Magpul Hunter 700 Stock Issue - Drill Out or Find Better Solution?

[swavescatter]

I picked up a Magpul Hunter 700L Stock for my Bergara B14 Wilderness Ridge in 300 Win Mag. I also picked up a Magpul Hunter 700L Bolt Action Mag Well kit. Long story short, neither of these are direct drop in.

The mag well kit fits, but the stock action front bolt is too short and won't engage any threads. Meh, I guess I can source longer bolts for fairly cheap and run the stock internal mag for now.

However, the bolt won't fully retract with the cheek pad in place! It needs about 1/2" more clearance to fully retract, and one Amazon user reported extraction/feeding issues without correcting this. It's well-known that the cheek pad needs to be removed to remove the bolt for cleaning. Kind of a PITA, but I can deal with that.

Should I just dremel out some relief for the bolt? Aside from this issue, the higher cheek pad is just about PERFECT for what I wanted in terms of a comb raiser. I struggled with various comb raiser kits and don't like them, plus they have the same issue with full bolt removal potentially.

Is there a better stock replacement out there for reasonable $$$? At this point I should have just bought the HMR or Premier I suppose, but I think this stock would make my setup just about perfect (except the klooge).

 

[MidwestElkHutner]

If the stock fits, you feel comfortable behind the rifle, and you like the aesthetics, I would simply make the few minor modifications. It would be worth the little bit of effort. Even though Bergara's are a 700 footprint, this applies mainly to the action and there is a potential for minor inletting issues that you describe with just about any aftermarket 700 stock. In addition, action screw length is also a common issue. Especially, when you are changing bottom metal configurations. I would simply Dremel or use a file to get the proper clearance to fully cycle the bolt, and source a bolt for the front action screw. Should be able to pick up a set of remington action screws for $10-15. If you have to shorten the remington action screws (not uncommon), a bench grinder and a file makes pretty fast work of it.

 

[WTFJohn]

I have a 700 chambered in .300WM in a hunter stock, I have to remove the cheek piece to remove the bolt but during normal cycling I have ~.375" clearance from the back of the bolt to the cheek piece. Your bolt looks a bit longer, and appears to have more material below centerline than mine does.

I also had the same issue with the action screws. A long set from Brownell's (I believe) and a bit of fine tuning with a file has them just the right length now.

 

[swavescatter]

Thanks for the tip on action screws. I mulled over having a stock with a hole in it and decided to just return it. Ordered up the Magpul Pro 700L, so there goes my budget build...

 

[smith406]

Monetary budget, weight budget, or both?

To be clear, I own a short action folding pro 700 and think it’s a great chassis at the price I paid.
That said a 5 1/2 pound chassis is a chonky addition to a hunting rifle!

For less money and weight you could grab one of these.

HMR STOCK, LA - BPI Outdoors, Inc

bergara.bpishopping.com