New Stock Design from Baney and Baer
Thanks to sponsors Bruce Baer, Bartlein Barrels and smiths Mark King and Alex Sitman, we are developing a new long-range project gun with two barrels, one chambered in 6mm-6.5×47 and the other in 6.5×47 Lapua. For this project, Jason wanted a hybrid stock that combined features of the popular MBR Tooley-style stock, with an I-beam style fore-end, plus something new and different in the rear.
The new stock, crafted by Bruce Baer, features an I-beam style fore-end with long, straight flats similar to a McMillan Edge™ short-range BR stock. The underside of the fore-end is relieved to allow smoother tracking over a front sand bag. We’ve noticed a trend to wider flats in the back, so we specified a 1.25″ rear flat. We didn’t want to go ultra-wide (2.0″ +) to keep weight manageable and so that a conventional blank (1.5″ wide at comb) could be used. We were also concerned about friction and bag-handling if the flat was too wide. To lessen drag and improve tracking, Jason told Bruce to cut a relieved area, or “channel” in the underside of the toe. The idea here was to reduce friction and to provide improved contact with the ears of the rear bag. With a very wide flat, there is a tendency to ride on the stitching between the ears. With this design, we hope, the left and right edges of the rear flats will engage the ears.
