Do any of you out there have experience with Bell and Carlson synthetic stocks? If so, what do you think? Are they a good value for the price you pay for them?

I think so. I've had several of the Medalists. Good stock for the money. Not as rugged or stiff as the HS or McMillans, but a lot less money.

Put my old M1917 .30-06 in a B&C stock about ten years ago I'd guess. Fit was good. It came with a good recoil pad, so even my youngest son enjoys shooting it.



Over the years it's proven to be a good rifle stock. Nothing fancy, just a good stock.

I have 6 medalist stocks......plus the one that came on my Model 70 EW....thEy work just fine, and I like how they fit. There might be stiffer stocks and lighter stocks ou there , but the B & C stocks are the best bang for the buck. buy the way...on my customs they shoot under 1/2 inch if I do...what more do you need. They have a good recoil pad installed as well. In my book they're winners and B & C does a great job. Just bought another one for my Vanguard S2 in 257 Weatherby . Someday I will buy a Manners or McMillian, but for my money the medalist is a best buy. Goodshot

I have 2-of them and am very hapy with their function and look.

I have used several of the B&C stocks and they work fine.

I have a Medalist on my 204, and really like it. I actually prefer them to HS Precision. Same chassis, but you get checkering, a better recoil pad, and they cost less.

They are a good buy for the money.

They do tend to be a bit heavy. I have one on a P-17 Enfield in .308 Norma Magnum.

The early ones were very heavy, about the same as a laminated stock. I had one on a Pre-64 FW. It made the poor girl so heavy i didn't want to pack it. It has a High Country stock on it these days.

I've had and used several. The Medalist are OK, but very heavy with the metal blocks in them. Around 32-40 oz. compared to 20-30 for most other aftermarket synthetics. The Carbelite and Ti stocks with no metal blocks are a waste of money. They tend to be somewhat lighter, but are very weak without the metal to support them.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=375703

If they fit they are a great choice. Price point very hard to beat. Love the TI stocks. Hard to beat their value...

W

according to your link, that rifle was shot in a lead sled. that's what lead sleds do. the Ti stock is plenty strong.

this is my .375 Ultra in a B&C AK Ti without the full bedding block. of course, i don't own nor have i ever used a lead sled

got a few...

Gentlemen, thank you all for posting the pics of your fine looking rifles. I am considering a B&C stock for my Browning A-Bolt II. Their selection of stocks is a bit limited for that rifle. I will weigh the walnut stock and see if I can replace it with a synthetic B&C, without a weight penalty. If the B&C synthetic is going to weigh more, I may just end up hunting with pretty walnut.

if you order a B&C, get one with the spatter paint finish. the texture adds grip.

Mine didn't. I'll never buy another.

Last one I bought, for a model Seven, needed a little inletting on the aluminum bedding block to get the safety to fit in...PITA....

Once done, I liked the thing, but sheesh...

They are a very good stock to me. I probably had at least three.

The LH Ruger std stock has a very squared off clubby looking forend
it looks awfull but they tend to shoot well have owned 3 or 4.

This reminds me I replaced an MBR Tooley McMillan with a Bell & Carlson and cut the groups in half. I forgot about that one.

I bought a very early one for a tang safety M-77 long action. Over the years it worked fine. There is no metal in it so this won't apply I guess to all of their current offerings but the lug area finally has worn down to where it will have to bedded or retired.
It is over twenty years old, maybe over twenty five, so I got my moneys worth. I like the accuracy and the (impression of) reduced recoil.

Yes they are good stocks I have had 2. One was a Medalist and yes they are not light...the other is a 1st Gen TI and is a full 12 oz lighter than the factory Rem 700 plastic

So can a person order a stock and expect it to be a drop-in fit?

http://www.stockysstocks.com/servlet/StoreFront

call em up......formost authority

I got one that came on my Model 70 EW 7mm WSM. It seems like a nice stock and I plan on using it this year for hunting before putting the barreled action in a compact edge stock. I'll keep this stock for a 243 AI build, though.

I have three with a fourth on the way. No troubles with fit at all and accuracy has been great with only minor removal of material in the barrel channel to get a float. I'd love to have a McMillan on every rifle but, for the money, Bell and Carlson fills the bill.

I have two Carbelites. One I love, the other not so much.

The form they use for the Rem 700 carbelites is a nice stock, or at least, I like it.

The form they use for Ruger 77 MKIIs is a bit clunky and I don't care for mine.

I have no problem continuing to use them when working with a budget and cannot imagine a scenario where the BC would fail but a Manners or Mcmillan would have saved the day.

Unless your going with an edge fill or something similiar from manners I just dont see a big advantage. I was confident enough that I dropped a surgeon into one of the light weight tacticals and have been very pleased.

Mine didn't.

I had to open the barrel channel bit and work on the aftermarket trigger guard, but it was fun I guess. The others I have helped or done a little sanding was required as well, so not exactly drop in.

