McMillan Stock Quality... Spiraling Downwards??

M

MAD DOG

New member
In the past, I have raved about how good McMillan stocks were. Now it is time to make note how bad they are getting...

I have received two stocks from McMillan in the last couple of months, both are being returned. The A4 sniper stock is being returned for a second time, as it is still awful, and the drop box magnum Sporter stock is going back for a first attempt at a redo or replacement.
Why?
Voids inside the filler, poor machining in the inletting, terribly fitted butt spacers, offcenter inletting, gouges in the finish, etc. One of the most glaring mechanical flaws is the lack of proper wet out in the fiber structure of the filler, and the attendant voids and fiber pullout during the machining process.
I simply refuse to build dangerous game or sniper rifles on stocks that have this many VISIBLE flaws. God only knows what lies beneath.

In fairness to McMillan, when I called them today about this second Sporter stock, they immediately offered to refund my money. I told them that I would rather have a properly constructed stock than the money, which is why I had ordered from them in the first place.
They said that they would take a look at it, and if they thought that they could do better, they would replace it, otherwise they would just give me a refund and have done with it. Sigh.

I hope that these stocks are just two that escaped proper attention during manufacturing and QA, rather than being generally indicative of a lessened attention to quality than what I have come to expect from McMillan.

Otherwise, I am going into the composite stock fabrication business.

Has anyone else experienced quality problems with recent purchases from McMillan?
 
MD,

This is sad to hear if your case is not isolated. Shortly before Gale died I toured the stock factory and was very impressed with the attention to detail and the overall quality of their products.
 
just got a m40 in in the dark camo.they are still using the impregnated camo instead of the paint crap they use on the black stock.i will never get another black stock from them.
this one looks just fine maddog.
 
I spoke with McMillan's customer service lady today when she called after receiving the stock I had returned.
They felt that there was nothing wrong with it, and that they could offer no better quality than that in a drop in inletted, unfinished stock.
They assured me that the stock would hold up to a .505 Burns rifle that generates over 6000 pounds of muzzle energy...
They also offered me my money back yet again.
I pointed out the voids in the filler material, and they explained that they fill those when they do the bedding in house.
I asked how they filled the voids that they couldn't see.
She told me that they simply do not worry about those, as they are usually too small to be of any signifigance.
She told me that no less august a personage as Kelly McMillan had personally inspected the stock, and declared it sound.

I asked about the off center inletting, and she told me that the inletting was not off center, the molding of the stock itself was not entirely perfect due to the pattern that they had used.

Despite my flagging faith in their quality, I have opted to take them at their word, and finish the stock. I will report on its durability after I have tested it thoroughly. If I am still dissatisfied, I will return it and get my money back.

In the meantime, I am also going to order some wood composite stocks from "Artistry In Wood" of Kalispell Montana as a backup. These are beautiful stocks, and come highly recommended. They are not "plywood", but rather five pieces of wood bonded together in a special pattern that increases strength and stability.
I am going to use one on my Dakota actioned .358 Norma Mag that I am finally (after three years) finishing up next month.
 
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