Just opened the box on my first new to me, ordered to my specs McMillan. Supposed to be 50/50 orange and black; after seeing Seal's rifle I had to have one for my Redneck built 264 Win Mag.

This is not a McMillan bash and I debated even starting this thread, but I have a few questions for the guys that have more experience with these than I.

When these are pulled from the mold....what kind of finish work is done to the exterior of the stock. Should I be seeing light sanding marks throughout the stock??? Are they more visible because the stock is more black than anything?

There are some gray areas behind the pistol grip where you can see through the molded in colors???

I quess there is no quarantee on what the finished look is going to be like when the mold is poured with the color percentages? This is supposed to be a 50/50 mix, one side looks close. The bolt side....not so hot. Its almost completely black from the bolt inlet forward.

I'm waiting on a return call from Rick, just thought I may get some answers from some experienced guys here on the 'fire. (I'll weed through the smartarse, bashing comments and respond accordingly.) Im pretty disappointed in this stock, but want to hear how other members have had thier orders handled.

tag

My first McMillan came to me all scratched up, and with a void in the forearm down to foam. I sent it back, they fixed the forearm, and must have buffed the stock somehow, because it looked like a new stock.

I think they can buff out the finish, but bet you are stuck with the colors. It can always be painted...

Am I "it" now??????

Sorry that you're not pleased with the stock. Just seems like one of the hazards of going with a McSwirly. Only real remedy would be another lengthy wait for another attempt. To me, it's akin to commissioning a piece of abstract art and paying for it before you can see it.

I'd say the sanding marks, fiberglass show-through, and lack of complete color distribution are fairly typical. I've seen all of the same on several of my swirls. The sanding marks do show up more on the dark tones. Larger patches of solid color here and there do happen and both sides don't always match, nor does the front half always look just the same as the back half. Then again, I've had some that were "swirled" quite thouroughly. You never really know how it will turn out, but if you don't like it, there is always paint. McMillan even says so on their website.

Some photos would help your thread also.

Josh, I am no authority, but sounds pretty normal. They can not control the mix as it is laid in by hand which makes each stock a one of a kind. Sometimes you can see through the gel and see the fiberglass matt. You can slick up the finish if you so desire, but a little matte from the sanding is usually not a bad thing. I am sure others will chime in. Rest assurd however, the stock will be Marine tough.

McSwirlies look like dogcrap anyway, they did you a favor! haha.

I would have them paint it in one of the new granite finishes.

I have never had a dead animal bitch about one of them..Yeah, some come out better than others..

But don't forget the price nor the waiting after the stock was ordered. Thread ain't about dead animals.

I understand fully. I have had my disappointments also. Should not have got off tract.

Josh,
The sanding marks and minor imperfections are quite typical. And, generally, the first gel coat for someone, be it Swirl or Camo, leaves them with that reaction.

Can't help you on the colors etc. That's up to the person doing the color work and their interpretation of the mixes.

Sanding marks, inconsistent colors, & graphite cloth showing through the gel-coat is what makes them beautiful - gives each one character!!

As long as there are no voids, chips, or gouges - rock on!!

I understand the color distribution issues...and can "live" with that I suppose. Its not what I was looking for. It is no means consistent throughout, which I understand from thier website to be part of the molding process.

Pertaining to the sanding marks. Not only can you see them in the finish, which may be "normal", should they be deep enough around edges of the cheekpiece, forearm tip, and othe edges to SEE GRAY STRIPES from the fiberglass underneath?

The stock you described is fairly typical, I think Mcmillan describes the gel coat as a "utility grade" finish.

If you are unhappy, Rick and Mcmillan will make it right. Both are great to do business with.

Rick B. from the Campfire & Ryan M. from McMillan will hook you up - great customer service from both!!

As the required smartarse, bashing comment..... You MUST post pictures!

I had much the same issues with my McSwirly.

I love the stock but if I had known about the sanding marks I would've saved a few ounces and gotten a painted stock instead.

