Howa Hogue Stock Mods

[Die Judicii]

Has anyone peeled out the inner lining in the barrel channel of one of these stocks.
It appears to be a separate layer that is ? glued in.
This one suits a sporter barrel,,,,, but if I could peel the inner lining out,, the heavy barrel would slot in nicely.

Howa Hogue.jpg (358.57 KiB) Viewed 325 times

2nd Hogue.jpg (428.81 KiB) Viewed 321 times

[bladeracer]

Has anyone peeled out the inner lining in the barrel channel of one of these stocks.
It appears to be a separate layer that is ? glued in.
This one suits a sporter barrel,,,,, but if I could peel the inner lining out,, the heavy barrel would slot in nicely.

Howa Hogue.jpg

2nd Hogue.jpg

It looks to me like the inner part is the supporting structure of the stock, with an outer aesthetic "skin" wrapped over it. Get a socket that fits the channel, wrap sandpaper around it and sand out enough material to fit the barrel.

[Die Judicii]

It looks to me like the inner part is the supporting structure of the stock, with an outer aesthetic "skin" wrapped over it. Get a socket that fits the channel, wrap sandpaper around it and sand out enough material to fit the barrel.

Hi Blade,
The extreme outer skin is soft and grippy.
The inner section that I think can be removed is rubber (to the feel) ,,,
Which leaves the hard plastic support of the stock itself that should accept the barrel.

I don't intend changing the action/bedding section.

[Wapiti]

I've opened up a few Hogues, for Rems and Howas.
But only to better float a sporter barrel in a "sporter" stock. To give more clearance because it was lop sided and touched in spots.

This I did with a die grinder and a rough stone, controlling the trigger so it doesn't go past about half-speed. That way, the rubber coating and poly stock underneath grinds off in a powder, instead of melting.
I suppose a drill would do, but because of its low speed, it's easy to have it slip and run off.
Use thick duct tape to protect possible run-off areas.

I cannot imagine how futile sanding this stuff would be, even the poly stock substrate.

However, I've had a gander at the idea of opening up a sporter Hogue to fit a varmint barrel, and I reckon there's not enough of the original material to do that. A varmint barrelled Hogue is, in the ones I've bought, wider in the forend where the barrel centreline is.

[Die Judicii]

Allright Wapiti,, thanks for that Mate.
I'm in no rush at present and looking at several options.

[Wapiti]

Yeah mate, have a look at what dimensions you have there if you were to open it up.

On the ones I have, so much would have to come out of it, there wouldn't be much left around the top of the stock, and the rubber coating would be likely to peel off because where it now rolls over the top, it would be cut right back too, and exposed.
At least, that's what looks like happening. Buit your example may be different, and your barrel might not be so big.

[Fester]

Another option would be to buy a used Weatherby S2 stock, screw it in and see if it shoots as these stocks are fine in every way.

The only thing is, they are not floated al all, the opposite, screwed in with pressure.
Weatherby say the sporters shoot best this way and mine sure did.

[Wapiti]

Or a HS Precision Varmint stock for the Howa.
I have a soft spot for them, and the ergonomics, pistol grip shape and flat forend lend them to being incredibly steady over a rest.

The aluminium bedding block set-up gets the most consistent accuracy, and they are inletted for the strandard floorplate, or you can buy the EXCELLENT Aussie made aluminium Altas Worx floorplate so you can use 5 or 10 shot AI or MDT metal mags.
You can also get the Aussie made Manael aluminium floorplate, but it uses the awful plastic Howa Legacy mags. Eeech. Why they didn't do the work and make them fit the excellent steel AI/MDT mags is a mystery to me.

https://atlasworxs.com/shop/atlasworxs- ... nguard-sa/

https://shop.iceng.com.au/manael-howa-1 ... gacy-facto

Personally I can't stand the standard Hogue stocks, they are flexy cheap things and do not offer the best consistency or accuracy, they are intended as an economical option, which explains why they come on the budget Howas.
Howas are cheap because the frills bolted to them are cheap, but the core barreled action is as good or better than anything around in the accuracy potential. The Japs have awesome engineering tolerances and consistency from their CNC machinery.
Hogue do a completely alloy bedded stock which looks the same as their economy version, and I originally ditched any of the standard Hogues for these for the reasons above and they have been a great improvement. But the HS Precision stocks are the best "precision" option for the bloke who wants the best consistency and results IMHO.
Last one I got was from The Barn, they got the importer to send it to my letterbox directly. I think it was from OSA.

https://www.thebarn.net.au/Products/HS% ... ock/107868

Yeah I get that there are a million different MDT and even Aussie made chassis stocks out there, but I can't stand their ergonomics, Frankenstein attempts to look like an AR stock and they usual rounded forend that does nothing for a steady hold over a field rest from a ute or a buggy rest. Yes you can use a bipod, again not an option from a padded rest, or some weird ARCA clamp on flat bottom, but for field use where quick opportunistic shots are essential that's just a solution to an unnecessary problem.
There I go again, talking about practical field use only.