07-28-2020, 03:32 AM
On Friday I received a new B&C M40 stock for my Howa Mini action, which dropped in deep and snug. Spoke with B&C's customer service to confirm recommended torque for action screws (45-50 lbs). The stock looks and feels great, and it will make a nice plinker / field rifle. After playing with it a little, I noticed (heard as much as saw) that the bolt handle was making contact with the stock (bottom of handle inlet), which stopped the the bolt handle from completely turning / fully engaging the lugs. It really was the solid thunk of the bolt handle contacting the bottom of the inlet, which sounded like a deep drum, that caught my attention. Only then did I grab a flashlight and flip the rifle over to see if I could see any light around bottom of channel. No way to pass a dollar bill underneath it. I have seen this once before on another stock, which a gunsmith caught while doing a build. Not a big deal - Dremel and small sanding drum will fix this clearance issue.
This evening I was looking at the rifle in preparation for providing clearance for the bolt handle. I happened to notice a few other indicators of an issue: the stock sits higher than the receiver's lip at the ejector port; the safety lever makes contact with the stock when shifted to the rear "safety" position; the end of receiver tang sits below the edge of the stock; and the bolt release lever barely clears the stock in neutral position and definitely makes contact when pushed forward to release the bolt. Overall conclusion: the stock's inlet/V-block sits 1/16" - 3/32" too low.
The lesson learned is drop-in stocks are fantastic and vast majority never have an issue, but go ahead and check it thoroughly. If I hadn't had a previous issue, I might not have ever noticed or thought to inspect for these minor issues. Initially, they didn't jump out at me when I first mounted the action into the stock...I was too busy handling the rifle and working the action to notice these minor deviations. In the morning I will call B&C, and gladly swap out for identical replacement.
Sorry - I would have added a couple of photos, but it didn't like my URL links and didn't like the sizing of my photos when loading directly from my computer.... too much hassle.
This evening I was looking at the rifle in preparation for providing clearance for the bolt handle. I happened to notice a few other indicators of an issue: the stock sits higher than the receiver's lip at the ejector port; the safety lever makes contact with the stock when shifted to the rear "safety" position; the end of receiver tang sits below the edge of the stock; and the bolt release lever barely clears the stock in neutral position and definitely makes contact when pushed forward to release the bolt. Overall conclusion: the stock's inlet/V-block sits 1/16" - 3/32" too low.
The lesson learned is drop-in stocks are fantastic and vast majority never have an issue, but go ahead and check it thoroughly. If I hadn't had a previous issue, I might not have ever noticed or thought to inspect for these minor issues. Initially, they didn't jump out at me when I first mounted the action into the stock...I was too busy handling the rifle and working the action to notice these minor deviations. In the morning I will call B&C, and gladly swap out for identical replacement.
Sorry - I would have added a couple of photos, but it didn't like my URL links and didn't like the sizing of my photos when loading directly from my computer.... too much hassle.