Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Stocky's carbon fiber Howa stock (blem)

My search didn't turn up a whole lot about these stocks, so I figured I'd share my experience in case others are curious. This is one of Stocky's carbon fiber "Hunter" stocks for the Howa, long action, factory sporter barrel channel. They have some blemished ones discounted, which is what I bought (here). I'll be dropping a Howa barreled action in 6.5 PRC (from Brownell's) into this.

They advertise the LA version at 22-23 oz. Mine came in at just under 20 oz on my kitchen scale:


Barrel channel is about 0.840" at the tip of the forend, a bit wider than I was expecting:


Here are a few more pics of the inletting. Nothing major to complain about. I'll be bedding the full length of the action.





Bottom metal fits nice and tight:



Tang inletting is slightly off, but the bedding will take care of that:


The Limbsaver recoil pad is the most disappointing part. The pad itself isn't terrible, but the fit to the stock leaves much to be desired:


I don't think this is an anomaly or the reason this stock was considered blemished. All the photos of these stocks online show an ill-fitting recoil pad. I'll either live with it or ask my gunsmith about replacing it with a Decelerator. LOP is about 13 5/8", which I consider perfect.

I'll update this thread when I get it bedded. A sponge camo job is also in the works. That should cover up some of the seams and other imperfections. Overall, I'm happy with it. It cost me less than a B&C and with a little work, I'll have a stock I think I'll like better. Hard to beat 20 oz.

Looks good, be sure to update us on the finished product!

some folks relish the slack in the back of the tang with the reasoning being accuracy.

Think a layer of tape around the back of the tang would do it?

much appreciate these photos and info ...

Where's the blem?

That should be a relatively nice rifle for around $700. You've almost got me pulling the trigger on both the barreled action and the blem stock.

I'm considering one of these for my Howa Mini.

Wondering if the blem is the fit of the pad to stock?

It could be the pad. That's the worst to my eye, anyway. The other noticeable things are the seam between the two halves, which sits a bit proud; a few spots where the outer layer (of epoxy, I'm guessing? maybe just a clear coat) is thin and kind of rough; and what looks like a little bubble right behind the safety (although it occurred to me that this might be a provision for some kind of safety/fire indicator).

After inserting and removing the barreled action a few times, I have noticed that the inletting is pretty tight. It's takes some fiddling to get the tang and recoil lug seated perfectly. I'll have to spend some time with the Dremel before I bed it.

In any case, it's nothing I can't live with. With a little bit of strategic paint application it should look pretty nice. And for <$800 after all the shipping and transfer fees, I think I'll be happy with my choices.

By the way, the total package weighs 6 lbs 7 oz, which puts it right in the same weight class as a Tikka T3x Lite—what I would have bought if they offered it in 6.5 PRC.

Any updates? I've been thinking about building the same, but the Howa barreled actions are pretty heavy and I'd prefer a shorter throw bolt. If only Tikka made a 6.5 PRC is the regular lite or extra lite

They're no featherweights, but I thought 6.5 lbs was about right. At least for what I intend to use it for.

I haven't done a whole lot to it other than bed the action in MarineTex and apply some rough-textured epoxy grip panels around the wrist and on either side of the fore-end. It didn't take long to find a load it likes (I'm loading the 124 grain Hammer Hunter):

I'll also add that I like the setup well enough that I'm doing the exact same thing with a Mini in 6.5 Grendel, also purchased as a barreled action. It's getting bedded this weekend.

Very nice !
Thanks for taking the time to post that.

I did the B&C for my Howa 6ARC Mini
Fitment and quality was very good, but yours will be lighter no doubt about that.

Glad this thread was revived. Just ordered a short action Factory 2nd for my Vanguard. If nothing else I’ll get a stiffer, lighter stock that free floats the barrel.

Hey Maxwell,
How is the barrel gap in the channel? Was it off centered before bedding??

The barrel channel is wide. I think I provided a measurement in an earlier post. So it doesn't look great, but there's no question it's free floated. It's perceptibly off-center, but not terrible. I snapped a couple photos:




You get what you pay for, and this was a discounted blemished stock. That said, it's fairly stiff and it's very light, so I'm ok with it. One other fault that will matter more to some than others: the ergos are not great for shooting off a bench—the shape of the grip places your hand up high relative to the trigger rather than behind it. Now that I think about it, there's nothing about the ergos that I'm crazy about. The mini version seems to be designed a bit better, though.

Thank you sir!

Arrived today and dropped right in. The recoil pad hangs over the edge of the stock but it isn’t sloppy. Maybe 1/16”. The barrel is now free floated but fits centered in the channel. I am pleased so far. Maxwell what did you torque the action screws to?? The Weatherby manual states 35 in/lb for synthetic and wood and 55 in / lb for synthetic with aluminum blocks. Does the composite block meet the stiffness of aluminum?

