Gwion wrote:I personally feel that any time a stock is flexible enough that the fore-end can possibly contact the barrel when using a rest or bi-pod, it is going to effect accuracy; no matter what chambering the rifle is in.
The key word to me, here, is quality. Quality doesn't always equal expense but often the two correlate, particularly with synthetic stocks. A rifle in a cheap, flexy stock is going to prove more difficult to get shooting well than a rifle in a cheap timber stock. As mentioned earlier, the timber stocks are easier to bed, easier to sand/scrape/cut away material where needed than a synthetic stock. I would buy a good quality synthetic stock of quality polymer or composite construction but i would never again buy a rifle with a cheap synthetic stock.
What ever their other possible faults may be, i thing the Lithgow CO101 stocks are good quality from what i have seen. Also the Browning t-bolt stocks are good and sturdy; if we are just talking rimfires to begin with.
The Ruger Americans are generously floated, but are flexible enough to touch the barrel when supported by bipod at the front of the forend. Shooting over rests though I haven't seen this so I assume it's only a problem due to the leverage exerted by the bipod. For range shooting it's unlikely to be a problem, but for hunting you either need to keep it in mind or mount the bipod closer to the magazine to reduce the leverage.
My .204 and 7mm-08 will both shoot five rounds consistently around 0.5MoA at 100 and 200 yards from a rest so I don't believe the stocks are a weakness despite their flex. Subsonic loads in the .204 start to open up a bit but are still way better than a .22. I haven't fired any factory ammo through the .204 and only seven factory rounds through the 7mm-08 so I can't comment there really, but those seven Federal 150's (the first rounds I put through it) went into less than one-inch at 100 yards. The impressive out-of-the-box accuracy is why I want to get a bunch of Americans in all calibers, with the bonus of interchangeability of parts, including the magazines.