Just to follow up, the weather cooperated and I was able to get to the range today and shoot the gun. I brought along some old ammo that I've had for quite a while, consisting of Winchester Power Points and Remington Golden Bullets. The only thing I did with the ammo was run it through my Waltz die, mainly to bump up the diameter on the bullets to .225 inches. This tends to improve the accuracy of cheaper ammo by ensuring the bullets are engaging the rifling properly and consistently. It also opens up the hollow point a bit giving a little more expansion on small game.
Upon shooting the rifle I noticed the trigger pull seemed heavier than with the FAB defense stock. I can only surmise that the FAB defense stock tends to make you pull the trigger straight back, which may lead to the perception of a lighter pull. It wasn't a huge difference, but it was noticeable and I wanted to point that out. The gun shot very well out of the new stock, and surprisingly it seemed to prefer the Remington Golden Bullets. Groups were around a half inch at 50 yards, with some groups a bit smaller than that. The Power Points shot 3/4 to 1 inch groups at the same distance which is perfectly acceptable for small game hunting.
I fired a couple magazines offhand using the sling as a stabilizer and noticed no issues. I didn't put a ton of pressure on the sling, just enough to steady my aim. There was no bending of the stock and the barrel never touched the side of the barrel channel.
So, to sum things up I like this stock! It's stable, not overly heavy or soft, and the action fits into it tightly. I don't know if you would necessarily need to bed the action to this stock to get it to shoot. I only bedded the rear of it to my bedding button and tightened up the action screw and it shoots well enough for my purposes. I also prefer the classic looks of this stock over a tactical stock, but that's only my personal preference. YMMV and all that.
Upon shooting the rifle I noticed the trigger pull seemed heavier than with the FAB defense stock. I can only surmise that the FAB defense stock tends to make you pull the trigger straight back, which may lead to the perception of a lighter pull. It wasn't a huge difference, but it was noticeable and I wanted to point that out. The gun shot very well out of the new stock, and surprisingly it seemed to prefer the Remington Golden Bullets. Groups were around a half inch at 50 yards, with some groups a bit smaller than that. The Power Points shot 3/4 to 1 inch groups at the same distance which is perfectly acceptable for small game hunting.
I fired a couple magazines offhand using the sling as a stabilizer and noticed no issues. I didn't put a ton of pressure on the sling, just enough to steady my aim. There was no bending of the stock and the barrel never touched the side of the barrel channel.
So, to sum things up I like this stock! It's stable, not overly heavy or soft, and the action fits into it tightly. I don't know if you would necessarily need to bed the action to this stock to get it to shoot. I only bedded the rear of it to my bedding button and tightened up the action screw and it shoots well enough for my purposes. I also prefer the classic looks of this stock over a tactical stock, but that's only my personal preference. YMMV and all that.
