I am looking to order a new stock from McMillan and was set on the A5. I'm currently using an A3-5 but I didn't order it with some options I'd like now so I'm going for a new model. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with the butthook but figured it wasn't a huge deal either way so I settled on the A5. I like the wider forend on the A5. Somehow I missed that McMillan now has the A5-7 which is basically just the A5 without the butthook. Does anyone have a good argument for or against the butthook? I do like it sometimes to help pull the stock into my shoulder but it also interferes with certain rear bags. Anyone have pictures of theirs? I'm also looking at the A6/A6-7. Anyone have experience with those?
Anyone have a McMillan A5-7?
- Thread starter Mauser48
- Start date
The forend, grip, and cheekpiece are identical to the A5. I'm personally a fan of butt hooks but it's a preference thing. A butthook gives you better control without a bag and just using your support hand, and it's also great for looser bags that allow for quick adjustment by squeezing. A flat bottom is great for larger and stiffer bags. You can control Elevation by sliding the bag forward or backwards and you can really wedge the buttstock down into the bag for a lot of stability. The A5-7 has a 1" toe at 6 degrees, so its very flat which may or may not be a good thing for you. The A6-7 has a 5/8" toe at 9 degrees, so it's a bit sharper for digging into the bag and will provide more Elevation adjustment. The A6/A6-7 has mostly flat surfaces with no texture, not bad for bracing against barricades but personally the A5/A5-7 feel better in the hand. The cheekpiece on the A5 is more rounded than squared off like the A6 as well which I prefer. Between the A5/A5-7/A6/A6-7 it purely comes down to personal preference, but my pick is the original A5. My personal favorite stock is the A4 because I love the aggressive butthook, larger grip with aggressive texture, and the squared forend. That's just me though.
Thought I would update this since I've had a couple people ask me and there's very little information out there about these stocks. I ordered the stock mid November and it shipped mid January. I had them ship it to Terry Cross for his loggerhead cheek hardware install. Awesome guy to deal with and flawless work. McMillan didn't install the spacer length of pull system like I had on the order form so I had to send it back. They got me a label quick and did the work in a timely manner so no big deal, looks good now.
The butt end of the stock feels really good to me. It is a 6° angle on the bottom vs 9° on most other stocks so it allows for a more gradual adjustment on a rear bag. It's also flat so it stays pretty stable. Should be a good cross between a tactical stock and a bench stock. I like the nice wide A5 style forend. Should be good for shooting off various bags. The kmw hardware is very nice and it's all the little things that set it apart from McMillan's clamp bar hardware. I might have to do a separate thread on that as I have not seen a direct comparison between the two.
The butt end of the stock feels really good to me. It is a 6° angle on the bottom vs 9° on most other stocks so it allows for a more gradual adjustment on a rear bag. It's also flat so it stays pretty stable. Should be a good cross between a tactical stock and a bench stock. I like the nice wide A5 style forend. Should be good for shooting off various bags. The kmw hardware is very nice and it's all the little things that set it apart from McMillan's clamp bar hardware. I might have to do a separate thread on that as I have not seen a direct comparison between the two.
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Thanks for the follow up. Ended up ordering a T2a gap but may need a 2nd stock by the end of the year. This has been in the top choices.
Almost went with a t2a as well. McMillan is more of a known entity for me and their lead times are much quicker so I went that route.
It is molded in GAP camo. Quite the rage about 15-20 years ago. I have an A5 with it as one of my "retro" builds.
I chose it because it gives it that early 2000s custom rifle look.
