Any luck with Boyd's stocks?

[Tulu]

So sometimes you make mistakes and I went against what I always preach and bought a rifle online without ever feeling it, and of course as soon as I picked it up I knew the stock didn't fit me right. It is a CZ 557 Sporter Manners, meaning it came with a manners stock on it. I didn't trust my gut at first and tried to just get over it (I even shot my very first pronghorn with it!) but it keeps gnawing at the back of my mind. I've looked everywhere for a new stock and I've only come up with 3 options and for the price only two look good. I'm looking at a Boyd's hard wood stock or just getting the CZ factory beech wood stock. I have felt them both and they would both fit me.

Has anyone had any experience with Boyd's stocks?
Does anyone have any other suggestions on what to do?
I know firearms pretty well but I'm technically not a gunsmith so I wouldn't feel comfortable getting something I have to put a lot of work into above my knowledge.

My main goal and the reason for working so hard on this is I am a big fan of the saying "fear the man with one rifle" and I want this to be the one rifle I use and take to my grave.

Thank you for the help!

 

[Bullthrower338]

I ordered a Boyd's stock for my Dad after he had surgery to fuse his wrist, it is a thumb hole style so he doesn't have to try to rotate his whole arm to shoot. He loves it, plus it was quite an upgrade to the POS skeleton composite stock Ruger had on the M77's of the day. I have a couple rifles with the regular pistol grip and they are just fine.

 

[JTT]

I bought one and put on my 300 win mag. It was also a Ruger with the synthetic stock. It fit very well right out of the box. I did do a little sanding here and there just to make it fit a little better. If you get one see how it fits and if you need to have a gunsmith do a little custom fitting.
JTT

 

[Tulu]

I bought one and put on my 300 win mag. It was also a Ruger with the synthetic stock. It fit very well right out of the box. I did do a little sanding here and there just to make it fit a little better. If you get one see how it fits and if you need to have a gunsmith do a little custom fitting.
JTT

Awesome! How was the accuracey?

 

[mdwest]

Between my wife and I we have boyds classic stocks on 3 different rifles...

My experience with them is they are well made, affordable, and look great (assuming you like the look of a laminate)..

2 of the three stocks required no fitting at all, the barreled actions just dropped right in on our two rugers that wear Boyds products.. the third only required minor fitting.. and we knew we were going to have to deal with that on the front end..

I wouldnt hesitate to buy another boyds product.. and have been thinking about ordering another "classic" model stock for one of my .243's soon...

 

[Bullthrower338]

Very good results accuracy wise. My dad shoots his better but I think it has more to do with the fact he is not getting hit in the shoulder with that atrocious cheese grater like "recoil" pad on his old stock.

 

[Tulu]

Very good results accuracy wise. My dad shoots his better but I think it has more to do with the fact he is not getting hit in the shoulder with that atrocious cheese grater like "recoil" pad on his old stock.

Great! I think I will try one out and see how it works. Thank you for the info!

 

[Rob404]

I have bought and installed 4 Boyds stocks, all were almost a 100% drop in, the Checkering is Laser etched and really nice, as for their wood don't look for anything to fancy,I believe they do offer a wood upgrade as well as other upgrades but I have never seen any. If possible see if Midway offers a Boyds stock for your rifle I believe Boyds supplies Midway with nicer wood and if your stock doesn't fit or you don't like it Midway will return your money without any Hassle (Boyds will charge a re-stocking Fee)

 

[Tulu]

I have bought and installed 4 Boyds stocks, all were almost a 100% drop in, the Checkering is Laser etched and really nice, as for their wood don't look for anything to fancy,I believe they do offer a wood upgrade as well as other upgrades but I have never seen any. If possible see if Midway offers a Boyds stock for your rifle I believe Boyds supplies Midway with nicer wood and if your stock doesn't fit or you don't like it Midway will return your money without any Hassle (Boyds will charge a re-stocking Fee).

Great advise on the midway side of things! Thank you!

 

[Ryan]

I have a Boyd's laminate stock on my Savage 16. Great stock, everything dropped right in. Only thing I did was bed it just to make sure the fit was perfect. Easy to do and it's a very accurate. I also really like their lazer engraved fish scale pattern, looks nice and very sure grip.

 

[Bullthrower338]

I'm having my folks send a couple pics of the stock, I believe I had the fish scale checkering and a bull elk laser engraved on it. Their website is pretty user friendly but they do charge a restock fee if you aren't happy and I don't think you can return one at all if you have any custom work done. But I haven't returned one.

 

[Tulu]

I have a Boyd's laminate stock on my Savage 16. Great stock, everything dropped right in. Only thing I did was bed it just to make sure the fit was perfect. Easy to do and it's a very accurate. I also really like their lazer engraved fish scale pattern, looks nice and very sure grip.

