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How much work has to be done to an Echols Legend stock blank before it is useable? I am thinking of ordering one from him for my next pre-64 project.

Based on the one I got, you need to think of them as blanks rather than drop ins--

The bolt notch and ejection port bevel need to be cut in.
Swivels need to be installed
Pad needs to be installed
Mold lines sanded
Painted
Bedding

That being said, the finished product is the nicest fiberglass stock I have ever held. Where else are you going to find a stock with cast off (or on)?

Thanks, that's what I'm looking for for this project. McMillan's are nice but they can't give me all the options I want in the way of pad, swivels, etc.

I think that the smartest plan is to order the stock blank from Echols, then once you get it, send it, along with your metalwork, to McMillan.

Have them do a complete pillar-bedding job, install the pad and sling swivel stubs, and then paint the stock. The price is very reasonable, and the quality of McMillan's paint, materials and work is the very best to be had.

Best investment/best results long-term..........

AD

Thanks Allen, I'll look into that. I'm doing this project in stages, but I like to have all the major components together before going forward. I've got the action, barrel blank and bottom metal already.

Heck, just cut to the chase and send all the parts to D'arcy...

really man, buck up for the suds.....<g>

Dober

Someday I will have an Echols rifle, but for now my budget is 1,200, not 12,000 dollars.

Someday being when my 80,000 in school debt is paid off...

I'd like to say the same myself, but who I work for will undoubtably keep me from have $12K for a rifle... Now a hunt for that price might be a possability!

$80K in school debt, so we get to call you Doc 45 or 45 esquire? And I thought I was bad enough being into Sallie Mae for $17K...

Lawyer for the State of Oregon if everything goes right in the next few weeks. 80K is what it'll come to with full interest if I take the full time to pay off my loans; I'm planning (fingers crossed) on being able to pay them off entirely in ten years.

With all respect to Allen's opinion, I would not send it back to McMillan for the finishing work. D'Arcy believes that he can do a better job in putting the finishing touches on a stock, and I have the hubris to believe that I can as well. The more finished stocks that D'Arcy was getting from McMillan had bolt notches that were far larger than they needed to be, ejection ports that were not particularly aestetic, sling swivel studs that were not entirely true and centered, and flats that were not as true as they had been when the stock came out of the mold (someone got enthusiastic with a belt sander.)

Attention to detail takes time. I probably spent an hour and a half with inletting black, grinder, and files to cut in the bolt handle notch so that it was no larger than it needed to be, but has perfect clearance as well. You either pay someone a lot of money to take that time, or you take it yourself as a labor of love. But expecting McMillan to take that amount of time--and turn a profit--is that not a fair expectation.

I think Mcmillan would do an ok job. If it wasn't going to be D'Arcy though I'd send the works to Penrod and let him do it.

by the way for full sized grown up rifles there is no better stock that i've seen. I would happily order one of D'Arcy's stocks and go through whatever trouble I needed to to get it put on my rifle by a professional. And yes I own one and have shot many others.

Just to clear some of these questions up, I received an e-mail from the Echols shop this morning, and here it is:

In order to simply the ordering process for our Legend stocks and to better inform the end users of our product, here are some answers to some common questions we have received:

We do not install pads, swivel studs, or paint on stocks we sell to our customers. Legend stocks are shipped to us from McMillan free from any bolt notch cuts, loading port cuts, sanding, pads or swivel studs. This allows us the maximum flexibility to fit the stock to a variety of barreled actions and the specific needs of each custom project. It also helps to limit the number of unmarketable "oddball" stocks that we must inventory in case of a cancelled order. We recommend you send your barreled action along with your Legend stock to a qualified gunsmith for installation or to McMillan for their total installation package. We think McMillan's total installation package represents an excellent value to the customer.

In order to speed up our delivery time which in the past has been described as "glacial", we will begin inventorying Legend stocks in a limited number of the more common barrel channel, receiver, and bottom metal configurations. The consumer will still be able to place a special order for a custom inlet which will understandably increase the delivery time.

