Installed my first KMW Loggerhead

[Memberberries]

Last year I got a Remington 700 5r Gen 2 and immediately took it out of the HS precision stock and moved it to a KRG bravo chassis. This opened up the HS for my 223 700 adl tactical that really needed out of the Tupperware. I fit a magpul aics bottom metal(plastic) and just couldn't ever get my head high enough. In comes the loggerhead, pics before, a few in the middle, and a couple at the end. This was my first time hacking up a stock and I couldn't find much for installs online so here's my input for what it's worth.

I layed out what I thought would be a good size and shape cheek rest and made sure that it was long enough to put me in the right spot on the scope. After cutting with a coping saw by hand I shaped the piece I cut out and fit the upper piece of the loggerhead hardware then epoxied the whole thing together. Release compound and clay on the hardware and microballoons to thicken the epoxy.

The stock is hollow and I used some spray foam insulation to fill the large voids without much weight. This really helped me save on epoxy also. I then cut the stock out enough for the main piece of the bracket and epoxied it in 2 steps. First to hold the bracket in place and second to fill all the gaps and cracks to match up with the upper cheek piece. I didn't take any pics of this part unfortunately.

After that it was just some finish shaping to smooth all the edges before paint. I'd definitely do it slightly different next time but mostly the same as it turned out great. If it was a bigger caliber I would put more effort into re-strengthening the stock after cutting and I would probably mix fiberglass into the fill instead of microballoons then use a couple layers of cloth on top to close it up.

Got a thumbscrew made so I wouldn't need an Allen wrench like the screw that comes with it but you really need a glove to adjust it. I'm hoping to fix that but it's not sorted just yet. Probably remove the upper part and give it a good tightening to give the bracket a little bit of a set. The paint I got was a satin clear but it came out a bit glossy so I'm probably going to hit it with some flat eventually.

Range report was a huge success. This action has never shot so well. Hit after hit on a 4 inch gong at 300 yards today. I think it's going to really shine with some handloads. It fits perfectly and for dollars spent it can't be beat.

 

[shortgrass]

Now,, there's a piece of work that most won't want to try for themselves. Looks pretty good, to me!

 

[Memberberries]

Thanks, it's definitely intimidating to cut up a stock and try to put it back together again. Considering that the HS is my second most valuable stock after the Bravo I really didn't want to make it FUBAR.

That being said this went well enough that I'm looking for a stock for a sporter barreled 700 so I can upgrade my deer rifle out of Tupperware. It's going to have to be lighter for carrying and handle more recoil since it's a 308 and it will be cut down and threaded at 16.5". Also it's scope sits a little lower but it's still going to get an adjustable cheek piece, probably another loggerhead. I'm leaning towards a B&C mountain or similar stock that starts out around the 2lb mark, maybe a grayboe. This 223 and my 5r both weigh 12.2 lbs with glass and unloaded (idk if I trust my scale but it says I weigh enough).

 

[shortgrass]

Well, it looks like you thought about it and had a plan. That's how a successful task is accomplished. You bothered to make a template and took the time to make sure you placed the Loggerhead where it'd work for you. Probably learned a few things along the way, too.