I will say that Ryan at McM and Rick Bin were totally responsive to my concerns and generously offered to paint the stock at no charge to me.

I'll be getting more but they will be EDGE models from now on.

About right.. I've had some in with quite noticeable sanding marks etc.. As far as color - they really are a 'one-of-a-kind' thing...

Like another said, as long as there's no voids or glaring imperfections, you should be good to go..

Sounds just like all the ones I have gotten. I seem to have better luck with the camo's than the swirlies. The sanding marks can probably be buffed out ...post up some pics...post it in the classifieds and see if you can trade for some thing you like better.
Oh for got to add that if you will perform the "Big Stick" barrel break in procedure then you want notice the sanding marks nearly as much.

NO DOUBT....I think McMillan puts out a great product and stands behind it. I have spoken with Rick and explained to him my concerns, which he addressed. Some water, steel wool, and elbow grease has eased my dislike of the 3 day old glazed doughnut look from the factory. It has removed alot of the sanding marks, some which I thought were into the fiberglass itself. I think it'll take a few more passed to get it where I want it. I knew the color mixes where a "crap shoot" from the get go....just was hoping for something more consistent.

Josh,

Does that shine it or polish it to some degree? I've never heard of that before.

I might get drunk and do that some time. Make my 7-08 even more gorgeous. If that's even possible...


Travis

Yeah Travis....it has taken alot of the hazy, dull look off the finish and shined it up some. Rick said to take it easy and go a little at a time. Im really not after a glossy, shiny finish..but its improving on each pass. Most importantly..its removing the majorty of the sanding marks which were real pronounced on the black.

You know where "MIGHTS" grow......Good excuse for some indulgement???

A little wet-sanding with 0000 steel wool will usually remove sanding marks and shine up the stock quite satisfactorily if the matte look is not your thing. You can get them pretty shiny if you keep at it too. Only caveat is to not remove too much material so you don't start to see the fiberglass cloth underneath, which is why I opt for 0000 steel wool.

Better slow and easy than fast and overly aggressive.

Thanks again Rick...its looking a TON better

I'm actually quite partial to the imperfections. The custom colors denote individuality and that you like things "just so", yet the utility grade finish says you're too cool to care.

can you post a picture?

Ya'll pay 500 bones for a McM and accept sanding marks and inconsistent color as "quality" only to save a few ounces of weight.

Check out the B&C Medalist, standard equipment on the Winnie Extreme Weather, nice thick grip, consistent finish and stiff enough to use for a boat paddle or club if necessary

I gotta admit, the Medalist is a great stock but I can't use it to flag down a search and rescue plane, that *win* goes to the McSwirly.

+1000

The thick grip sucks. Custom LOP costs extra. Very few action options. Most are pretty heavy. Paint scratches fairly easily.

The B&C stocks aren't bad, but they really aren't comparable to a Mcmillan.

I'm gonna polish it this weekend!

(Talking about the stock)

Thanks Josh and Rick.


Travis

I've got one that the previous owner wet sanded. It removed practicall all scratch marks and made a very noticeable difference when compared to my "factory fresh" stocks.

I'll stick to how the grip of the MR or KS pattern fit compared to the stock on my EX Weather. No comparision IMO.

Shoulda take a few before and after pictures. Don't know if you would have been able to tell the differences after the wet sanding (even w/ some adult beverages, Travis ).

I dig this side



This side, not SO much. Goes to moslty all black from middle of the action inlet forward.

Sounds normal for a gelcoat finish. They are a utility-grade finish.

You can wet sand a buff it to a miiror if you want.

I really like it Josh....almost reminds me of fancy walnut....I think you did good....

Josh,

I like that one a whole bunch!

Now quit your whining.

Everything josh revealed is completely normal for a McSwirly. If you want it shiny, get some sandpaper and steel wool and get after it. I would highly recommend leaving it as is.

Nice pics. I could like that one.

That stock is bitchin'!

