Replacing stock on my 788

Hey guys, as the title suggests I'm planning to replace the stock on my Remington 788 in 243. I would probably replace the rifle rather than the stock but my dad gave this thing to me when I first started hunting about 15 years ago, I was about 12 at the time. Back then the stock was cut down to fit, and later a thick recoil pad was added on to bring it back out close to stock length. Well after shooting another rifle I've decided it's still too short.

At first I was looking at getting another factory stock off numrich, but those things cost almost as much as an aftermarket stock. So I've pretty much narrowed it down to an aftermarket laminate stock. This will primarily be a hunting rifle, and want to keep that style. To that end I'm leaning towards a Boyd's classic style. For this rifle they are rough sanded, and semi-inletted. My toughest decision is the laminate color, pepper (black) or nutmeg (brown). I like both and think both would make for a great looking rifle. These are the pics from the Boyd's site, but being unfinished they don't do the colors justice.



Has anyone used one of these before? What did you think about it? How hard was it to finish? Which color would you choose?

I'm also open to suggestions on brands. I've looked at a couple others but Boyd's seems to be the best choice for the price. I'm 95% positive that I don't want a thumbhole or bench/target style stock. What ever stock or brand I end up with will be either a black color or brown/natural wood color, so throw up a vote on the poll.

I've also read how accurate they can be with very little work put into them, so I think the rifle is worth throwing a little money into. I plan to pillar bed the action, free float the barrel (stock is already set-up for it), and install a Timney trigger while I'm at it. Probably could use a better scope as well, but the one I have will work for now. I know that the biggest improvements I can make are to me and the ammo, but with the planned work I'll have a lot of room to grow.

Aw, come on guys. I know I just posted this late yesterday, and probably put too much in my post. I mean come on 47 views, and only one vote on the poll???? I'm not really looking for replies, if you just click your choice in the poll that's enough. If you have something to add (concerning the topic) please do, I appreciate it. If not at least please put up a vote on the poll.

Can't see the poll on tapatalk, but my vote is pepper.

Cant go wrong with a .243. I love mine, its dead nuts accurate every time. I definitely prefer it over my 30-06.

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I would go with synthetic. It's a lot lighter. I ordered one for my Browning 30-06. I figure I'll be carrying it around more than I'll be shooting, so I wanted something light. I'm thinking of getting another stock for my .243 as well.

I say find a nice walnut stock. Laminate looks and feels cheap......Unless you have a stainless gun. Black laminate on a stainless gun is damn sexy.











-Jester

i would deffinanly go with the peper but thats me cause usually after the kill u gut it and cant wash ur hands and light color stocks stain easy with blood and dirt atleast in my experiance, i have a synthetic and i gotta say u cant shoot it without a recoil pad but im also shooting a 300 ultra mag and a 300 short mag i would love to have a walnut stock for both those guns

509lifted said:

i would deffinanly go with the peper but thats me cause usually after the kill u gut it and cant wash ur hands and light color stocks stain easy with blood and dirt atleast in my experiance, i have a synthetic and i gotta say u cant shoot it without a recoil pad but im also shooting a 300 ultra mag and a 300 short mag i would love to have a walnut stock for both those guns

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Blood stains add character.

-Jester

haha yea true but then u gotta think do u wanna have that everytime u hunt lol, my synthetic stock is repainted by me to an olive drab and i have stains on it but i still washit from time to time

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't care that much for synthetic stocks. The only synthetic stock I have is my AR, and that's the only thing I own that I think it looks right on. Not too worried about weight either. The weight of the rifle with its original furniture doesn't bother me at all, and from what I've read that style laminated stock isn't much heavier. Not like I'm going with a heavy azz target/bench style stock, and as is it's alot lighter than my Mossberg 835.

The walnut vs laminate is definantly a matter of opinion, and mine is that this laminate looks alot better than a walnut that is comparible in price. Yes a nice (real nice) walnut stock looks better, but for this rifle it costs atleast twice as much and take a lot more work to finish. As for the stainless, that's not a fair comparison. Stainless looks better with everything. On the flip side they reflect light alot more, which isn't so good for hunting

Blood on the gun isn't an issue, gotta see a deer before I can shoot it. We don't usually gut them where they lay, there's a skinning pole in the camp. We usually hoist it up on the pole, so I'll be able to put the rifle up before anything can get on it.
I also plan to finish the stock with poly. I want it sealed up to protect aginst things like blood and dirt. Probably a clear semi-gloss or matte. I know I don't want a glossy finish, because (among other things) if light hits it while hunting there goes your deer.

The Jester Race said:

-Jester

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That pic reminded me of another lever gun you posted.

The Jester Race said:

Got any good gunsmiths in your area? Take it to them and have it fixed right.....or you could go the custom route, some sand paper, wood stain, and cera-kote.
This one is damn sexy.

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=83433

-Jester

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Looking at that one again gave me an idea. I have a Ted Williams Model 100 (Winchester Model 94), that is in need of metal refinishing. I think the finish on that Marlin would look good with that black laminate stock.

I voted black. I have a savage .243 with a synthetic stock and I really like it, accu-trigger, free floated barrel.
I`m kinda suprised no one on here has come up with the idea of using bedliner on their guns!

I second Jester with Walnut, but since you say no, I say brown or natural. I think the black looks kinda fake, and I'm into natural wood.

Hey guys I agree with you a nice (my definition of nice) walnut stock looks best. To get a nice walnut I'll be spending $144 minimum to get a grain pattern I like, it goes from there up to about $350 depending on how nice I go or where I price it. On top of that those all run with the inletting (cutout where the action, trigger, barrel and mag go) in very rough shape needing a lot of work for my action, enough work that I'd likely have to pay someone to do it adding probably another good 100 bucks to the price.

While I do want to fix this rifle up a little I am being conscience of price. The stocks I'm looking at sell for 75 bucks, and function wise there will be no difference between it and the $144 stock. I can find a Timney trigger for $109. I can find a better scope for less than $100. I'll be in the range of $300 before it's over. That's most likely over the total value of this rifle as is, and probably close to double what my dad originally bought it for. Got no interest in putting a stock on that is worth more than the sum of the parts, if that makes any sense. The 788 isn't a show stealer, it's a "cult classic", this one just happens to have sentimental value attached. If I were starting with a nicer platform like a 700 then maybe, but I'm not. You know the saying about makeup on a pig, well that nice walnut is the makeup and the 788 is the pig. It may be a good shooting pig but it's still a pig. What wins this out over getting something like the 700 is that I have this, and for 300 bucks I can make it more accurate than I'll ever be. If I bought the 700, I'd be buying a $400 dollar rifle (if I'm lucky), then adding another 3-400 dollars (to get started) worth of accessories to do the same thing.

Here's an example (the wood not the stock shape)of what I would want if I went with Walnut, and it's at the lower end of the price range.


Boyd's has a walnut version of the stock I'm looking at, but I've seen one finished and it ends up looking nothing like that. In fact to me it almost looked like fake wood. Obviously it isn't fake, but the finish/color/grain pattern reminded me of dad's Ruger 44 lever action (I think it was that one) stock and I never cared for the appearance of that rifle.