Lets say you have a wood stock that meets hunter class requirements, but the total weight of the rifle is over 8.5 lbs. If you were to "skeletonize" the butt (much like a bialhalon rifle) yet not change any of the before dimensions, would this be legal? Pistol grip hasen't changed, the comb is still fixed, same butt pad, just that you can now see through the stock. Just curious (before I do anything drastic ).

Thumb bole stocks are illegal, so weight is usually reduced by hollowing the butt or forearm and using aluminum rings. I did this to a laminated stock and was able to cut about 9 or 10 ounces by hollowing the butt, using aluminum rings and installing a lighter recoil pad.

Yep, Bob's right. If you can see through the stock, it's no longer a "hunting style" stock and wouldn't be allowed. You can lose a lot of weight by hollowing out the butt and foreend on a wood stock, as well as going with lighter mounts. The caveat is that the "hollowing out" needs to not be visible from the outside. I would try hollowing out the butt and getting lighter mounts before hollowing out the foreend, but I like my rifles to be as muzzle-heavy as the rules allow.

All in the preferences, isn't it Jason? I prefer a rifle that balances around the magazine well while most shooters do want them a little nose heavy.