All it needs is blood.


Travis

.....hhhiiiccuuuppp....YES..hicup....SIR.....SUM......hiiicccuppp..BEESSHHH TRAVIS and....hiiicccuup.. HIS....hicup...DAMN IDEAS...hiiccuupp....PEER PRESSURE..hiiicccuupp....

I WAS JUST WORRIED THAT I COULDN'T COME BACK FROM "ALL THAT BLACK!" shhhhh...don't tell nobody

I like it just like it is...great looking swirly pattern.

I agree josh, doesn't look even close to 50/50 . But...it's really a crap shoot if you'll get the percentages you picture in your mind...or order.

superseal's stock is one in a million. It turned out georgeous. We've all lusted over those colors for years. Heck, a few guys (yourself included) have even tried to duplicate it. But, it's never been done.

Some guys have suggested that you send a pic in with your order, if you're trying to duplicate another stock. I'm gonna do that with my next one. I think that stock will grow on ya.

Josh,

Did you order it black/orange or orange/black? I read here once that the first color listed in a 50/50 order will be the "primary" color.

Looks awesome regardless.


Travis

Now you want me to read after you done gave me the idea of gettin all hoooched up????? Its my off day anyhow!! Ordered it with black first in the order.

Thanks...the color pattern was really the least of my worries. The gray glazie look was not so bitchin..

I'll just keep my steel wool and water handy for my KS McWoody thats on order...I just got the "McMillan virginity" knocked outta me today...tas all

Josh, looks good.. I know what your saying on the colors, but it still looks good..

That is planning that everyone can appreciate.

It'll make your caliber bigger....

the McM cost about twice as much, but then again it is twice the stock the Win Medalist is. i do like the B&C Remington Ti stocks though. just not quite as much as the McMillans.

That looks purty good to me.

You're gonna have to get fuggin' HAMMERED if you plan on polishing your Woody with steel wool...


Travis

I have a Medalist on a .338 Win Mag. The grip shape buts the bolt right on my trigger finger. The recoil puts a big knot on my finger and peels a layer of hide off after about 15 shots. Anybody else have this happen? I have never had a Model 700 do that to me before, so I like to think it is the shape and style of the pistol grip portion of the stock.

mine is on a M70 in .358 WSM. it doesn't bonk my trigger finger, but i have big paws and wrap my pinky around the bottom of the grip, which probably pulls my hand away from the bolt handle.

josh, i think that stock is a beaut. seriously, i'd be happy as a clam with it.

Ya'll missed my point, swirley blinded by the shimmering McShurley colors. For the price paid, there should be no wet sanding or polishing required and the base material, resin or cloth, should not show through the color.

I can see it now, your eyes glaze over with the first glimpse of the long awaited stock, and, after paying a [bleep] of money the defects or poor workmanship are deemed acceptable and you call it a diamond.

If you paid 500.00 for a AAA Walnut stock, would you accept some scratches or sand them down and re-finish it?

Would you accept overruns in the checkering?

McM clearly states on their website that a swirly finish is a utility grade finish and says there will be imperfections.

Their painted stocks are both lighter and more finely finished than a swirly.

I'll take a perfectly fitting stock, precisely inletted with finish imperfections over a club with an aluminum crutch like the B&C every day all day.

If you paid $500 for a wood stock I can assure you it wouldn't be close to AAA grade. Much closer to utility grade, if that.

RDW, have you owned or even held a McMillan stock?

I like that as well. You'll do well with it.

I polished one, didn't like it, and roughed it right back up with sandpaper.

+1.

Most are bedding their rifles so precise inletting is not needed. The difference between a 13" and 13.5" LOP is negated after putting on hunting clothing that adds a few inches of padding.

If ya'll pay 500.00 bones for a stock that is likely to have a sub-standard finish, this is really about weight.

I have asked before but I will ask again, if McMillan cut the weight of the stock in half, with equal strength, would you pay a grand?



