54.18 mc millan stock question

tbone49 · Post by **tbone49** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 4:23 am

I would like to add some weight to the butt of this stock.I'm at 9lbs now and it feels front heavy.The brown rubber plate appears glued on (no holes) Is there an easy way to do this? I am also willing to part with my 54.18 1808 wood stock(like new) anybody need one? Thanks

Jerry G · Post by **Jerry G** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 10:26 am

I have one of thoes stocks but never had the urge to put weight in the butt. My weight is at the other end. I believe weight forward helps with the recoil, as small as it is, and makes the follow-through easier to do. Just my opinion.

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 11:49 am

I have no experience with the McMillan 54.18, but the McMillan 1712 FWt butt pad is glued on, and there is foam immediately under it. One of mine had been weighted by a previous owner by drilling and filling long holes with what looked like lead rod. Since I prefer lighter rifles weighted to the front, I pulled them out and mistakenly filled the holes with epoxy bedding that reacted with the foam. It didn't destroy the stock (if it had, I would have deserved it), but I will never apply epoxy to an unknown material again without a small test first.

atomicbrh · Post by **atomicbrh** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 5:14 pm

BlauBear, You just saved my bacon(really foam) with that last post. My next step on a old gray 1700 FWT McMillan stock was to dig out about 3/4" of the foam and fill it with bedding epoxy to provide a firmer surface for the new recoil pad. Now I am at a loss as far as what to try for this purpose. My whole purpose was not to glue the buttplate or recoil pad to the stock but use screws instead so that I can add spacers to increase the length of pull as my son grows. Now I am considering Devcon Titanium putty. I wonder if that will eat the foam. BlauBear and others, could you share with us what your final solution to the foam problem was?

Bobby R. Huddleston

chickenchoker · Post by **chickenchoker** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 7:04 pm

I have to credit this idea to Brian Long in Bostic, NC. I cut the sort part of the butt pad off my Mcmillan stock and marked and cut 2 pieces of flat .125 aluminum to the shape of the butt. Next I drilled 2 .250 holes through both pieces. The top hole is .65 from the top edge and the bottom is 1" up from the bottom. If you drill the holes before you scibe and grind the 2 pieces of aluminum you can bolt them together and get an exact matching pair. Next I take a pair of 3/16" T-nuts and glue them through the holes in one of the aluminum plates. The end of the T-nut will stick through the plate and that side faces away from the stock.I glued a flip-flop cut to fit to the other plate. All I used was polyurethane glue to glue everything in place. I use a 4ft. pipe clamp to hold everything in place for 24 hrs. If you don't use the clamp, when the glue foams it can push the parts apart. The only thing left to do is cut 2 pieces of thick wall 1" PVC pipe to the right spacer length and use 2- 3/16 flat or oval head machine screws to hlod everything together. I used a piece of 000 steel wool to give everything a nice finished apperance. Hope this helps. I bought everything at the local home center for less than $10 except for the flip-flop which I got at the dollar store. If the flip-flop is to soft, try a piece of baler belt from the tractor supply.$7/foot. Hope this helps.

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 9:46 pm

Hey, happy to take one for the team! When epoxy hits foam, the chemical reaction causes foaming, and the resulting foam is pretty hard, but I'm not sure about voids or adhesion. It might make a good foundation for your plans, but I'm worried about long term deterioration.

I sent the poor thing to Evelio before committing any more evil on it. He usually glues on shoe crepe, but that doesn't answer your question. CC has a pretty good plan, but I would consider just layering up a new butt pad every year or so. I have to add extensions to most rifles, and epoxy the spacer/pad stack together before grinding and attaching with screws or adhesive. You can make a pretty good attachment that will still come loose with a little encouragement.

tbone49 · Post by **tbone49** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 5:54 am

Darn it, You guys are stealing my thread. I just wanted to make my butt heavier. (and my wife's lighter)

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:10 am

Sorry TBone... On both counts...

sobrbiker883 · Post by **sobrbiker883** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:59 am

If you get the pad off, bore a 1" hole however deep you feel comfortable with, line it with plastic wrap, get a bunch of shot and mix it up with an epoxy compound and pack it in the lined hole. After setting up you can remove and have a removable weight. If you wanna take some off, do it from the butt end. If you don't want the weight to shift around, put a dab of bathroom caulk down the bottom/side of weight and slide it in. Caulk will hold the weight, yet be able to remove it if you want.

tbone49 · Post by **tbone49** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 1:58 pm

Alas, herein lies the problem. Apparently, the only way this pad is coming off is with a chop saw, and I'd rather not. (thanks,heavybarrel) So for now, I'm going to leave her alone and learn to love her. Just like my wife. Let's start a new thread

chickenchoker · Post by **chickenchoker** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 4:31 pm

Don't be scared, it's just a rifle stock ! You might not be able to change the wife, but you sure can make that stock fit better. Playing with the equipment is part of the fun........it's mine and I can play with it as long as I want to.

NewAZShooter · Post by **NewAZShooter** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 5:11 pm

Bobby, To lengthen your LOP, one simple solution which requires no permanent modification at all is to just buy one of those slip-on recoil pads that consist of a rubber sleeve attached to a one-inch recoil pad. That will lengthen your pull cheaply and easily so it will still fit your son as he grows. And if you don't like it, just slip it off and return it for a refund.

Another way to effectiviely lengthen the pull is to use a "Past" or other Magnum recoil pad which you wear on your shoulder. Not sure if either of these will be preferable to you, but neither requires difficult or messy modification to the butt of your rifle stock.

tbone49 · Post by **tbone49** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 6:30 pm

Dear Mr. Chickenchoker, you are absolutley correct and I am taking your advice to heart. To hell with the stock, I'm filing for divorce tommorrow. Forever grateful, Mr. Hamslammer

Evelio Mc Donald · Post by **Evelio Mc Donald** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 9:12 pm

Hello Mr. Tbone 49 and Soberbyker 883 to make you both feel good I think your new toys will be ready sometime around Christmas. The solid red stock really looks good, but the pink one looks even better, you guys will really like them.
I have several pieces of cut off barrels that can be stuffed in the butt and then fill up around it with expandable foam, available at Sears,Lowes,Home Depot,etc,
Tbone you better not divorce that wife of yours, they don't make them any better, ! if you know what I mean !
Good luck on your project.
Evelio.

sobrbiker883 · Post by **sobrbiker883** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 9:22 pm

Evelio Mc Donald wrote: The solid red stock really looks good, but the pink one looks even better, you guys will really like them.
Evelio.

Now that's funny right there......

54.18 mc millan stock question

54.18 mc millan stock question

what?

eureka!

Weight

Re: Weight