Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats D'Arcy Echols Legend stock news item.

Preferences in stocks certainly are subjective. My above post is also subjective.

Oprah...........................I am getting sick!

Lefty

BigStick, hence why Chuck is a wannabee rather than a shooter/hunter. He lives in God's country and has very few "unguided" trophies to his name. Perhaps he is the one that actually needs to get out and shoot some Echols rifles (or any rifles) rather than just read about them. Oh well, somebody has to read the gun rags <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Flinch

I've no trophies, other than Whitetail, neither guided or unguided. Does that mean I dont know a stock, or that I can't hold my own in shooting. Wanna bet <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />......

Roads

Actually, Chuck has shot D'Arcy's rifles and even knows him, personally. I am familiar with his Albertan neck of the woods and, while it ain't B.C., it runs a close second to Alaska and B.C. which are pretty much God's country, anyway. Chuck HAS shot some pretty impressive heads and is an experienced hunter, especially considering he is not yet thirty. You might want to try backpacking into the Bighorn country that he does, I have lived and worked in the alpine there and it can stretch your legs, believe me.

I notice that Chuck is getting a tad ornery, here and on AR, I figure that it is due to being in the office too much, but, even with this, he is not a "wannabee".

Where in hell is AD when you need him? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />

Oh I'm sure,it's just a matter of time.

Flinch can take him.................

Thanks Kutenay, I appreciate it, I really do and probably don't deserve it. I apologize if I have come across this way.

I do have some trigger time behind these stocks, including some bigger calibers, the 416 Rem being one of them. As John has said, they handle recoil extremely well and allow the rifle to be brought to use with great efficiency. They are a well designed stock built by an experienced hunter for hunters.

Of course there is not a one size fits all solution to anything including stock design and this option will have obvious limitations. D'Arcy does build stocks to fit and as an example, I looked at a Hagn single shot in progress being built for a gentleman that was over seven feet tall. The stock included an enormous palm swell to accomodate this man's obviously abnormally large hands. Nothing will beat complete customization.

Feeling as though I need to defend myself I will. I do have some big game experience and have shot a few animals. Guided or unguided means little to me under that pretense alone, and I have been on a single "guided" hunt. The guide on this hunt was a personal friend whom I'd guided with all fall prior to the hunt. We hunted togethor, I toook an Elk and if that makes me a wannabe so be it. Not all guided hunters are the same, ask any guide.

I find it odd that those on this thread who have actually shot rifles wearing this particular stock have great praise for it. Ralphie, no doubt, having the most experience here.

Chuck

What I am most concerned about with respect to this stock design is the pistol grip and how it feels; I had two Micky G&H stocks on a pair of custom P-64 .338s and didn't like that grip for that type of cartridge. I put one on my P-64 "Westerner" in .264 and it's fine on that rifle, go figure.

I prefer a somewhat open, quite slender grip on rifles of heavy recoil, my Dakota stock and the Clifton Arms copy thereof are about my favourites for .338s, .375s and so forth. Can anyone compare the stock from D'Arcy with either of these; this would greatly assist me in respect of buying the four I could restock my P-64 .338s with. given the cost of these delivered to Canada, I want to be sure that it is the right way to go. I also find the Brown Precision grip to be quite comfy, but, prefer a bit more beef in a .338 stock.

Comments, please?

I still want one!! I love the design, and, thought I was destined for the full bore Legend rifle until I just heard D'Arcy has raised the price to over $8,000.00!! Serious bummer as I truly wanted one!!

Huntr

Kutenay, I will be ordering a LH one probably within the next three months. I'll send it to you if you like. I know that you can't get a complete feel for it this way, but it will give you a pretty good indication of what you're up against.

Chuck

Kutenay--

If it helps, the grip on the Echols stock on my .416 Remington Magnum measures 4" from the center of the trigger to the lower edge of the grip, and doesn't start to curve downward until about 1.5" behind the trigger guard. The most slender part of the grip measures 5" around.

I just did a quick check of about 10 other stocks, and found that the 4" length and 1.5" "straight area" behind the trigger guard are exceptionally long. Most stocks measure about 3.5" and 1" in those areas. In fact, the only rifle with a longer trigger-to-point-of-grip in the rifles measured was a CZ 550 9.3x62, at 4-3/8".

The 5" grip circumference is about average. A couple of Banser syn-stocks measured 4-5/8" (Rem. 700) and 4-7/8"
(tang-safety Ruger 77), and were longer than average at
3-3/4" from mid-trigger to bottom of grip.