You did not answer the question



toad, no, I will not pay 500.00 bones for a stock that will simply make me feel warm and fuzzy after buying it. If the stock was guaranteed to provide a 1/2 MOA reduction in groups out to 500 yards I might listen.

Yes, I have held one or two that a buddy owns, and he has not convinced me either and he is pretty damn smart with guns and such. But I told him the other day I want to spend some more time looking them over. In fact, I want to take some measurements and overlay them in cadd for comparison to the Medalist.

OK if I was getting a fully finished AAA grade wood stock for $500 I'd jump for joy and break out the sandpaper.

The blank alone would be worth more than that.

Not to mention the hours and hours of work the stock maker put into it.

With a McM I could have precisely the LOP I wanted based on the clothes I will wear while using it. Not so with B&C.

The McM inletting is so precise many people do no bedding at all and McM says that themselves.

I ask you, where would I get a stock inletted for a LH Savage with a nutless PN #2 with a .300" recoil lug that fits the barreled action perfectly with even gaps everywhere?

I ain't seein a dang thing that that I don't like! Very nice josh. A SS metal would look Sweeeet!

When I ordered my game scout, Rick told me to attach a link to a picture of what i wanted to the order form. Guess that's about the best you can do.

If you order a swirly your primary concern is not weight as this is the heaviest finish McM provides.

i like B&C for two things. an economy build and something that would kick the recoil lug out of a glass stock.

this was an economy build, complete with 'nice thick grip'


and one of my .375 Ultra mags. the other is also in a B&C AK Ti. the Rem version has better ergos.


but i have my 7th McMillan on order. they are that buch better

All this talk kinda makes me fonder of my painted McMillan Edge stocks.....

That's what I'll be getting from now on.

Like others have said I like the way it turned out

They're definitely all different.

Shooting that 10.5" LOP stock in the middle of summer is going to have some people ROFLAO if you are shootin' in a t-shirt or in your hunting clothes.



That is some seriously precise manufacturing, I guess it's to much to expect the workmanship to carry over to the final fit an finish



No counterpoint...you are correct with a full on custom!

On the flip side, how many drop a factory 70 or 700 in a McM and call it a diamond?

toad, how much would the 375 weigh in a McM?

i'm trying the unpainted edge on this next one

No argument on your last point.

Although I'm more than a bit reluctant to call anything on a Savage a full on custom!

I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to find a B&C with a 14" LOP.

I like my McSwirleys, but I also like the two Edge stocks I have. When I get the rest of my Rugers straightened out, I'll likely order a few more Edge stocks. But I'm not going to stop ordering swirleys...

an Edge would knock ~6 oz. off

here is what McMillan will do:


both .264s. top one was ordered inlet for Lilja # 5 barrel, LA 700, Badger bottom metal and flush cup sling swivels on both sides and the bottom along with a stud for bipod.

bottom one ordered for Brux #2, and ADL style bottom metal. both fit like a glove with no work.

Snap-On

of course what you do have and use trumps what you don't have and haven't used, but you should really think about why those that have and use both prefer McMillan.

I'll take it���..

That stock will look damn fine with stainless or black metal in it.

BLACK ACTION AND STAINLESS BBL WILL BE HOT ASS

Oh���. Forgot to add blue tape. That bitch will pop��I love it

The blued action has a fluted SS Pac-Nor....I plan to Duracoat or Ceracoat it a matte black.

The stock looks like chit!.....Tell ya what,I'll give you $50.00 bucks for it, even send you a pre-paid UPS label.

I'll go $62.50 shipped TMD

Hmmmmmm....So I guess that one time I bought a box of tampons for my wife makes me an expert on tampons.

If you claim to be an expert on tampons, by all means enjoy the fame

No.

Just coat the action.

I like it... A very different look - and very attractive...

Kudos..

