Just ordered my McMillan A5!

nhassey48

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Mar 17, 2010
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So yesterday I went to McMillan and played with their stocks. They are a whole lot better then I thought they were! I was going to get an HS stock but I haven't heard from them in 3 weeks so I decided McMillan. Between their feel, quality and just happy helpful people, I was sold! I just got off the phone with them and placed my order! Here is what I ordered.

60% Olive, 20% Light tan, 20% black Molded in marble
McMillan A5
Spacer System
Thumb wheel integral cheekpeice
(3) Flushmount cups
Lead injection

Total price was $872.50 but with my military discount, it came out to $695.50!
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

ShootToWin, I went to the McMillan web site and it is no longer up. It said "mcmfamily.com expired on 03/14/2010 and is pending renewal or deletion."

Just a heads up.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

What model rifle are you going to mount in your new A5? The reason I'm curious is because I have an unmounted A5 along with a complete Rem 700 5R with the HS precision stock last year. I really like the HS stock and the A5 needs the thumb wheel hardware installed before its fully functional. I would like to eventually put the 5R in the A5 but looking on ebay for the thumb wheel hardare i saw an add that said that you have to remove the cheek piece in order to remove the rifle's bolt for cleaning. that sounded like a real pain so now I'm re-thinking it. do you know if this is true about A5's?
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

you don't have to remove the cheek piece, you have to collapse it or wheel it all the way down to remove your bolt.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

it is a pain in the ass I speak from experience, somebody makes an adapter to fix that but can't remember who. also I prefer the saddle cheek pieces for feel and ease of use.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

I think it can be retrofit to use KMW hardware, you have to use an allen wrench to remove the cheekpiece, but you can remove it and reinstall it at the same height in 10 seconds.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Red_SC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think it can be retrofit to use KMW hardware, you have to use an allen wrench to remove the cheekpiece, but you can remove it and reinstall it at the same height in 10 seconds. </div></div>

This way is fast, unless your son takes your allen wrench out of your range box!!!
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

Very, very true.

I just realized he was talking about removing the cheekpiece to remove the bolt. I can't say for an A5, but on my Sentinel with KMW cheekpiece, the bolt is removable with the cheekpiece in place, but you have to remove the cheekpiece to get a straight shot with the cleaning rod. But, again, this is for a Sentinel, I don't know about the A5.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

The KMW cheekpiece is a great piece of kit. McM can give you the stock made for it, but IIRC you have to have it installed elsewhere.

I don't know why McM doen't make a "detent" in their solid adj cheekpieces for the bolt like Manners does.

As far as the KMW cheekpiece, I drew up a knurled bolt and had one made so I can remove mine without tools. Terry didn't want to do that as an option because these are field guns. I like being able to remove mine when I want to. I'll post the pic of the drawing if anyone wants to make them up.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Red_SC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">....... but on my Sentinel with KMW cheekpiece, ....... </div></div>

Show off.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

grin.gif
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

I'd ditch the lead injection. I assume this is for a tactical rifle? I can't think of a single reason to add lead to one...I think heavy/sniper fill is too heavy.

If you absolutely need to add weight, that can be done at a later time.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

I have an A-5 and McM is awesome. I have a Remy 700. in 308 and its a tac driver. It took them about 4 months to get mine to me, and it was well worth the wait.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

On any of our stocks with the intergral cheekpiece if you have the cheekpiece set high enough that you cannot take the bolt all the way out you can always notch it a bit longer so that you can.
One of the spec's on the first design of our tactical stocks about 20 years ago was that they wanted the cheekpiece to stop the bolt if the bolt stop failed. That way if the bolt stop got jammed up with dirt or bent and stuck in the down position the shooter wouldn't just yank the bolt all the way out of the action every time he cycled it and the rifle was still functional. They also figured that if the bolt had to come out of the rifle then the gun was "down" and the operator had the time to lower the cheekpiece to remove it.
Also, if it is set high enough that you cannot remove the bolt then you cannot get a cleaning rod or rod guide in the rifle and you still have to lower it.
It is my opinion that the thumbwheel cheekpiece adjuster really has no place on a scope sighted rifle. When I designed our first thumbwheel unit about 18 or 20 years ago it was for the high power shooters who use iron sights. Depending on caliber the rear micrometer sight may be moved up and down about 3/8" as they go from 200 yds to 1000 yds, so they want to adjust the cheekpiece at each yardage to keep their eye right behind the peep sight.
On a scope sighted rifle, once you get the cheekpiece set so that your eye is in line with the crosshairs you never move it. There is no need to change it with each yardage as the scope is fixed. So, the standard intergral clamp bar adjustment is much simpler. When you want to remove the bolt and clean the rifle it takes about 3 seconds to loosen the side screws and just take the cheekpiece off the rifle and set it on the bench out of the way. Then just put it back on and tighten the screws. There are dozens of ways to put a mechanical stop on it for returning to the same height. Myself, once I get one set for the scope and my eye position I just measure how high it is and cut a little piece of wood that thick and glue it under the cheekpiece riser.
That way I just push it down til it stops and tighten the screws, again about a 3-5 second deal with no tools necessary.
I guess I am just a simple ol country boy and I like simple no hassle things.
Dick at McMillans
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

