Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

After shooting a borrowed rifle with a thumbhole stock, I decided I just gotta get one. But then I wondered, if I like the thumbhole so well, why not a full pistol grip with a shoulder rest, like an assault or sniper rifle?

Seems like with all the high tech stuff out there, someone would make one of these for hunting. With lightweight metal or composite, it could be light and strong. You could even put a kick absorber in it.

I have never heard of or seen this in a hunting rifle. Anyone have comments on plusses or minuses on this type of setup for hunting?

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

No, there is nothing wrong with it, I have seen a lot of guys hunt with AR-10's and M-14's.

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

Info on AR-10's>> http://world.guns.ru/assault/as16-e.htm

Pictured below on left is our AR-15. It is a great "beat around" ranch gun, brush gun, close encounter rifle.

On the right is our AR-10. Chambered in .308 of course....same type action as the AR-15. However, it does have a collapsable stock, and is a "flat top" as opposed to the carrying handle on the AR-15.

best of luck

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

Thanks for your answers. What I was thinking about was the ability to retrofit my Rem 700 or Winchester model 70 with this type of stock. Ever heard of that?

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

Why?

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

I'm not sure if I would do that.

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

I mis-understood what you were getting at. Yes you can change stocks on your 700. You can put a McMillan or Accuracy International tactical stock on it with a box fed magazine.

The pic you originally posted looks like a semi-auto...that is what I thought you were talking about.

best of luck

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

I actually prefer a pistol grip for most shooting.

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

Reason being that if I like the thumbhole so well, I might do even better with a pistol grip.

I'm not sure I would, either, that's why I am asking advice.

THANKS

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

No - just the only photo I could find that sort of illustrated what I was dreaming up for my rifle. Thanks for the info, I will look it up.

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

Wow! Nice weapon! Thanks

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

Here's one thing to consider.

Hunting type stocks are usually made to compromise between weight/speed, and accuracy.

Assault weapons are meant to be lighter, faster, more maneuverable, and easy to use. All this makes for a great weapon to carry long distances and shoot often, but it's inherently not as accurate.

Target/Sniper/varmint weapons are usually made to shoulder much better, weigh a lot more, bench rest better, etc.. This makes for a very comfortable rifle, that is heavy, absorbs recoil better, and is inherently much more accurate. Usually they look prettier too! :D

Hunting rifles seek to find balance here. When hunting, you want a rifle that is not to heavy if your hiking long distances. You also want one that is fast and maneuverable for those quick shots or follow up shots. Sounds like an Assault weapon right? Not yet. They also want them to be more accurate than an assault weapon. So they are a little heavier, bench a little better (though not like a target grade stock), and are much sturdier (no folding or collapsing stocks) which makes them inherently more comfortable in large calibers and much more accurate.

After considering all that, think about what you really want it for. If you decide you still want a thumb hole or pistol style grip, I agree with Runner that Mcmillian's are top of the line. You pay for it too. Around $550. The cheapest stock I've found that fits what you might be looking for is the Choate Sniper stock. It's alright, I've got one. Looks better than it functions, but I like it just the same. At $129, it's way cheaper than the above mentioned, and functions similar. It's a compromise.

You can also check out Accuracy Int., Bell and Carleson, and H&S Precision. The last one is probably the cheapest of all those.

I would stay away from collapsible or folding stocks. Just my opinion here, but I think Assault style stocks belong on Assault style weapons. They just don't do that well in the accuracy dept. in larger calibers. Not well suited for hunting. Great for beating around the ranch or as a small caliber varminter, but not a big game hunter.

Good luck.

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

Sage advice, thanks.

That choate stock does look intriguing. But I think the thumbhole is the way to go. All I know is that the more vertical grip helps my shooting and recoil.

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

I put a Bell and Carlson thumbhole on my 7mag and I love it. The grip is very nice andI can hold the rifle a lot steadier while shooting off-hand. I had to do some mods to get everything to function correctly but now its all done and works fine. The only thing I dont like is the position of the safety on my Ruger M77 with the tang safety and the thumbhole, its a little awkward.

RE: Military Stock on a Hunting Rifle?
 

Collapsable stocks are put on assault carbines for the reason that they can be adjusted so that an operator wearing body armor can shoulder it easily. I'd love to have a collapsable stock on my hunting rifle for the same reason- when sitting in a stand 25 feet off the ground and exposed to cold winds, I wear several layers of clothing with the outer hunting coat being pretty thick itself. Instantly shortening the stock by 2" would make a rifle much handier in that situation.