Let me know who else custom inlets a very stiff and relatively light stock in any color you want, for almost any action you want, for any custom barrel contour you want, and for any bottom metal you want.........for LESS than $5 hundo (and that's with aluminum pillars installed). Maybe Manners, but I believe they're new to the molded-in colors game). It's a bargain, and to have a cheaper stock fitted to all of the above and pillars installed by a gunsmith would be equivalent in price and you'd still have an inferior product. Not sure why you're bashing a product that has ruled the market for many years and there's a reason why they have. My guess is that you hate Michael Jordan as well just because he was one of the best and didn't play for cheap.

Dude, there is no bashing at all, you took the conversation dow a step with the tampon reference. However I am not convinced *yet* the light weight, slim grip and precise inletting is worth the cost to slap a McM on an off-the-shelf rifle.

Custom is totally different and I would pay plenty for a Walnut stock to fit a custom barrel and action.

Gents, we can all agree to disagree. Let's not have this one turn into a hunters campfire or optics forum.

I did get drunk but I did not steel wool my stock. I'll try again tonight.


Travis

You need to try one, Dave.......before you say they aren't worth what they cost. We've seen here with sales on the classifieds that you can get most of your money back out of it if you don't like it. And not seeing many for sale on the second-hand market means something to me as well. That's all I'm saying. Not trying to get personal nor nasty with you.

Sorry the mention of p-plugs upset you or anybody else. I'll use another example next time.

Ah, the downfall of many intentions, the drink. Been there myself.

I have an "off the shelf" short action 700 in an HS sporter stock, and another in a McMillan Classic. Compared to the McM, the HS is a club.

I cannot go back to an H-S or B&C after handling McMillans that copy the Remington and Sako factory patterns. The grips are waaaay too fat....

I have mostly HS stocks, only a couple BCs, quite a few wood, and only one McMillan. I like my HSs and BCs better than the McMillan, but only having one McMillan is hardly enough to form a valid opinion. The HSs fit me perfectly and I love the BC TI stock fit as well. It's hard to get away from a product when you know they work, but I'll probably try a few more McMillan patterns before all said and done.

There seems to be a cult here when it comes to McMillan stocks, but to be honest I can't really see where they are better than HS and BC. The flex is the same on mine as the others mentioned and when any of them are properly bedded, they flat shoot. Not bashing any stocks, but many that get bashed here are not as bad as they are claimed to be IME.

Have a good one,

loder

I like it.
It doesn't look like a fifty-fifty to me, though... more like an eighty-twenty?
BBerg

It's mainly an ergonomics thing for me. Their stocks are too chunky for my tastes, plus you are pretty much stuck with one fill option, which may or may not balance your rifle. I would not say HS or B&C are junk, as they can be solid platforms, but if you blindfolded me and asked me to handle some rifles, odds are good that those stocks would not rank highly on my "feel-o-meter". For a bit more money over a new H-S, I can pick a McMillan pattern that fits me best, specify my own LOP and recoil pad type, choose from a lot of colors and finishes, place the swivel studs at my whim, have the barrel channel inletted perfectly for my custom barrel, and choose a fill weight that will best balance my rifle and/or meet my weight goals. In all fairness, that's pretty tough to top.

I own McMillan, HS and a BC Medalist. Have also owned a Ti stock too. I liked them all. I would probably stick with the Medalists if they offered them for Rugers. The HS stock is thicker, but it doesn't bother me since I have large hands.

My main draw to Mcmillan is that they offer them for so many non-Remingtons.

I agree JP and DC, they are kinda like hitting an ice cream shop.

Josh,
That f'n stock is smoking bad, straight out of Haides - am not even a fan of swirly's so much, but that's a nice stock. Hope you get it refined to your liking. It really does look excellent.

Travis,
I have always admired your Steelhead inspired yellow wonder. I can't think of a better complement to that stock that this color combination!

Thanks GB.

She just got a glass upgrade for this season. She became my favorite slut pretty quick.


Travis

Did you polish it today, Travis??

Yes sir! Every morning and sometimes on lunch. Thanks for asking.


Travis