But most of the others measured right around 5". I do own one FN Mauser with a custom walnut stock measuring only 4-1/2" around the grip, but that is exceptional. Some straight-grip SxS shotguns will measure 4-1/4' or even (rarely) 4", but rifle grips are usually a little bigger around.

I hope this helps to get a "grip" on the situation.

MD

kutenay,

The Echols Legend stock is not quite as open as most Dakotas, at least that is the way it feels to me. Additionaly it is not as thin in the wrist as the McMill G&H and the nose of the comb sets further back thus not cramping the heel of the thumb. I have the stocks on 300Win. and 375H&H with a new lightweight coming for a 338Win. all I can say is that for me it is the best stock pattern period. There is no lack of control for the grip hand. I have tryed most of McMill's Mdl. 70 patterns including the G&H, a Brown and a High Tech, I like the Legend pattern hands down. The worst thing about this stock is it is habit forming.

Many Thanks

HBH

MD
The grip circumferences you list are on the plump side for most custom walnut stocks... I believe Jack O'Connor called out 4 1/4" as proper for his largish hands...
art

Sitka--

Yeah, 5" is on the plump side for custom rifles--but not for factory rifles, or most synthetic stocks.

I've read almost all of O'Connor and can't remember the 4-1/4" statement. That is very thin for a rifle, and about average for English SxS shotguns with straight grips. A pre-war German custom rifle in my collection, with one of the slimmest walnut stocks I've ever seen, is 4-5/8" around the wrist.

MD

Thanks to all of you guys for your time and trouble, I appreciate the assistance and am leaning toward buying four of D'Arcy's stocks for my P-64 .338s and maybe re-working one for my Dakota 76. Since I am not wealthy, this represents an important investment to me and your kind assistance is a tremendous help. Chuck, I will be pleased to pay the shipping from your place to mine and back to check that stock out; the first article I read on this was by Wayne Van Zwoll, he is one big guy with huge hands and since he mentioned the size of the grip as being good for him, I was concerned as I am built about like JB, NOT ...taller then they have to be....

I also read J'OC as a lad and I seem to remember his comment concerning grip sizes refered to his Arizaga sxs 28 bore. I had a 20 much the same as his at that time and currently own a Browning BSS_Sidelock in 20 and used to have a sxs by the great English firm of William Powell & Son.; all of thesegrips were much smaller than any of my rifles, including my Brno 21H or my Mannlicher-Schoenauer. So, I suspect that this was what J'OC was referring to.

Chuck, 604-437-5860, early evenings during the week is best, cheers, bud. D.

Kutenay, if you haven't tried a Rimrock I'd reccomend it! It's my favorite synthetic/M70 stock...

Thanks, Brad, I have one Pacific Research-Rimrock stock on a pristine P-64 FWT, in '06 that I found in an old shop on Vancouver Island circa '91, for a song. I have used it to hunt with since I had it done circa '93 and it is a nice stock, but, the Biesen-Cloward comb nose doesn't suit me; on this '06, it is not important as it is one of the rifles I have because I "need" it.......not actually !!!

I find that Brown and Bansner stocks work for me in my lighter rifles from .243 to '.06, except I have the G&H on my .264 and a Micky Mod. 70 FWT being fitted to my P-64 FWT. .243. I really like a stock that handles like an upland gun and find that my Brno 21H roundbolt original, lowcomb stock, with the smallring action and 23.5" bbl. is the fastest rifle on target that I have, my Dakota is next.

I am having an older Clifton Arms stock fitted to my current and last P-64 in .375, I packed this stock on another P-64 ,375 for many moons working solo in really remote parts of B.C. and Alberta and it handles very quickly when that sudden rustling in the bush just ahead of you suddenly grows fur, that is really important to me!

Kutenay,

While only trying it out will tell for sure, I wouldn't worry about not being built like Van Zwoll to like the Legend Stock. I'm about 5'9'' and 175 lbs, that's pretty far from Van Zwoll's build. I've shot these rifles in the .300s, .338, .340, .375, and .416. Standard sporters, dangerous game, and long range. They are fantastic, and in my very biased opinion (subjective) nothing is even close. The G&H feels like a 2x4 in comparison. By all means take Chuck up on his offer to let you try his out, but only if you are ready to order some from D'Arcy.

Well, I am one who favours biased opinions when the opinionated person actually knows what the h__ he is talking about, as you clearly do. Thanks for the advice and I am pretty certain that I will get a number of these stocks, but, since the front axle on my vehicle went today, it ain't gonna happen real soon!

This is one advantage to being a "rifle loonie", I always have "almost" enough rifles to fall back on!