper Stock off eBay for $90, $15 shipping and have had it for about 2 years(still saving for the rest of build). The guy bought it thinking it was a short screw spacing. Lucky for me, I needed the 5.025". Seriously, for a Aluminum pillar bedded stock under $200 with adjustable check, front and rear...Is it really that bad? Or are people just bashing the"cheapest" good stock on the market. Basically the same that has happened to Shilen over the last few years. They produce damn fine barrels, CHEAP. Is all of this crappy "walmart" stuff or actually good for the average shooter on a budget?

Even a new Choate at $185, it seems to me a good deal for the tight budget scenario. Main question here is...should i expect a ton of rude comments about choate stocks at future local matches???

The point I'm trying to get at... some of us don't have a crap ton of money to buy $700 to $1500 in furniture. For people on a very tight budget(like me), are these Choates good for the money? I do love the looks, feel, bedding and adjust-ability. Any personal opinions and past experiences would greatly be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I applaud you staying within your budget.

There is only one way to find out if the stock is a good choice in your combination of parts.

Put it together and shoot it.

The stock is one piece of an accuracy equation. If you put it together (or have a smith do it) properly, the odds are that the rifle will out shoot the shooter (that includes me, BTW).

If it shoots well, great. If it doesn't, it might be the stock or some other part of the equation. If the stock fails, cracks or causes inconsistency, you can always replace it.
 
If it were me, I would forget spending the $200 on the stock and put that money into getting a better optic for the rifle. Not sure if you have one on the rifle now, or are still planning on getting one, but if you don't already have one, I would put that money towards the optic.
 
I had one.

(1) Heavy.
(2) Nearly indestructible
(3) Good enuf for an entry level rifle.


Remember....you're dealing with largely Mercedes, BMW and Range Rover owners here. And NOT the entry level models. That's gonna skew the responses you get.

If you are happy with it...what else really matters?
 
I shot a 450 dollar shotgun for years @ pigeon shoots and I took a shitload of money from guys with VERY expensive shotguns, shoot what you have until you can afford better by the way I still have that 450.00 dollar shotgun.
 
my friend has one of the ultimate sniper stock and he is happier with it more then he was with the HS M-24 stock he had so it cant be that bad' if you feel good behind it and it keeps zero what can be bad about it?
 
Thank you for the comments guys! Thanks for the offer bogeybrown, but I'm on a Savage 110LA. I 'm not too worried about the comments, but do look forward to tuning in a sweet load before the match. I love that video of the 2x4 stock, thats cool!

The rifle isn't completed yet, almost. My friend has optics I can borrow. Shilen finally called me and after 60+ blanks, they hit one good enough for select match. at least, thats what they said. They said max 6 weeks out. Its in the chambering stage now!!! Took over a year, but I think it will be worth it. I went with 338 RUM due to the cost of setup and brass. Fit into my budget better that 338LM. I'll be testing out Berger OTM 250gr and SMK 300's. I've got Retumbo, 869 and H1000 to play with. Select match shilen, 9 twist 4 groove ratchet, 28" tube w/break.

I'm thinking with the saved money, like people said above... put that into optics of my own. For starters, I was considering a SS 10x. I've seen those for around $300 and heard good things about them. Mostly my matches and local shooting won't exceed 600yds. Once in a great while 1000. I live on the Olympic Peninsula, damn rain forest out here! I have to head over the mountains to get out long range. I might have to go see that smith in Yakama, see where LR shooting spots are in E WA.
 
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hrfunk said:
Years ago I went to a firearms instructors course with a pistol that was not in vogue at the time. During the classroom portion of the course, I took quite a bit of ribbing from the other attendees who were armed with far more stylish weapons. Their comments regarding my pistol ran the gamut of "boat anchor" this, and "doorstop" that. When we finally got to the range and I outshot everyone including the intructors with my substandard arm, everyone shut up. Except, of course, those who wanted to ask me questions about how I did what I had just done.

My point here is this: work with your equipment. Learn it inside and out. Then YOU decide if you need to upgrade anything. Don't get caught up in the "my gear is cooler than your gear crap." Make your own decisions based on your experiences and performance expectations.

HRF
Click to expand...

This is a good comment, I can easily substitute the details for almost any other pursuit where equipment is involved and it still works. Miata instead of a Ferrari, 250 bike instead of a 1000cc motorcycle, etc. It's the skill of the operator first and then the equipment just takes the operator to a higher level. But the enjoyment and drive to improve, had by all at whatever equipment price, should be the same.
 
88blazer said:
Thank you for the comments guys! Thanks for the offer bogeybrown, but I'm on a Savage 110LA. I 'm not too worried about the comments, but do look forward to tuning in a sweet load before the match. I love that video of the 2x4 stock, thats cool!

The rifle isn't completed yet, almost. My friend has optics I can borrow. Shilen finally called me and after 60+ blanks, they hit one good enough for select match. at least, thats what they said. They said max 6 weeks out. Its in the chambering stage now!!! Took over a year, but I think it will be worth it. I went with 338 RUM due to the cost of setup and brass. Fit into my budget better that 338LM. I'll be testing out Berger OTM 250gr and SMK 300's. I've got Retumbo, 869 and H1000 to play with. Select match shilen, 9 twist 4 groove ratchet, 28" tube w/break.

