Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Bell and Carlson Medalist on Winchester 70 classic ?

I have a winchester 70 classic stainless .270 and am looking to replace the factory plastic with a higher quality synthetic stock. I came across stocky's website and they have the B&C Medalist available for a little over $200. Is this a decent stock? My classic has 2 piece bottom metal and the website says i will need to swap to one piece to make it work. What is the least expensive way to swap to one piece bottom metal?

Get an adapter for about $10 to $15. I've seen them on Gunbroker but I'm sure a lot of the online shooting stores have them as well.

i think Stocky's has that adaptor as well.

Save up your money and get a quality stock like Mcmillan or MPI. There is no such thing as a drop in stock.

I have purchased several Bell and Carlson stocks and none have impressed me

I like B&C stocks. People rave over the Remington Ti stock (made by B&C) but have no respect for regular B&C stocks. I have one that has the adjustable pressure point in the forend.

Here is how the Stocky's guy did it:

Stocky's Two- to One-Piece Conversion

The factory stocks B and C make for Weatherby, Winchester and Remington seem to fit better than thier aftermarket jobs
JMHO

My Weatherby MK V SBGM has the BC Medalist on it and I think it is a great stock.

i have had 2 mcmillans and 2 B&C's. for me the mcmillan wasn't superior enough to warrant twice the money on a hunting rifle. i am worried about being able to drop in without modification.

I've had experiences with several of the B&C stocks. I'm not at all impressed. Getting one that actually fits is hit or miss. Based on my experiences the stock on your rifle is every bit as good as the B&C.

I cut one apart on a bandsaw a few months ago to see how they are made. Instead of using sheets of fiberglass cloth laminated together like the better stocks, B&C uses chopped up fiberglass (much like attic insulation) that is simply mixed in with the plastic before being poured into a mold. While they look good enough on the outside they are full of air pockets on the inside to reduce weight, and weaken the stock. It literally looks like a sponge on the inside.

The better stocks have the action area and barrel channel machined for a good fit. B&C pours theirs into a mold and hopes they fit properly. Two out of the three I've worked with did not.

I worked with one on a 700 SA a few years back. It was a pretty well made stock albeit a little heavy since it had a pretty much full length bedding block. I skim bedded the action since the fit was a little loose but the gun shot fine with it. The only complaint would be the weight. I have bought mcmillans since then.

Yeah...it's a decent stock.

You can also bed the Medalist to your bottom metal...that is a better solution if you have the skill to do it.

Generally speaking, the Medalist is as good as you are going to get from B&C as to a drop in fit. The aluminum chassis helps a lot. I usually bed everything, but the Medalist can often pass as is...unlike the Carbelite that usually needs to be bedded. That's not an issue for me as I'm always tweaking things anyway.

With a McMillan, you will get a precise fit to your rifle. It's not a McMillan, but the Medalist is B&C's best effort.

TC

If you would have sawn a medalist in half you would have seen a aluminum.

Did see aluminum and cut around it.

The best way to describe the difference is to compare the better stocks to a sheet of plywood and the B&C to a sheet of particle board.

The better stocks laminate fiberglass cloth sheets with epoxy. B&C uses chopped fiberglass mixed with plastic.

While both building materials use wood as the raw material, there is a huge difference in how they are put together.

B&C uses fiberglass in their stocks, but there is a huge difference in how they are put together compared to the better stocks.

They are not an improvement over most of the factory plastic stocks, even though they may appear to be nicer finished on the outside.

I am pretty sure that the gel coat is first sprayed into a mold , followed up with roving and then shot with a chopper gun that is using chopped fiberglass roving(that is what a chopper gun uses) and then the aluminum chassis is put in place. Probably 80% or more of watercraft are built this way and they are a lot more demanding then a rifle stock. Just saying

Why not post the pictures?

Tom

Bell and Carlson stocks are constructed using a "hand lay-up" process, using a variety of "composite" materials. These composites, including fiberglass, aramid fibers, graphite, epoxy gel coats and laminating resins; and polyurethane reinforcement with milled fiberglass, provide a warm and solid feel rather than the hollow, toy like impression one gets from injection molded stocks.

All Bell & Carlson stocks, unless indicated otherwise, are designed to permit the customer to simply remove the barreled action from the original stock and bolt it into the Bell & Carlson stock. However, because of variations in manufacturers' original equipment or variations in the model (barrrel contour, etc.), it may be necessary to remove minimal material from the magazine and/or barrel channel area. Modifications typically can be accomplished with standard woodworking tools such as "Dremel" tools, wooden dowel wrapped with sandpaper, etc. However an actual "barrel channel tool" will be handy if you have a lot of material to remove in the barrel channel area. It is not necessary to "glass bed" our stocks but obviously for an absolute, positive fit, this may be preferred.

This was taken from their website to post here.

Rusty,

You will have to buy a one piece bottom metal set up or call Brad at Hunters outlet (218-681-3030) As I know they have the Delrin spacers for the win 70 long action. I just bought one 2 weeks ago. if you use the spacer, it works with the factory 2 piece metal. Then you can save you coins like me and get a good one piece when you are ready.

I really like those B&C stocks and with a little bedding job, you will be good to go.

CLB

that's the info i needed, CLB, thanks

I bought a medalist for a model 70 WSSM and it bolted right in. No problems.