Originally Posted By: BLUE_CANPersonally, I love the general feel of a thumbhole assuming that it fits the hand decently. BUT, i can't get past the inefficiency of having to completely ungrip the rifle in order to take the safety off with said thumb. Not a big deal for a bench rifle I guess but I'm more of a hunter and I hate the motion that is needed. The standard encore grip seems to bridge the gap between these pretty well but I've never had the pleasure of shooting one of those yet.
Good points Blue Can. Too bad you didn't post this sooner! LOL
I received a Boyds lightweight thumbhole yesterday and mounted it up. Not overly happy with it. Finish and fit are fine (will require some work to float the barrel) but the grip is small and the foreend is wide and flat. You're right, no way to disengage the safety without removing my hand from the grip. Unfortuantly I talked to boyds today to see about shipping it back to get a Classic instead. This is what I was told:
- The foreend on the stock is the same on both the classic and the lightweight thumbhole. Wide and flat. Fine for bipods and bags, not so great for off-hand shooting.
- To return it for an exchange it would be a 12% restocking fee.
- I have to pay $15 shipping for the new stock.
- I have to pay shipping for the return of the thumbhole stock.
Over all, it would cost me about 1/2 the price of a new stock to make the exchange. Not a very pleasant thought. I'll just have to eat it and deal with it.
CB