Great info Dick, now I know the reason (and its a well thought out one) for the cheekpiece to stop the bolt on a field rifle.

On my stocks that don't have a KMW style height retainer, I cut lengths of fuel line or similar to go over the posts snugly but stop the cheekpiece at the height I like.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

I have a question for Dick if he's still watching this thread. The A5 I mentioned above came with a used rifle I bought from a Hide member. What would be the cost to have the thumb wheel hardware purchased and installed on my A5? Thanks.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cascade_Sherpa</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What model rifle are you going to mount in your new A5? The reason I'm curious is because I have an unmounted A5 along with a complete Rem 700 5R with the HS precision stock last year. I really like the HS stock and the A5 needs the thumb wheel hardware installed before its fully functional. I would like to eventually put the 5R in the A5 but looking on ebay for the thumb wheel hardare i saw an add that said that you have to remove the cheek piece in order to remove the rifle's bolt for cleaning. that sounded like a real pain so now I'm re-thinking it. do you know if this is true about A5's? </div></div>
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1680585#Post1680585
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

Ok, Well now I am wondering if I should have got then regular integral cheek piece. So just to get this right. I have to lower the cheek piece all the way down to take the bolt out or actually take the cheek piece off? If its just a matter of lowering, I could just take a Sharpie and mark the rod so i get it in the same position right? I don't like the look of a huge chunk of butt piece missing like manners does to theirs.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

Get a piece of wood that fits under the cheek piece, you will be good to go. Place under, drop and set, all good.
Don't worry about it.
Now for the lead injection....
Chad
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

Sherpa,
If your A5 is an Adj. A5 model with the seperate intergral cheekpiece but has no cheekpiece riser hardware installed on it, then the thumbwheel unit is $140 installed and the standard clamp bar unit is $116.
nhassey,
Yes, you can just lower the cheekpiece to remove the bolt and clean the rifle, or if you have mechanical stop of some kind to automatically set the height then you cannot lower it so you just lift it off and set it aside. Either way only takes a couple of seconds. It's no big deal.
 
Re: Just ordered my McMillan A5!

Nhassey,
Actually we don't call it "lead injection", we just use lead shot mixed with epoxy pour it in the shell before filling to add weight in various places. Quite a few people ask us to fill the butt with solid glass or a lb or 2 of lead shot in the butt to counterbalance a long heavy barrel.
Also, for those who caught my "clamp bar" reference above, at the first of this year we changed our standard intergral cheekpiece riser from the old cylinder and post with two thumbscrews to a clamp bar on the two posts with a single center screw. It is basically similar to the KMW unit but uses our standard cheekpiece riser so the lateral adjustment is accessible from the top of the cheekpiece like it always has been. It is still ambidexterous, and the clamping parts inside are just two stainless 1/4x20 square nuts, one with the threads drilled out, that are replaceable from any local hardware store if you lose one. Also, the thumbscrew can be replaced with a standard 1/4x20 socket head cap screw 3/4" to 1" long available at said local hardware store if you don't want the thumbscrew protuding from the side of the butt.
We used our old system for many years with not too many problems, but with more and more of the big magnum calibers being used we were getting more complaints. We finally figured out that with the sharper heavier recoil impulse, the aluminum post was deforming where the point of the thumbscrew was bearing on it. You could tighten it up and in a few hundred rounds the aluminum would start to deform and get loose again. The clamp bar system has been around since the horse and buggy days and seems to be bullet proof against metal deforming and getting loose.