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McMillan smear stock from the 80’s?
- Thread starter Dendro
- Start date
not that I can add anything but it is a nice looking rifle . how does it shoot ? and what caliber is it ?
PM replied, and thanks for your help
.270, have hunted with this gun since I was a kid and it shoots well.
I found something similar in an Alabama Pawn Shop last year. The rifle was wearing a commercial smear stock. I need to sell it off one of these days.
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I’ll take a few pics of mine as well, thanks for taking the time to do that. I’m about to re barrel this rifle and was going to open up the channel some for a heavier profile, and try to fix a few dents and bruises on the stock.
Yes. I also believe it was cut for a BDL. When I spoke with the McMillan folks they said they made about 200 of them back in the day.
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So 200 for the commercial market is really not that many, I’ve never seen another one in person. This site is what piqued my interest in this old rifle, haven’t shot it in years until this morning. Nothing special around 1 moa but she’s a keeper. I appreciate everyone’s input and sorry if this is in the wrong section, not sure what constitutes vintage...
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Smear stocks are vintage. ? You're all good!
Added: Especially for a stock that only 200 hit the market when they did.
Early McMillian stocks like that are neat looking and have a following, esp if it were a former USMC military stock. Thanks for the nice pics. If it came from Remington like that back in the 1980s, it was possibly a Custom Shop or special order.
Would it be a bad idea to open up the barrel channel some to accommodate a heavier profile barrel? I like to mess with stuff and would like to turn this rifle into my main deer rifle again for old times sake.
Not necessarily. In composite construction, think of the surface of the stock as a shell, with a lightweight inner forming material such as styrofoam. The shell is what gives it it's strength. Unless you are good at repairing composites, you can cut through the shell and ruin the stock.
It's not like a wood/wood laminate stock where you just sand it out.
Repairs wont be completely matched in unless they do a faux paint job to blend it in but its just another level of history in that stocks life.
Its not like its a "return" with a COA.
Like these. My 3 babies. Still got to do a M21 with ar tel. Most mil smear M14 stocks were shooting team stocks. there were also a lot of gen public purchases (No data on exact numbers)
Your stock is a nice Mcmillan. Long action and cool color. No military provenance which most of us geek out over. If someone collects old Mcm stocks it might be worth a little more but it is still a solid stock.
It most def did not come from Rem that way. Someone had to buy the stock from Mcm and have the rifle installed. Still super cool hunting rifle tho. Have fun with it.
GL
DT
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Those are super nice rifles. I have a Glen Nelson built SuperMatch in wood that needs a scope.
McMillan has an exterior shell. No interior shell as some others have. The interior is filled with foam of various densities. It's very easy to open up the barrel channel. Been doing it for 40 years.
The color is forest camo and its called molded in color not smear. Pattern is HTG/M40. Still is a great pattern.
Its a little different than the original, is the non-textured stock a special order item now? Can you even get the smear camo? I would kill to have that.
Smear is no longer available as the inks of the day have changed and the past is no longer available.
I've seen some painted to match but they are standard forest camp under the paint.
McMillan will build a spec M40A1 but it is best to call and confirm all the details.
Here's a smear on a rifle I own. McMillan made it in 2018 (8 month wait) as a special request for a former 8541 for his M40A1 build. There's no texture on the grip and the smear pattern isn't what you'd get back in the day, but it's also not a straight forest / woodland.
Nice looking rifles guys! The one I have was originally my grandfathers and he wasn’t the kind of guy to special order anything or modify a new rifle, so I don’t really know how it ended up with the stock that is on it. It has no texture and can be a bit slippery when raining, it’s been hauled around the woods by me since I was old enough to hunt. Maybe it’s a smear, maybe not... I just have always thought it looked really cool and haven’t seen another until joining here. Again, I appreciate all the informative comments.
Very nice rifles, I have a molded in smear stock on my Browning a bolt 300 win mag.
Usually the 20+ years of hard use, lots of patina, various scuffs, at least some level of gelcoat damage, a nicely worn-out brown butt pad, patina/wear on the sling swivels, etc on a USMC smear stock will give it away. I have never seen a civilian McMillan stock look remotely like a used M40A1 smear stock from the late 1970s into the 1980s..if its in newish condition, it was not on an issued M40A1. (The last 4 digits of the M40A1a's serial number written in the barrel channel, hand-engraved on the magazine plate, along with black MarineTex bedding, and the modified M70 bottom metal are other clues).
Anywhere from $800-$1500 would seem fair in my book. I have many original issued smears (M40A1 and M14), original commercial smears, and the new production smears currently being produced in batches. Its not going to be 4-5k like other original smears for a few reason. The military ones were short action, Correct me if I'm wrong but this is .270 Winchester that would make it a long action. The other main reason is that most of the commercial smear stocks sold had a very light fill, usually a little reddish in color but frankly thats hard to tell without handling it.
If you want to try and get the maximum amount list it on Gunbroker or ebay.
Moment of weakness on my part, I’ve since come to my senses & will hold onto it. Appreciate the feedback & info on these commercial smears.
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