I've never done a bedding job. What product would you recommend for bedding? Thank you for the tips!

 

[Ryan]

I've never done a bedding job. What product would you recommend for bedding? Thank you for the tips!

I walked into Cabela's and picked up the Bedrock Bedding Kit they sell. It has everything in it including decent instructions. Someone else may know of something better but it worked well for my first try at it.

 

[mdwest]

I've never done a bedding job. What product would you recommend for bedding? Thank you for the tips!

Ive used brownells acraglas several times over the years.. I prefer the newer "gel" version..

Its easy to use.. hard to screw up.. and pretty inexpensive...

The directions they provide are easy to understand.. and there are TONS of videos out on youtube showing little tricks and tips to make doing a bedding job even easier and/or more effective..

 

[Milehighshooter]

I've got 1, on a Win 70 300 wby. It dropped right in, but it took a decent amount of bedding compound. Also the outside (still) needs to be trimmed up, several places there is way too much extra wood, it actually impeded my bolt release from working until I relieved it. Overall its a good stock. I may buy another, since they make stocks for a couple rifles I have that no one else really supports (Yugo m48 and ruger m77 mkii). Next time I'm going with the platinum stock, its a little more "classic" to factory stocks. It doesn't have the wide forearm.

A buddy of mine swears by them, i think he has 5 or 6 on various guns

 

[Saul]

After you guys bed it with these kits, how easy is it to change stocks again?

 

[mdwest]

After you guys bed it with these kits, how easy is it to change stocks again?

Not sure I understand the question...

Bedding doesnt effect the action or barrel.. just the stock.. so if you want to change stocks, it should be no issue at all.. just pull the barreled action out of the old stock, drop it into the new one.. and if needed, bed the new stock..

FWIW, we just came back from SA yesterday evening.. my wife took her little 18" barreled, Boyds stocked, .308 and was EXTREMELY successful with it.. she took blesbok, kudu, gemsbok, zebra, and wildebeest.. all at ranges of 60-140 yards.. zero performance problems out of the stock or rifle.. the rifle/stock combo once again proved itself to be accurate and durable.. even after 9 days of getting drug through every African thorn and brier bush imaginable, the stock still looks "perfect" (no dents, dings, noticeable scratches, etc..)..

 

[Saul]

Not sure I understand the question...

Bedding doesnt effect the action or barrel.. just the stock.. so if you want to change stocks, it should be no issue at all.. just pull the barreled action out of the old stock, drop it into the new one.. and if needed, bed the new stock..

FWIW, we just came back from SA yesterday evening.. my wife took her little 18" barreled, Boyds stocked, .308 and was EXTREMELY successful with it.. she took blesbok, kudu, gemsbok, zebra, and wildebeest.. all at ranges of 60-140 yards.. zero performance problems out of the stock or rifle.. the rifle/stock combo once again proved itself to be accurate and durable.. even after 9 days of getting drug through every African thorn and brier bush imaginable, the stock still looks "perfect" (no dents, dings, noticeable scratches, etc..)..

I think I do not understand the purpose of these fillers and gels and compounds everyone is talking about...

 

[mdwest]

The bedding compound (whether you use a "gel" or one of the traditional, more "liquid" type glassing compounds) is just used to create a consistent surface area between the stock and the rifle that is unaffected by heat, moisture, etc.. it essentially fills in the little voids and inconsistencies in the wood where the action and barrel meet the stock.. it also stiffens the stock a bit and can help with durability and accuracy in that regard as well..

Some people swear by glass bedding and really think it makes a huge difference.. me personally, I like pillar and glass bedding.. but other than for my "distance" guns that I intend to shoot at distances of 250 yards or more (7mm mag, etc).. I dont really find it to be necessary, and have only bedded other rifles when there was an action/barrel to stock contact (or lack of contact) issue that I wanted to correct or clean up..

 

[Saul]

The bedding compound (whether you use a "gel" or one of the traditional, more "liquid" type glassing compounds) is just used to create a consistent surface area between the stock and the rifle that is unaffected by heat, moisture, etc.. it essentially fills in the little voids and inconsistencies in the wood where the action and barrel meet the stock.. it also stiffens the stock a bit and can help with durability and accuracy in that regard as well..

Some people swear by glass bedding and really think it makes a huge difference.. me personally, I like pillar and glass bedding.. but other than for my "distance" guns that I intend to shoot at distances of 250 yards or more (7mm mag, etc).. I dont really find it to be necessary, and have only bedded other rifles when there was an action/barrel to stock contact (or lack of contact) issue that I wanted to correct or clean up..

Now I get it. Thanks!