I've been upgrading some stuff around here lately, and one of the things I've wanted for a long time was a nice walnut stock for my ol' 788 in .222 Remington. It had to be a classic style...I find Monte Carlo humps to be repulsive. I shopped around for months and found little that would satisfy me, so I bit the bullet and custom ordered one from Boyd's.

What I received was pretty much flawless, considering the price. The inletting for the bottom metal was not quite perfect, but very close. I was afraid I might have to fool with the inletting to accommodate the Timney trigger I installed, but the action dropped right in. The fit of the barreled action seems to be very, very good and the barrel channel fit very nicely too. It looks close, but the barrel floats all the way to the recoil lug.

There are things about the stock I would have done differently. One of those things is the finger groove on top of the fore end and the other is the flat profile of the bottom of the stock in the action area (reminds me of the Ruger 77/22). I don't really object to these features, they're just not exactly how I envisioned it. Another thing that I would criticize is the skimpy area of the checkering on the fore end. It's functional and well executed (done with lasers...how about that?), but I would have preferred that the coverage had been about double.

All in all, I am very satisfied with it. In fact, I may order another one for another 788 I have before it's all over. I think I definitely got my money's worth. I would not put a Boyd's on a more expensive rifle, but I think they're fine for the run-of-the-mill $400 to $600 rifle.

Maybe I'll post a few pics in a day or two. The rifle looks pretty darned good.

Please post pics! I have a 788 that I would like to do in the future

Would also like to see pics of the stock. Have a few 788s and one I am thinking about another stock for.

Wow that's sexy !

Yep super nice!!!

Looks good, might have to order one

Very nice!

That is really nice, but I agree on the fore end checkering it's very skinny.

Looks good. Gives the 788 a more expensive appearance.

Merry Christmas

Very nice! Thank you for posting the pictures

A very good stock It looks like a new rifle.

Thanks, gents. I'm pretty happy with it. Hope I don't need to glass bed it!

Nice and one of my favorite stock styles. Same stock as used on the Montana Rifle Co's ASR series @ about $1100+.
Ron

very nice, good job

very nice, good job

I understand what you are saying in regards to the checkering on the fore end however it is aesthetically balanced with the rest of the checkering on the stock. I like that stock a lot.

Very nice! I may have to order one for my 788. That looks a ton better than the factory stock.

Looks beautiful. I ordered a Boyd's custom stock for an old 700 I had to get for a bedding and accurizing class and the stock they sent me was really nice. The fit was perfect too. Their turn around time wasn't too long which was also a plus. Congrats!!!!