Bell and Carlson or is Mcmillan really worth the price?

I bought a b&c stock for my shilen barreled savage m12 in 6 br I can't quite hit a clay pidgon at 1000 yards with it but I get close enough to make it fun all with a as some would say a junk stock. I don't think a spending more money on a stock is going to help.
 
Originally Posted By: ChupathingyOriginally Posted By: Jayhawker27

Kevin Rayhill at Stockade Stocks also makes a fine product...




+1 again


Chupa




Yes, they do.
 
The Facts???

The Bell & Carlson Stocks are not bad stocks, but the McMillan are better, and better costs.

The BC stocks copied HS and use an aluminum bedding block. But as they make the stock, they don't keep it centered straight.

BC stocks are not evenly milled. When rifles are bolted in, look at the forearm, it isn't "quite" straight. You can tell this by the gaps on either side. One will be bigger.

Sling studs will come loose on BC stocks.

None of this happens with McMillan Stocks. The inletting is beautiful, even gaps around rifle barrels, and slings studs will never come loose.

Now that is the stuff you can "see", what goes on in the inside only the companies know. I refuse to cut any of mine apart.
 
I have seen stocks from all 3 makers where the barrel is not centered in the channel. Happened on my last McMillan. Not uncommon at all, with any of the 3 makers.

McMillan has a metal insert behind their sling studs that the stud threads into, I believe.....
 
None of the McMillan stocks I have ever bought had sling studs. I guess I never got to the hunting style stocks.

For colony varmint shooting the McMillans have been perfect.

Jack
 
It's pretty much agreed by everybody in the shooting world that McMillan is the finest after market stock.

That doesn't mean that there are not other very fine stocks as well, and in fact if you are willing to do some work, you can stiffen and bed even cheap plastic stocks and turn them into reasonably good performing stocks.
 
Hello:

I don't know if you have considered Robertson Composites as an option. http: //www.robertsoncomposites.com


Regards,

Chizzy
 
I have owned all three. My rifles now wear McMillans because "I" really like them. I do have one heavy varmint rifle that wears a HS. I especially like the classic and mountain rifle models in a hunting rifle stock. These two just seem to really fit me and they are rock solid stocks with a ton of options to get exactly what you want. They are made to order. They do appear to be better made and McMillan stands behind them. B+C and HS make fine stocks and I have hunted several hard. No problems with them but the HS feels like a club to me for a hunting rifle and they are heavy. The B+C's seem to have a bit of flex in the forearm. Not alot of options or models to choose from when ordering compared to McMillan. I Like McMillans and I save for the 6 months it is on order and it isn't to big of a deal to pay for it. Order one on 24HR Campfire and you only need a deposit and the balance when it is finished. 4-6 months to get the money around. If you don't have the cabbage get the B+C and you won't know what you are missing. Handle a McMillan and you may have to have one.

These are my experiences with all three in sporter and varmint stocks. Tactical style stocks seem to have an even wider gap between the quality from what I have read. If you think would appreciate the quality of a McMillan get one, if you don't think you would know the difference buy one of the others. Ideally you could handle one before spending the $. Pretty easy to get most of your money back out of a McMillan if you need to sell it down the road, they sell pretty easily unless you have some oddball stock made.
 
I have stayed quiet on this post until now. I have some questions and observations based only on my experience.
I shoot at a club, recreational shooting only, and several members have McMillians. Some have H-S Prec., some just wooded, some laminated wood (custom), all kinds and types of stocks at given times. Point is, I've handled about all of them at one time or another.
Here's my take. The B&C is a molded stock with a aluminum block, the H-S is a molded stock with an aluminum block, the Hogue can be bought with an aluminum block, even the Choate has aluminum block. At one time, I hade a laminate wood with an aluminum block. All these are good to decent stocks, some better than others. Although, I agree the McMillian is a great stock, so why do you have to pay extra to have pillars and bedding installed after your purchase?
It seems all the other stocks offer the bedding block installed with the original cost of the stock and the Micky's are better? I'm not trying to knock them, just don't quite understand what makes them so much better. I just feel your buying a Name now instead of a great product. I have three rifles I'm working with right now, one is in a Choate tactical, two in a B&C Medalist, all shoot sub-MOA. Is the McMillian going to make these rifles shoot better or just look better doing it? Once again, I'm not knocking them, just trying to figure out if I missing something.
 
