A long time ago on a mountain far away stood a true hunter, a sheep hunter by design as well as intention. Not that he didn't relish venison, he did; nor was he adverse to the killing of the occassional grizzly, mostly by accident. No, he loved to hunt just about everything but one must suspect he loved simply being on that mountain with his friend and his rifle the most.
A few miles downhill his spike camp nestled amid the spruce and further still his base, but the only bed he'd sleep in tonight was tied securely under the pack he carried on his back. For there were two indisputable facts of that moment: that of the waning sun soon to be setting a few ridges yonder, and the unmistakable white specks of the Northern Dall he had come so far to harvest rubbing horn amid the not too distant granite slide, to consider. It was plain Jack O'Connor and his guide would be sleeping under the stars with the sheep and his rifle nearby tonight.
He chose his arm, contrary to popular myth and legend, not so much on the cartridge but on the design. It could have been chambered for the .270 Winchester he made famous, but the odds are even it could have been a .25/06, 30/06 or even the .280 Rem. - he touted all equally well seeing little to choose from among them. Could have been a 7mm Remington Mag. or a.300 (most likely an H&H but could be of Winchester persuasion in his later years) although he saw little need for power over precision, he did use them. He also liked the .308 Win. very much, thought the .243 a decent deer rifle and I for one am sure he'd have relished the efficient short mags in their compact containers. If he thought he might bump into a griz, or it was his primary quarry he may have even toted his favorite .375 H&H but shot several with the standard rounds. No, one could never be certain what cartridge his rifle carried in the box.
But the design of his riflestock was the one thing certain. It was a bolt action classic, back in the days of O'Connor there were very few suitable factory designs around. His preferred action was and is of near perfect reliability, and since he was mobile it had to be fast handling, come immediately to the shoulder as if it was shouldering itself. A straight-lined silhouette to reduce felt recoil and a slightly raised cheek rest so the eye came immediately centered to the reticle. This was especially important as scopes back then were not nearly as forgiving as today. The monte-carlo humps of Weatherby and Remington, although popular, were not in keeping with Jack's idea of handsome at all, boasted too much of wealth and too little stealth. Absolutely no machine-press 'checkering' was allowed, only precisely-cut, finely pointed diamonds will grip cold, weary hands (or gloves) correctly.
He placed function and classic good-looks over all else, for that one shot is all he may earn and mountain cares not for white-line spacers and such. Although he loved an expensive chunk of English walnut to enjoy by the fire at home, on the mountain he preferred the more plain straight-grain variety, and as a fellow that studied every word he wrote countless times, I say with certainty he would have greatly preferred the stability and warmth of a laminate when it counted. He was not one for synthetics.
To this goal here it is ... our new Classic DeLuxe Riflestock. You are free, of course to choose the stealthy matte finished version, or make yourself a real show-stopper with one of the high gloss units. All of them will be equally at home in his hands or yours, on the range or the mountain; while on lookout over the beanfield or scouting the African plains. There's one to fit any sporter-barreled, hinged floorplated 700 you own with little or no adjustment required. Having a hard time choosing? No one says you can only own one!
Stocky's Tip: Wood is brown in its natural state. It is stained with the colors of your choice and laminated. Often, the natural brown coloring can be seen in various regions of the stock, especially the checkering. (It can be seen in some of the photos at the right.)
Some factories actually stain the checkering black on all their laminated rifles but we feel this should be up to the end user - a natural look or stained checkering. We prefer natural, it's been sealed against the elements as they come, but you can stain if desired.
Optional Pillar Installation: We'll install our best 9/16" V-Block aluminum pillars for you if desired, it's completely optional but as we get a lot of requests so we're putting the option online. Photo and details follow this link. Do-it-yourselvers get the materials here. Upcharge priced below.
Remington Lexington - (formerly S&K Gunstocks) a new division of Remington Arms Co., makes the impeccable wood rifle and shotgun stocks that Remington uses on their beautiful factory guns. As Remington's Gunstocks exclusive retailer, we are proud to bring you these tremendous premium quality values on direct from the factory and strongly recommend their use! Anyone can make a cheap stock, it is no mistake that Remington selected and recently purchased S&K for production of all their factory stocks. If you want a premium laminated stock with precision drop-in inletting (and therefore the highest accuracy potential), with a gorgeous finish, quality recoil pad and swivel studs, get one of these!
