Who uses a Bell & Carlson stock.

T

texgunner

New member
I have a Remington 700 CDL in .270 Win that I'm thinking about restocking with a Bell & Carlson Medallist stock. I'm looking at the tan/black spider web color.

Are these drop in or is fitting needed? And what about free floating the barrel?

I mainly would like to hear from folks who have experience with the B&C stocks, positve or negative.
 
I've had two of those. One on a Howa 30/06 I gave my older Son and one on my Howa 300Win mag elk rifle. Both were drop in w/o any mods. I like the looks and feel of the B&C,
 
I've used a few. If I were putting together a varmit/tactical type rifle they would be at the top of my list as long as you stick with the Medalist version with the aluminum bedding block. I've owned HS-Precision before and the B&C Medalist is every bit as good for about $100 less.

I wouldn't want one on a hunting rifle though. The versions with the bedding blocks are quite heavy and the metal inside makes for a thicker, chunkier stock than I want to carry around.

The Carbelite or Ti stocks do not have the bedding blocks and are no where near the quality. Because of the construction methods used they REALLY need the metal for strength. The better quality stocks made by High Tech-Specialties, McMillan, MPI, Manners, and Brown Precision use laminated layers of fiberglass or Kevlar cloth to build up the stock. This gives them strength without weight or bulk.

Most of them will drop in and will be free floated. It wouldn't be unusual to have to do some minor trimming in a few places. I've had to remove a tiny bit of material in order for the safety to move properly in the past, but it isn't that hard.

Short version. If you don't mind the weight or chunky feel, they are a good stock. I wouldn't expect any increase in accuracy, but it will be more consistent than wood and far more weather resistant.
 
I've used a few. If I were putting together a varmit/tactical type rifle they would be at the top of my list as long as you stick with the Medalist version with the aluminum bedding block. I've owned HS-Precision before and the B&C Medalist is every bit as good for about $100 less.

I wouldn't want one on a hunting rifle though. The versions with the bedding blocks are quite heavy and the metal inside makes for a thicker, chunkier stock than I want to carry around.

The Carbelite or Ti stocks do not have the bedding blocks and are no where near the quality. Because of the construction methods used they REALLY need the metal for strength. The better quality stocks made by High Tech-Specialties, McMillan, MPI, Manners, and Brown Precision use laminated layers of fiberglass or Kevlar cloth to build up the stock. This gives them strength without weight or bulk.

Most of them will drop in and will be free floated. It wouldn't be unusual to have to do some minor trimming in a few places. I've had to remove a tiny bit of material in order for the safety to move properly in the past, but it isn't that hard.

Short version. If you don't mind the weight or chunky feel, they are a good stock. I wouldn't expect any increase in accuracy, but it will be more consistent than wood and far more weather resistant.
Click to expand...

Thanks, great reply.
 
I put the medalist on my 700 sps and it made a little accuracy difference, but a major comfort difference. No fitting was required and the barrel channel was wide enough that the barrel floated with plenty of room to spare.
 
Got a medalist light tactical on my 700 SPS 7mm08 Varmint, it's my second one. Not one bad thing to say about them. They get the job done at a bit less than the nearest competition.

I wouldn't want one if I was going to be humping the rifle all over the place but stand hunting is fine.
 
I put a Medalist on my Rem 700 .22-250 SPS Varmint.

No problems with fit - it dropped right in - even when I changed to a Timney trigger with the factory setting of 3.3 lbs.

However, when I adjusted the Timney trigger to 2 lbs the adjusting nut on the front of the Timney protruded a bit and I had to use my Dremel to grind the stock out just a bit to make space. It took about 3 minutes and the the barrel and action dropped right in.

The Medalist stock floated the varmint barrel and actually improved the accuracy by about 0.1 to 0.15 inches at 100 yards.
 
I have some older Bell and Carlson stocks. Great stocks, but I must add a few qualifications to that statement. First, the finish does not age gracefully. Second, accuracy was splendid after I did a good bedding job but absolutely horrid prior to bedding. I do not know about the particular model "medalist."
 
I use a Carbelite stock on a Stevens 200 in .250-3000, and it is a much superior stock to the factory injection moulded stocks that any manufacturer offers. I had it pillar and glass bedded and wouldn't use one without at least glass bedding. It was a little sloppy in the fit of the stock to the rifle.

I had one on my M70 EW .270 rifle and hated the stock, it has the full length aluminum bedding block. I believe the bedding block made the rifle stock too thick through the wrist and forearm and ruined the feel of the rifle. I replaced the stock with a McMillan FWT stock and it greatly improved the feel of the rifle.
 
I have used several Medalist stocks in the past. All were uniformly excellent and a lot less money than other quality synthetic stocks. I can highly recommend them.

Regards,

Rob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top