I used a Remington 700 ADL stock (birch, I think) as the basis for a mannlicher pattern stock for my Ruger 77/357. Extended the forend by laminating some poplar I had handy (yeah, not the ultimate stock wood
) and attaching it as you would with a forend cap: dowels (use the grooved ones!) and epoxy. Epoxied in multiple layers of thin plywood to support the recoil lug and bedded the barrelled action with AcraGel. Built up the comb and grip to fit me with a mixture of sawdust and wood glue which becomes a sort of home-grown particle board. As soon as I get the walnut stock blank laminated (going to try that thin center lamination technique that Kilamanjaro Rifles pioneered), off they go to get the blank copied from the pattern. Hardly any money in it (a campfire member graciously gave me the stock for the price of postage), but lots of hours. If you were to match the forend wood to the stock wood, you might only have a seam where it's glued together that could be covered with a barrel band, if that matters.
