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Skeletonized Stock worth keeping?

As I had recently just picked up this .300 Win Mag, I was wondering whether the skeletonized stock is worth keeping. I got it at a reduced price because the grip cap was missing. I took it home, purchased rubber furniture protectors/floor protectors and proceeded to fix the stock. I stuffed the grip with Styrofoam packaging wrap, I traced the grip cap and cut it out. I then took another protector and cut it a little smaller than the first in order to create sort of a tight fitting insert. I took a file and filed it down until it fit well. I then took Gorilla Epoxy and epoxied the two furniture protectors together, and then epoxied it onto the stock. I had to tape it until the epoxy took hold. You can see from the pictures that it did not come out the best but it is functional.My question is whether you all feel that the stock is worth hanging on to? I am on the fence about its looks. What are your thoughts about it?
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Do you have a profile pic for us? Good work on the cap, BTW. I would keep the stock as a "novelty" but a heavier stock will take recoil better, especially if weights are added inside.
 
Thanks Bobster for responding! Thanks for the compliment on the cap. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what I could do to fix it and I saw the furniture/floor protectors at Walmart. I couldn't find my sandpaper so I used a file. Probably could have done better with the sandpaper. Here are some profile pictures of the rifle.20150207_124108_resized.jpg 20150207_124117_resized.jpg 20150207_124035_resized.jpg
 
I don't think it looks bad.

Matter of fact, that's the first skeleton stock I have seen on one of those.

If you are wanting a more polished look (excuse the pun), you could use a dremel with one of their soft cloth polishing wheels and some polishing rouge around the edge, but I still don't think it looks bad.

If you hadn't mentioned it, I'm not sure that I would've given it a second thought. I think you did good on it.
 
I don't think it looks bad.

Matter of fact, that's the first skeleton stock I have seen on one of those.

If you are wanting a more polished look (excuse the pun), you could use a dremel with one of their soft cloth polishing wheels and some polishing rouge around the edge, but I still don't think it looks bad.

If you hadn't mentioned it, I'm not sure that I would've given it a second thought. I think you did good on it.
John, when I picked this up I knew it had to be a little older. It did not have the LBA trigger or the fluted barrel. It also didn't have the muzzle brake. My guess is around 2010ish? I heard one person complain that the stock fell to pieces when they went hunting in the bitter cold. While my DIY Gunsmithing side wants to create a tactical long range weapon, my practical side tells me I have enough of those. I need something that is not too heavy to take into the woods and be able to take any game in North America. I converted all my others into long rangers and then found myself lacking in the hunting rifle arena. I liked the look of the stock and it does its job, but wanted to make sure that the stock is durable enough to last on a hunt.
 
Losing a crown cap isn't really the end of the world if that is what you are using to judge the rest of the stock. Granted I have never held one of those, you'll have to make that determination yourself as to whether it feels like it will or won't work out for you. I don't like flimsy feeling stocks either if that's the case.

As for the "gun to take any game in North America", 300 winmag is probably a little overkill for most of it. ;)

A simple shotgun with various sized shot and slugs would probably serve you a little better. Shotshells for the smaller game and moving up to ought and slugs for the larger.

I have a few friends who work in Alaska providing security to many of the oil fields and while they have a few rifles at their disposal, most prefer the pump shotgun just for the reason I stated above.
 
Losing a crown cap isn't really the end of the world if that is what you are using to judge the rest of the stock. Granted I have never held one of those, you'll have to make that determination yourself as to whether it feels like it will or won't work out for you. I don't like flimsy feeling stocks either if that's the case.

As for the "gun to take any game in North America", 300 winmag is probably a little overkill for most of it. ;)

A simple shotgun with various sized shot and slugs would probably serve you a little better. Shotshells for the smaller game and moving up to ought and slugs for the larger.

I have a few friends who work in Alaska providing security to many of the oil fields and while they have a few rifles at their disposal, most prefer the pump shotgun just for the reason I stated above.
John, I got this at a hell of a price because of that cap and it wasn't the deciding factor. My main worry is longevity and ability of the stock to hold up to less than ideal conditions. I have an opportunity to put a walnut stock on it which would make it pretty, but the main thing on my mind was its ability to hold up. You are right it is overkill, but it is my fantasy world to justify getting that caliber and justify it to the wife. I actually traded a Stevens 311D SxS 12 gauge for it. For practicality I want to go try and find a pump that would give me the mix of affordability and functionality that I need. The Stevens was pre-68 and steel shot is a concern. I am looking for a Mossberg pump that I can afford. There is a lot you can do with a 12 gauge.
 
In all honesty, wood and plastic both have advantages and disadvantages.

Wood may swell when wet which may cause a shift in zero, it will eventually rot and they can split and crack and break.

Plastic gets more brittle as it ages, and especially so when it's cold and they too can split and crack and break.

I know, I'm probably not giving very good advice here, but I do enjoy seeing traditional wood and steel because it seems that more manufacturers are going to plastic these days for ease of production and it's less expensive for them, but either composition will likely outlast both of us, so it's going to boil down to whichever you are the most comfortable with and like the best.
 
In all honesty, wood and plastic both have advantages and disadvantages.

Wood may swell when wet which may cause a shift in zero, it will eventually rot and they can split and crack and break.

Plastic gets more brittle as it ages, and especially so when it's cold and they too can split and crack and break.

I know, I'm probably not giving very good advice here, but I do enjoy seeing traditional wood and steel because it seems that more manufacturers are going to plastic these days for ease of production and it's less expensive for them, but either composition will likely outlast both of us, so it's going to boil down to whichever you are the most comfortable with and like the best.
I know what you are saying. I like the look of wood as well. I don't think I have any rifles anymore with a wood stock. I might just have to keep this stock and get a wood stock as an alternate.
 
I think that I'd keep the plastic stock if it's going to see a lot of weather. I have the walnut stock on my 4x4 but it's not a rifle I hunt with often.
 
I like it...It's different. John's right about the wood, it will most certainly swell, and if not, crack under less than ideal conditions. You might look into getting a laminated stock. That would still be wood looking and less of a tendency to crack, has some nice solid heft to it and you can get em in natural wood color too, :)
 
Yeah, I am leaning toward keeping it. It doesn't feel flimsy and it is definitely not too heavy to carry in the field. While I love the look of wood at times, it doesn't hold up in nasty weather. I told myself I was going to keep this as a utility weapon yet here I am already looking at changing it. I guess there is no hope for me :)
 
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