I’ve been using 35 with no issues. That’s after bedding the action but not the bottom metal (yet).

Maybe I should start a new thread, but I wanted to provide some info on this rifle's 'little brother,' a Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel that I dropped into another blemished Stocky's CF stock purchased on the classifieds here.

I bought the 22" sporter barreled action from Brownell's, which came with the usual factory extended plastic magazine and plastic bottom metal (much to my chagrin--the Q&A on the website had me convinced it was going to come with the aluminum BDL-style bottom metal that comes on the non-Mini 1500s).

All together and including several coats of paint, the rifle comes in at 5 lbs 1.75 oz. That's significantly less than the plastic-stocked Mini with the same barrel, and only a couple ounces heavier than the listed weight of the Carbon Stalker version that sells for around $900 street price. I put it together for $675 including the paint.

The stock feels good to me. It has a more slender fore-end than the LA stock on the PRC, which fits my gracile, knowledge-worker hands pretty well. Barrel is free floated and centered acceptably, if not perfectly. I'll post some photos when I get a chance.

Or cracking a nice wood stock

Factory injection molded Vanguard stock:



Stocky’s Carbon Fiber. I honestly did not expect a full pound difference but the factory stock does have a heft to it!



Unloaded at 7 lbs 5 oz seems about perfect!!





I can see in the wrist area the seams between the fiber cloth and why it would be considered a “blem”. Not a deal breaker as I’ll most likely paint it anyway.

I finally put together my 6.5 CM with a Stocky's blemished stock and gave the stock a sponge camo paint job. I also bedded the stock (my first time) using Marine-Tex since Stocky's recommends bedding. I really like the solid feeling of the stock, and the Howa action and trigger are both good.

Unfortunately, I'm struggling in the accuracy department. I've tried Hornady Precision Hunter (143 gr ELD-X), Barnes VOR-TX LR (127 gr LRX), and Nosler Ballistic Tip (140 gr) with groups averaging 1.5+ MOA. I'm wondering if I either a) screwed up the bedding, b) need to increase action screw torque, or c) this barrel may be particularly temp sensitive because I've noticed that I usually have two close shots and a flyer. Any ideas?

No offense, but that bedding looks terrible. As I imagine most of our first bedding jobs do...

Hard saying whether the bedding job is at fault, but I wouldn't rule it out when it looks like that. If it were me, I'd dig all that epoxy out with a Dremel, watch a few more YouTube videos, and try again. Don't be shy with the epoxy, either. It looks like you could almost double what you used last time. That'll take care of the big voids along the edges.

I highly doubt it's a barrel issue. And if the bedding is right, screw torque shouldn't be all that critical.

No offense taken. I was definitely more concerned about using too much than too little. I'll give it another go to see if that helps. For clarity, when you mention voids along the edges, are you saying that it should come further up the stock/action near the recoil lug?

The way I’ve always done it, it comes all the way up and oozes out. Mask off the stock well and be prepared to clean up with some squared off tongue depressors/popsicle sticks.

I’m generally bedding the full length of the action, though.

Did you bed forward of the recoil lug at all?

About an inch, yes. I don't try to "dam" the bedding compound anymore, I just let it flow under the pressure of the barrel, so the exact distance varies.

I've read this is more important on actions with the forward action screw in the recoil lug, like Howas, but I have no experience doing it any other way.

Based on the OP's post, I bought one of the Stocky's 2nds for my Cerakoted Howa 1500 in 6.5 CM. The blemish on my stock is on the pistol grip and is so minor that you'd have to look very closely to see it. The barrel channel wasn't as wide/loose as the OP's and while it is one sheet of printer paper free floated, I opened it up just a fraction more. I bedded the action and the first two inches of the barrel with Acra-Glass Gel.

This rifle came with a Hogue stock, so the change in weight, balance, and feel jumped off the chart for me, as the Stocky's stock is so much lighter that it feels like a totally different rifle. The change is definitely for the better.

The stock, with shipping and sales tax, ended up costing just shy of $300, so if I was going to buy a new Howa 1500 and pay full retail, I don't know if I would feel that having $800 +/- into this rifle would be a good value when compared to a basic Kimber Hunter. The Howa would have the stiffer carbon fiber stock, compared to the Kimber's injection molded stock, but how much actual difference is that stiffness going make for most people in most hunting situations?

As with any objective analysis, YMMV.

I have one of the carbon fiber blems. I need to take a 1/2" off the stock to shorten the LOP. Are there any precautions I need to know before cutting carbon fiber?

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but I was hoping some people could chime in now that these stocks have been offered for quite awhile. I’m considering ordering one, but have never seen one in the flesh.


How are they holding up? Overall thoughts on them? Cheap junk? Good value?

“Good value” camp here.

Got one for my Mini Grendel and really like it.

While I don't have a mini Howa, I do have two Tikkas in this stock.

I'm in the "good value" camp. 👍