Shortening LOP on a Browning Hells Canyon LR...

[Campo]

I shorten all my stocks to somewhere between 12.5 and 13 and I'm a six footer, or at least I was before old age shrunk me. I think most factory stocks are too long, and other hunters always seem surprised how my rifles fit them better than their own. As far as shortening synthetic stocks goes I cut them rough within a quarter inch and use a table mounted belt sander to take them to the final length. This lets me keep them square and level for a better fit. I fill the empty stock with spray foam and epoxy a piece of wood in the last three quarter inch to hold the pad screws. It's better to do this before the belt sander finishing so all is flush. It's important to maintain the original pitch. I have found many people seem to want to cut at right angles to the bore and that is not the best.

Great advice and I really appreciate it. I do not think I am going to need to put in the plywood, as the ridges for the screws are going to fall pretty much in the right place for me to still use them. I am thinking about filling the stock with spray foam, however, once the cut is made. I don't want to fill it and then need to mill it out if I need to make some tweaks.

I do like the idea of cutting within 1/8 or 1/4 and then sanding it down. It seems like that would provide the best finish as well! How big is the belt sander that you use?

 

[Wilderness Blacktail]

My hunting partner is 5'2" and he has 2 of these rifles and has cut the stock on both, once by the GS, and the second he did himself. I'm not sure you can get replacement stocks from Browning. I tried to talk him into a youth model rifle or at least a compact one or a women's one like a Camilus from WBY.

A few years ago you could download a pricelist of parts from their website. I had it and it listed stocks from models I didnr even know about. I was dreamjn bout gettin a fancy medallion wood stock n a carbon fiber one too. Lol

 

[tomcat818]

I measured my LOP over the course of several hours. With a t-shirt and the 90 degree angle in the arm method, I was 1" short of the nearest point in the trigger. With my hunting clothes on, including a jacket and layers, I was almost 1 3/4" short of the trigger. So, I "happied" it out to cutting at 1 3/8", which I have not done yet.

I have three different kick-eez pads coming at 1/2, 5/8 and 3/4. They are all the same size and have the same holt spacing, so I will be able to play around and add length back if I need it. With it being a 7mm RM, I am a little worrried about recoil, but I am also installing one of the new Browning breaks, so I am going to guess that will help with the recoil.

Regarding the cut, I think I am going to use a hacksaw and a fresh blade, as I have heard horror stories about the chop saw blade melting the compound instead of cutting it. That said, I am not at all opposed to it, and will likely make a jig anyway just to see and to enjoy some more tinker time.

Regarding the pilot holes, the one on top will have to go higher than the original one, which will pull the lower one up a bit (but not too much) and avoid splitting the stock.

The only thing I thought of is get the best blade possible if you do end of chopping it and I don't have a clue what that is for a composite stock. I know Diablo makes one for a number of different materials with the proper number of teeth for the job. You might reach out to a local gun smith for advice if that's an option and there are a bunch on this forum so you should get some solid advice on this thread. Good luck and show us the results!

 

[Ga6570]

Yes. The screw holes won't line up for the original pad because of the toe angle. I did a Savage and had to fit and epoxy a piece of hardwood inside and put new screw holes in the proper location. I made a 4 sided wood box (no top, no bottom) to clamp to the fence on my chop saw, then skimmed the side facing the blade to ensure squareness, so that the original butt surface can be held square and level, the cheek piece toward the fence, then put a couple of shims under the rest of the stock to steady it while I cut it off. Once you cut through, let the blade stop before retracting it.

Why so short? Measure twice, cut once and don't forget about the thickness of the pad that was previously installed and the one to be mounted.

I was going to say similar about the recoil pad would need holes prepped in the stock and perhaps the pad re-shaped as the stock will be smaller. But go for it.