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).