This the first Rifle that I have put together using the Remington 700 Shrike stock that has been completely assembled and finished. These new stocks are manufactured for me by McMillan Fiberglass located in Phoenix AZ. McMillan has once again gone to the mat to insure the final product meets my satisfaction.
I was eager to test this stock in a variety of positions and over a period of several weeks shot it from every possible field position at our range. As it is very similar to the Legend Model 70 stock I was not anticipating any surprises but you never know until you wring one out. This 700 action was first fit with a # 5 barrel and chambered for the 404-375 H&H. The # 5 contour was used to insure the fore-end would be wide and deep enough for this common barrel contour to control the fore-end and settle comfortably into your palm, an English Splinter style it is not. This particular stock was made with the standard Fiberglass shell and a magnum fill interior.
I was eager to test this stock in a variety of positions and over a period of several weeks shot it from every possible field position at our range. As it is very similar to the Legend Model 70 stock I was not anticipating any surprises but you never know until you wring one out. This 700 action was first fit with a # 5 barrel and chambered for the 404-375 H&H. The # 5 contour was used to insure the fore-end would be wide and deep enough for this common barrel contour to control the fore-end and settle comfortably into your palm, an English Splinter style it is not. This particular stock was made with the standard Fiberglass shell and a magnum fill interior.
A second barrel was then fit using a # 4 weight barrel chambered for the 7mm-Remington Magnum. The Gunsmithing applied to this rifle was minimal. I trued up the face of the receiver and the recoil lug seats mechanically as well as the rear of the recoil lugs and the bolt nose. I did not re-cut the receiver threads or the bolt face as it was running .0003 across the face. The original recoil lug washer was replaced with a 1/4"thick aftermarket lug that was kissed with a surface grinder on either side. The OEM magazine box was used and a Williams Steel 1piece Floor-Plate and Trigger Bow was eventually fit for the final installation. Finally the barreled action was fit with a Timney Calvin Elite to finished up the metalwork. With the 175gr Partitions and 162gr Hornady SST's sitting on top of case full of H-1000 this package will shoot at the .500 mark with the Nosler's with the SST's turning in groups in the low 3's.
When I was making the pattern for the Shrike mold I made sure that the width on the underside of the stock would accommodate a variety of Floor-Plate assemblies such as the Standard Remington assembly, the Pacific Tool and Gauge, the Williams and the Sunny Hill assemblies. This stock is not designed to convert to an ADL or blind magazine assembly. You're going to have to use conventional BDL type hardware.
The area around the action was shaped to accept the standard Remington 700 first and foremost but will also work very nicely with the Borden, Defiance, Stiller, and other currently produced 700 clones as long as the guard screw hole spacing and relationship of the rear tang angle is similar to the standard 700. It is the grip profile and feel that I most wanted to address when making this pattern. I have always felt that most 700 Stocks lacked any real cosmetic appeal due to the abrupt angel of the rear tang. Having used the standard 700 Remington for a couple Classic Rifles I also knew a cosmetic overhaul of the grip area was clearly possible. This stock is comfortable to shoot. With Cast Off built into the butt and a comb height that just will allow the cocking piece to clear the comb nose this design places right eye comfortably looking down the center line of the barrel with both Low and Medium height scope rings installed on the barreled action. The stock comes out of the mold at 14" and the 4 checkered panels allow for additional grip purchase.
This stock will be available in any of the McMillan shell and interior fill combinations and allows for a diverse application to meet about any need for a sporter stock using a Remington 700 platform. I feel this is going to be a popular addition to the already broad spectrum of aftermarket accessories for the 700 type actions. Orders have already been filled in the first shipment of stocks with others currently in the pipeline. For any specific details or order information about the stock I can be reach at normal business hours at the shop.