Any further questions about Legend stocks or any of our other products or services can be answered directly by D'Arcy or Brian at (435) 755-6842 or via email at echolslegendcomcast.net

D'Arcy Echols & Co.



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Thanks for all the feedback guys; I've read alot about this stocks ability to absorb recoil and my question is this: is the stock overkill for a 30-06?

My opinion is that it would work great with a 30-06,IF the barrel was big enough to look right. I have a Legend EDGE, and I dropped my 30-06 with a 21" featherweight contour barrel into it. It just looked funny--the barrel was not nearly big enough to match. It looked like a little kid in his dad's oxfords. but if the barrel was a little bigger, then it would be great. I also put my 375 barreled action into it, and the look & feel of the gun was great, except for being muzzle heavy. I never shot it with the 375 because McMillan will not warranty EDGE stocks for calibers over 338, if I understand correctly (nor did D'Arcy think it would hold up.) I don't know what build I will ultimately use the EDGE for; it could be a 338 Win, although the weight may actually be less than I would be shooting for. All I know is that I have been on D'Arcy's list for a left Legend for maybe four years, and when

In my opinion, They are the best McMillan stocks by far for long actioned Winchesters with a standard contour barrel. For a featherweight barrel, I think the Compact is better because the shorter, smaller forend is more in proportion. For a short action Winchester, I think the proprietary Hill Country stock gets the nod. At least that is my opinion, based on having owned them all.

Allen--
Notice that D'Arcy's email say that McMillan's installation is an "excellent value," which is a term open to considerable interpretation.

Utah: I've been thinking about a #3 Shilen for this particular rifle, finished at 23".

I saw a gun in D'Arcy's shop with a very thin contour, maybe .5 to .55", chambered in 7 Remington mag. It looked fine in the stock, but I think it was maybe 24". By the same token I recently got a Hill Country stock (which has some similarities to a Legend) and was building a 260 Remington. When the barrel arrived, I laid it in barrel channel and played around with what barrel length looked the best relative to the forend. What I finally ended up with was 23", and inch or two longer than I would have speced if I was just thinking about it in abstract.

What is my point? That barrel length is more important to my eye than mere barrel contour when it comes to maximizing the aesthetic potential of these stocks. I think these stocks look better with slightly longer rather than shorter barrels.

But in no way is a #3 barrel too chunky.

I wish I had the photogrpahic skills to explain what my words can scarcely accomplish.

When D'Arcy started the 'Legend' program, McMillan did all of the stock installation (bedding, paint, studs) for these rifles. D'Arcy sent McMillan the complete metalwork, and they took it from there. I have a few early examples of such Legends in my collection, and the work that McMillan did on them was excellent in every way, leaving nothing to be desired in my opinion.

Now of course, all of the bedding work, paint, etc., on the Legend rifle is done in the Echols shop. McMillan only fabricates and furnishes the basic stock blanks, the exact-same stock blanks that D'Arcy will sell to his customers for their own projects.

I have discussed the quality of McMillan's installation work with D'Arcy before, and he's had nothing but praise for McMillan's installation efforts. That's his intrepretation, and coming from the the man who designed that stock pattern and who developed the entire rifle, that's good enough I'd say!

Either way, D'Arcy and Brian only build complete rifles, and the only bedding/pad/sling-stud/paint work they do on them is for complete, custom Legend rifles. They do no piece-meal work, and they won't install Legend stocks on metalwork that clients would like to have bedded to a Legend stock. They just don't have the time or manpower for it.

AD

I try very hard to avoid negativism or second hand bad-mouthing in my posts at the campfire. Suffice it to say that I must have caught D'Arcy on different days, and I will leave it at that.

But you are quite correct in pointing out that they do not want to get into the stock installation business, which would be a low margin distraction from their core business.