The aluminum bedding blocks are great, but they only pertain to the action area. They are not providing stiffness anywhere else in the stock. An aluminum bedding block does pretty much eliminate the need for pillar bedding, but as with any after market stock (including McM) they will almost always benefit from the "extra" of at least skim bedding, since they are made to general tolerances and not to fit your specific rifle.

In addition to being super stiff along the entire length of the stock, the McMs also seem to dampen vibrations for some reason (as Jack alluded to), which of course potentially has a great deal to do with accuracy.

If you want to compare possibly the best factory stock design in the world, look at a complete rifle from Accuracy International where their AICS "chassis" stock is custom fitted/ permanently bonded and bolted to a specific rifle (you can also buy just the stock starting at ~$900 but it will probably need skim bedding too since it wasn't custom fitted to your rifle). They take the aluminum bedding block idea and extend it not only under the action, but the full length of the stock.

Will a McM make your rifle shoot better? Probably yes. Will you be able to readily tell the difference? That would depend on how accurate your rifle is currently, how good a shooter you are, and just how much you want test.
 
I've never owned a MCM, but I have owned a lot of other stocks, including HS, Manners, B&C, etc. A lot of talk has been had about aluminum bedding blocks in aftermarket stocks. A lot of people believe that this bedding block eliminates the need for any further bedding, and that all they have to do is screw the gun into the stock and they have a "bedded" rifle. It's worth noting that all of the stocks with aluminum bedding blocks are mass produced off of a pattern of the action they are intended to house. This means that each individual stock is not going to exaclty fit your rifle, but it will be close. The question was asked as to why MCM charges extra for bedding services, and I believe the answer is simple: in their line of business, with the core market they are dealing with, they understand that the only true way to bed a rifle is to take that rifle and bed it into a stock. Close enough doesn't work. With an aluminum bedding block, you really don't know how the action is supported, hence the "skim coat" of bedding others have talked about. A bad bedding job can do more to hurt the accuracy of a rifle than no bedding at all. If you do a little research, you'll see that a lot of bench rest "heavy" guns are actually permanantly bonded to the stock. They do this because it works. A custom rifle can't be bolted together, it has to be built. The difference might be .75 MOA vs. .5 MOA, or much more or much less. If you find yourself arguing if this is worth the cost/time/effort, then the answer is without a doubt NO! Get what you want, but know that there is a difference. Go to Manners webpage and look at the picture of the F150 parked on one of their stocks. They come with aluminum pillars shipped loose.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogI have stayed quiet on this post until now. I have some questions and observations based only on my experience.
I shoot at a club, recreational shooting only, and several members have McMillians. Some have H-S Prec., some just wooded, some laminated wood (custom), all kinds and types of stocks at given times. Point is, I've handled about all of them at one time or another.
Here's my take. The B&C is a molded stock with a aluminum block, the H-S is a molded stock with an aluminum block, the Hogue can be bought with an aluminum block, even the Choate has aluminum block. At one time, I hade a laminate wood with an aluminum block. All these are good to decent stocks, some better than others. Although, I agree the McMillian is a great stock, so why do you have to pay extra to have pillars and bedding installed after your purchase?
It seems all the other stocks offer the bedding block installed with the original cost of the stock and the Micky's are better? I'm not trying to knock them, just don't quite understand what makes them so much better. I just feel your buying a Name now instead of a great product. I have three rifles I'm working with right now, one is in a Choate tactical, two in a B&C Medalist, all shoot sub-MOA. Is the McMillian going to make these rifles shoot better or just look better doing it? Once again, I'm not knocking them, just trying to figure out if I missing something.



You can get Mickeys with factory pillars installed for about $20 more...
 
Also, keep in mind that when buying a McM stock, many people are not using just one type of "(factory)" bottom metal. Some may go with badger, Wyatts, PTG, Hooper, etc. If you have pillars installed by McM when you get the stock they may or may not be the correct height to match up with your bottom metal and may have to be further machined, thus creating more work for your smith and more charge to you.
 
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