I'm thinking with the saved money, like people said above... put that into optics of my own. For starters, I was considering a SS 10x. I've seen those for around $300 and heard good things about them. Mostly my matches and local shooting won't exceed 600yds. Once in a great while 1000. I live on the Olympic Peninsula, damn rain forest out here! I have to head over the mountains to get out long range. I might have to go see that smith in Yakama, see where LR shooting spots are in E WA.
Click to expand...


check out samplelist.com, can pick up demo/slightly used SWFA SS fixed power models for $250 bucks but just have to catch em at the right time...i bought a 3-15x demo and couldnt tell it wasnt brand new and it works great
 
I have that stock on a savage 223, and could have sworn it was a solid block opposed to pillar bedded, but I haven't had it off in forever so I could be wrong on that... I also have 2 choate tacticals on a savage 10fcp and a rem 700sps, both in 308, and I know for a fact they are solid block bedded... They are heavy, but tightened up my groups considerably, and are very adjustable with spacers/risers available from choate... I have no complaints, and no intentions of taking them off any time soon...
Hoodlum
 
Shoot it and see. I think you will be just fine. Use what you got and don't worry about it. If the rifle shoots with you running it then it shoots. Who cares what the stock is. Personally I could rather have a shit rifle and be able to shoot it than be the goofball with 8k worth of rifle who has never dry fired a single time.

Of course there are better stocks out there, and who knows you might find a good one for cheaper. BUT you already have your choate, so I would at least give it a try. Nothing to lose really. Sell it if you don't like it and try again.

Hell, even that nasty old noodle hogue stock that came on the Rem 700 SPS wasn't TOTALLY useless. With good ammunition that rifle shot around an inch or so at 100 off a bipod with the stock smashing into the barrel for like 5 inches lol.
 
I can't fault a guy for looking at that Choate stock.

I had a decent B&C on my 700, but it didn't have side sling mounts, so I thought I would take chance on a Choate Tactical Remington 700 Short Action (more traditional than the super sniper and inletted for Badger M5) because it was cheap. It isn't as "nice" as the B&C, but accuracy is the same and it is certainly more durable. Other than being a little wide and thick in a couple of key places, the stock is GTG.
 
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The U.S.S. is an aluminum V-block set-up.

I bought my Savage Model 10 (.223, 24" Heavy w/ accutrigger) used, and it came in a U.S.S. - It's a heavy stock, and maybe not the prettiest thing out there. But the rifle did shoot VERY well in that stock. With optic and bipod the full rifle came in at 16.6 lbs.

I swapped it out to a Bell & Carlson, since the Choate wasn't the most comfortable stock for me. With optic/bipod it now comes in at 14 lbs. even.

OP - I paid less than $300 for my Bell & Carlson (bnib), it's just a little more than the U.S.S. new, and honestly, the improvement in group size is almost indiscernible with my current setup. So if all you can justify spending gets you the Choate, well you could do a lot worse. Get some trigger time in with it, you may be surprised at how well the budget stock shoots.
 
Everyone has a different budget, and lets face it here, when it comes to buying your own equipment for this sport this is merely a hobby (professional gun slingers have their equipment bought by their employing agency/unit/etc). My friend who likes fast cars would love to have a Ferrari, but settled for a Mustang. Guys who shoot Rem 700's sometimes want AI's, guys with AI's want PSRs, etc. You have to live within your means, and the most important thing is that you're having fun with whatever setup you have. This activity can be a money pit! So, if you like the stock you bought, don't give a second thought to the opinions of others who tell you that it isn't good enough.

My first real attempt at a nice precision rifle setup was put together with a Tikka T3 Scout CTR rifle ($800), a Weaver Grand Slam Tactical 3-10x scope ($300), some $60 TPS scope rings, and a Harris bipod ($100). At $1,260 (TOTAL) I thought I'd spent a ton of money, only to have guys with $10K in their rigs telling me how I wasn't worthy of playing the game with my rifle. Well, the gun shot well, I learned to shoot it better, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. I didn't go win any national-level matches with it, and still couldn't today, but I was always at least middle-of-the-pack or better with it when I did take it to matches (despite it being a 9lb $1K gun going against 20lb competition rifles). I also set some of my own personal bests with that rifle, like p-dogs beyond 750 yards, and other feats of fun at the range.

Today I have an AIAX with a S&B scope, which would suggest to many that I've got money to burn... I don't, and I work for a living squarely within the middle class. My new rifle would have made no sense for me as a first precision rifle, but it makes perfect sense now. Regardless, had I found myself in a financial position where the Tikka would have remained my only option for long range shooting, I'd have been happy to keep shooting that rifle for many years.

So, if you like your Choate stock, enjoy it. This game gets expensive quickly, but you buy diminishing returns as the prices increase. I can tell you that an AIAX shoots great, but I can't tell you that it shoots 8x greater than the cheaper setup (even if it costs that much more).
 
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