How An Aftermarket Stock Can Improve Your Shooting

(AND INCREASE YOUR RIFLE'S VALUE)

In a previous article we talked about what you should look for in an aftermarket stock. However, we barely touched on WHY you should think about dropping your rifle into an aftermarket stock. First, an aftermarket stock can help you improve your accuracy. Second, it can increase your rifle’s value. Let’s take a few minutes and talk about what we mean.

IMPROVED ACCURACY

The most important reason you should get an aftermarket stock for your rifle is the increased potential for accuracy. After all, putting a projectile exactly where you want it to go at long range is the entire purpose of a rifle. There are several ways an aftermarket stock can help you accomplish this goal, all of them having to do with improving your shot-to-shot consistency

The Furiosa chassis case study 

In 2019 the Furiosa chassis performance was tested by Kentucky-based Atlas Development Group. ADG is owned and operated by eight experienced industry professionals and a staff with over 200 years of combined experience in the industry.
Atlas Development Group performed a comparison evaluation between a new WOOX stock system and factory Remington model 700 BDL-Short Action (SA) stocks. Three Remington M700 BDL-SA rifles, two chambered in .300 WSM and one chambered in .308 Win., were provided with their factory production stocks for benchmarking. The rifles then got installed in three Furiosa stocks and were tested again. ADG then compared the results (below).

WOOX partners with a global network of mechanical engineers, metallurgical experts, professional shooters,  to carry out product testing.

Considering these factors in conjunction, below are the three group averages of the stocks tested for accuracy
•   Before: Stock Remington Mod 700 .308 cal. 5-shot average @ 100 yds = .970" MOA
•   After: WOOX Furiosa Chassis installed on same Remington Mod 700 .308 cal. 15-shot average @ 100 yds = .357" MOA

As you can see, the Furiosa chassis results were a significant improvement over those using the OEM rifle stock. Read more

STOCK RIGIDITY

Aftermarket stocks are typically more rigid than their OEM counterparts. These days, OEM stocks tend to be made from injection molded plastic, with some exceptions. This kind of stock tends to be flexible, and a flexible stock is a Bad Thing. Flexible stocks bend when put under pressure, say from loading up on a bipod or from bracing your rifle on a fence post or tree limb. This puts pressure on your rifle’s barrel, and effects how it moves as the bullet travels to and exits your muzzle. As you can imagine, this will shift your bullet’s trajectory… and point of impact.

Furiosa has full-length AA 7075 aircraft-grade aluminum, hard anodized skeleton chassis 

BEDDING SYSTEM

A good aftermarket stock will have an aluminum bedding block in it or will have the part that houses your action machined from aluminum. This ensures that the rest of the stock doesn’t impinge on your action and either interfere with its function or put pressure on parts that it isn’t supposed to. You want your action to interface with your stock the same with every shot.

PROPER FIT

Since the stock is where you, the shooter, interact with the rifle, it is critical that your stock fit YOU. As I said in a previous article, most OEM stocks are made to fit a variety of people. That means that it probably won’t fit you exactly as it should. Proper fit is important because the way your rifle fits you can change how you put pressure on the trigger, align the sight, look through your optic, cant the rifle, load your bipod, etc. If you’re not doing these things correctly, you won’t do them consistently… and consistency is the key to accuracy. A good aftermarket stock will allow you to adjust these variables so that you can focus on using proper technique instead of fighting and uncomfortable piece of equipment.

INCREASED VALUE

An aftermarket stock can not only help you improve your shooting, but it can also help increase your rifle’s value. A good stock will not only work the way it’s supposed to, but it will also look good doing it. If you don’t think this is important to people, consider how many people choose to pay more for a car with all the options instead of buying the base model. Premium trim packages, leather seats, better sound systems and shiny wheels don’t help the car get from point A to point B any better than the car without those features. They do, however, help the car perform its job with more style. These features increasethe vehicle’s resale  value, and a beautiful aftermarket stock that also helps your rifle be more accurate can easily do the same.

The superb quality of WOOX chassis immediately sets them apart from the glut of cookie-cutter stocks on the market.

All in all, a well-made aftermarket stock can help you increase your rifle’s accuracy and value both. If you don’t believe it, read the results of the testing of our Furiosa chassis, and then just look at the chassis itself. It perfectly bridges the gap between performance and style.

This article is written by Mike Kreitzer. Mike is Editor of MK Outdoor Journal on YouTube, a Voting Member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association and Media Member of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.