I repair, rebuild, and modify composite stocks and I'm not disagreeing with OregonMuley, just that my experiences have been different. When someone brings me a stock that they want to use for shorter barrel and/or lighter-weight, it usually involves shortening the forend & installing a new front slingswivel stud anchor, converting/installing a front ADL trigger guard (middle) screw anchor, and a repaint - about half of these also involves fitting and bedding the customer's rifle. However, probably two out of three want the narrow mountain-barrel channel enlarged which means also having to rebuild the barrel channel's top rails - this is because the outside edge of the top rail tapers in somewhat to match the edge of the barrelchannel. In either situation if the customer is shooting a thumper or magnum cartridge, instead of the normal ADL front screw conversion, I install a new front one-piece pillar from which is run an 1/8-in thick x 1-in wide aluminum bar back to the ADL trigger guard. I know this may sound involved but it's not rocket science, just common-sense and 'bondo' work. I'm not a high production shop, just a one-man operation but it does make it easier for me to keep detailed records of what I do. I'm relating all this not to impress with "credentials" but to show that I've had to learn the hard way about what does and does not work. Most of my clients are either senior shooters or beginners - young and/or smaller - who require stock modifications for fit and comfort - but I also for those who have disabilities that require stock changes.
Since I started keeping formal records beginning in March 2017, I've done (129) various stocks - Model 70's, Mausers, but mostly 700's of which (14) were original Rem TI stocks including the two I'm currently working on. On almost all the front mounting system had an issue. As weight-saving measure, instead of a longitudinal aluminum chassis, the TI employs two separate, independent front & rear pillars. The front pillar is a square ALUMINUM block with a flat bottom designed to fit flush and on top of a round STEEL knurled grommet on the bottom. On all the OEM TIs that I've seen, the grommet appears to have been pressed in - unevenly - rather than fitted and permanently seated with structural glass/epoxy resin. As such what frequently results are issues where the front 'guard' screw does not have a straight, concentric channel from the bottom of the stock through the two sections into the intended hole in the front receiver ring. Invariably, there's binding because the gromment is not seated in true alignment with the pillar block. To this day, I wonder why Remington persisted with this asinine two-piece front pillar system - probably the same engineering genius designed the 8-36 middle screw setup in the ADL. The least invasive fix is to heat the grommet with soldering iron just enough to soften the immediate, surrounding material and ease it out of the stock. Then using a drill press, re-drill the screw hole large enough to accomodate a new pillar; if no more 1/2" the old aluminum recoil block on top remains in the stock - I've done two this way using the 1/2" OD - 1/4" ID aluminum tubing that I make most of my pillars from. Epoxy in place and good to go. However, now if I'm refitting/rebedding the action, I justr replace the upper and lower with the new pillar which is a little more involved but easy enough when done with the re-bedding.
Anyway I'm not trying to disuade you from getting a TI stock, just share some additional information you may want to be aware of before you do and not have to spend $ with someone like me that you could put to better use. As I explained above, the main concern is the barrel contour. So unless you plan to stay with the original Rem mountain barrel contour, I would advise you to find one with the magnum barrel channel. If you want to drop a standard sporter or larger barrel in the original TI stock, by the time the barrel channel has been enlarged (widened) to make room for the larger barrel, there are no flat top rails left on either side . . . what you end up with looks more like parallel knife blades. As it relates to the barrel channel, Remington's magnum barrel starts out only 50-60 thousandths larger diameter than its standard sporter (only 25-30 thousandths more each side) and tapers to the same diameter as the standard sporter at around 10-inches. In other words a Rem standard sporter will look and function fine in magnum contour channel. Bell & Carlson's 700-TI with the magnum barrel channel is Model# 2952.
For those of you who're still awake or give a s__t, I hope this is of some help. Yes, I'm 72 and "becoming my parents".
PS. I weigh all stocks before and after I do my thing. Every unmolested TI stock that I've worked on weighed 28-29 ounces.