I wouldn't want a drop in.I'd be going for clearance and bedding.

The Medalist and Carbelite are two completely different animals. The Medalists I have seen were drop in.

I have weighed my Medalists, HS, and McMillans (non-Edge), and they are all about the same. 2-2.5lbs.

Ive had two B&C Medalist stocks. Both are now gathering dust in my gun room. Both were replaced with McMillan Edge stocks.

'Nuff sed.

What specific B&C model would fit my Lipseys Ruger 77 stainless RSI 7mm-08?

Any stock with an aluminum bedding block, hell any factory inletted stock at all, but especially the aluminum BB ones, needs to be machined by the factory to accept all rifles of the type they're meant for. These rifles have size tolerances so the BB must be machined larger than the highest tolerance for the rifle. Especially since aluminum has twice the expansion ratio of steel. If you have a rifle at the low end of the tolerance range you'll have more slop.

I have a Medalist, a Carbelite, and 5 Ti stocks. All of them were steel bedded and free floated by me and all work very well. Very value for the money and Very good performance for the money.

Please elaborate ... Not quite 'nuff said.

I have 4 carbelites. I'm good with all of them. On a tang safety Ruger M77, I need to do some adjusting to get it together. It reduced the weight of the rifle by almost 1/2 a pound from thr walnut stock. On my M700 Remington Classic, I glass-bedded it, and it's a little lighter than the walnut stock. On my M70 XTR, it's an older B&C stock, and it weighs 4 ounces more than the factory XTR walnut stock.

I'd buy another for a rifle that needed it.

I have 3 one medialist one from a lvsf and one on my vanguard backcountry. All work much better that a plastic stock. My backcountry stock did crack behind the recoil lug, I have tried to fix it with steel bedding compound and I need to shoot it more to make sure its "fixed".

My medalist is on a 300wby vanguard it's a nice looking stock but feels heavy. It only needed a little bit of fitting for the bolt to get clearence on the left side to fit. My shooting buddy had to do the same thing on his.

I'll buy another

Well, allright, since you asked-

The B&C Medalist stocks were on a Weatherby Vanguard SA, and a Weatherby MkV .300 Wby. Mag.
I found them to have a clunky feel, but my biggest objection was to the floppy forends. The overall fit also left a lot to be desired, IMO.

Both were replaced with McMillan Edge stocks, which simply feel better, fit better, look better, are lighter weight, and noticeably stiffer in the forend. In addition, accuracy with both rifles is noticeably better with the McMillan stocks.

You get what you pay for, most of the time.....

Thanks .... been jacking around with the idea of getting one for a varminter ... but may just go the Laminate route. Wieght isn't a big issue for me (other than my own!).

If poundage is no worry you wont regret a laminate

+1 Medalist!

My BC stock that came on my model 70 EW weighs 29 ozs. Can't imagine I would save that much weight with a Mickey. After purchasing my kimber 84 classic, the wrist area feels a bit substantial.

As we speak I am fitting and sanding and rasping on a 1st Gen TI to "drop in" a 700 ADL.

Then seal up the pores with bondo sand a bit more then lots of paint and done!

No complaints here... Worked miracles on group size from a M7ss.

My M77 long action tang safety was a drop in.

My M77 MkII .300 WM was not. I had trouble with the MKII fitting at all. This was quite awhile ago, about the time the MKII version came out. I never did use that stock with that rifle.

Unfortunately, poundage is a worry. The lightest this A-bolt will weigh with a light weight scope and mounts will be 8 pounds, with the factory walnut stock. The factory stock by itself weighs 33 ounces. I wanted to lighten it up by about a 8 ounces. The B&C will weigh about the same, if not more than the factory walnut stock. So, if I want to lose that half pound, it's going to cost me. Looks like it will have to go in a McMillan Browning Classic, Edge tech. "If you want to play, you must pay the piper".

Laminate is good stuff, if as you say you aren't stressing ounces. They will likely be butt-heavy with lighter profile barrels, but you can do wonders in that regard by hollowing the buttstock.

Think I paid 2 hundo for a 700 Varmint BC Medalist with aluminum block. Dropped right in, looks great, fit is excellent and the barrel is only slightly off center in the channel but you almost need a caliper to tell, almost.

Finish is excellent, but it is paint and will flake eventually but for now is fine. It totally free floated my barrel with a lot of clearance. Gun got slightly more accurate after the stock swap, but infinitely more comfortable to shoot with the Decelerator pad. Had I had the scratch for a Mickey, I would have gone that route but for an approximately $1,000 rig it works great. Shoots crappy Serbian ammo into an inch-ish if I work hard, not so well with some other factory ammo. Started hand loading recently so as soon as I get out again we'll see if I can do better with roll-your-owns.

Would I buy again? Absolutely. But I personally would only put it on a stainless rifle...