Mentality behind the Chassis stock vs. more Traditional Tactical stocks?

[Maestro]

I've researched and watched precision rifles and the surrounding fields off and on for the last few years and usually I saw people using stocks by McMillan or Manners (Obviously tons of others too), most were running stocks such as an A5. Fast forward a year or two and it seems a LOT of guns are going into Chassis stocks. They look cool and I bet they have all kinds of functionality via M-Lok/Rails and standard AR parts. What is the mentality behind moving to Chassis stocks? How do costs compare? Are they stronger than your average fiberglass McMillan?

Thanks

 

[Ledzep]

There is a ton of overlap in price, options, weight, add-ons etc. I think it mostly comes down to weighing out personal preference, price, and options.

I've tried a few chassis, but always fall back to the Manners Eh1, T2, T4, T6 / Mcmillan A5 style stock for my preference.

 

[spife7980]

They are easily machined and have all the adaptability as you said. Add on the fact that they are ready to go once you drop it in; usually no bedding is necessary. I can be up and going 5 minutes after ups drops it off on my doorstep.

I wouldnt say they are any stronger per say but the aluminum will be more tolerant to banging on sharp metal corners or something where fiberglass might chip away.

Ive worked my way over to chassis myself now. First traditional stocks, then a mini chassis and then finally a full blown chassis but Im thinking of a bench rifle next (hopefully I can resist the urge a few years) so Ill likely go back to a traditional stock for that.

 

[BobinNC]

Chassis are superb for PRS type shoots, anything prone, or off supports of any kind. Chassis are awful when they have to humped very far, held in your hands for off-hand shooting, or hunting with in cold weather. The very virtues that make chassis adaptable weigh against it when carried or shot between your hands. All those edges and ledges, cheese grater forends with Pic rails festooned upon every flat surface, and metal that gets colder than your ex-wife does not a happy shooter or hunter make.

I'm not sure you can call a fiberglass Manners or McMillan a "traditional" stock either, but I suppose compared to the appliance dolly modularity of today's chassis they probability are closer to traditional without killing all those trees......IMHO and YMMV

 

[Maestro]

Great info, thanks. And yes compared to factory stocks, a McMillan or Manners is far from traditional...I was more talking in the world of premium aftermarket stocks, where the A5ish/pistol grip, wide front end is pretty standard, at least from what I've seen. Makes sense too on the pros and cons of a chassis. My kind of rifle would pull double duty between a bench shooter on weekends and a blind gun in Deer season, no toting across mountains, a short walk from the cabin to an elevated blind, where I'm spoiled and shoot off of rests anyways.

It just seemed that lots of people are dropping guns into chassis but I suppose those are mostly going to be PRS guns.

 

[308pirate]

I went from a Manners MCS-T (probably the most traditional of the "tactical" stocks) to a KRG 180-Xray. The immediate benefit to me was how much more easily I could assume a straight, square prone position behind the rifle. The second immediate benefit was how easily I could pull the rifle into my shoulder pocket without creating tension in my shoulder. I don't know what exactly it is about the design of the KRG chassis (which is heavily influenced by the Sako TRG chassis design) that feels so comfortable and natural to me not just in prone, but in the traditional standing, sitting, kneeling positions as well as off barricades, benches, and other odd obstacles and surfaces. With all its plastic exterior, the KRG W-3/Xray/Bravo chassis do not burn/freeze your skin like those made mostly or entirely of exposed aluminum.

 

[corey4]

The rear end of the W3 is exposed Al and the grip is half and half plastic / Al. I took a W3 hunting yesterday and I could feel the cold metal thru my gloves. Thin gloves by the way. I haven't handled an xrsy yet to make a comment.

The grip angle of the KRG is what I like. I can't do the traditional Monte Carlo type at all, the AR type isn't for me either. I can make the T4 work, but I prefer the true 90° grip angle of the KRG. The KRG grip is also closer to the trigger than the T4.

Looking at pics, the T4 seems to be the same as the A5.

It's all personal preference. I bought them all, tried them all and made my choice and have a good base line of experience with each. That's really the only way.

One thought, I do like the recoil impulse of the T4 more than I do the KRG. There is also a slight "ting" that radiates thru the rear end after the shoot, possibly due to the rear end being all Al on the W3. But the grip angle befits me more than the recoil impulse. I also like the placement of the KRG thumb rest and the ability to hold it like an AR type grip if I want. I never tried a manners with a thumb hole to comment on that.

 

[Willys46]

I used the manners T4A for years, a Mcmillan a3/a5 before that, but I made the switch to the MPA chassis reluctantly last year.
It came down to the MPA chassis gave me a few extra points in a match. The barricades and other shooting positions the MPA chassis works better. I disagree in the prone shooting. I feel the tradional tactical style stocks like the T4 is better shooting prone. Off hand I see no difference.
If I wanted a do everything including hunting I would go back to a T4, but competition I would roll the chassis.

 

[SubOptimal]

For me, the choice was simple. I don't have a standard body type. Fairly long arms, a long neck, wide shoulders and a thin face. In the past 5 years, I have gone from 242 lbs at 5'10" to 150 lbs and probably 5'9" by now. I got old and have lost a lot of muscle. Guns that used to fit me, do not anymore. Now I could build the adjustability back into a conventional stock but with the current crop of relatively low cost chassis out there, I have decided to go with a chassis. My first chassis system was by no means a cheap variant. I purchased a completed rifle off the Flea Market section here. A custom action, custom bbl, custom trigger all bolted into an AIAX chassis with a folding stock. The gun flat spoiled me rotten, a few minutes of tweaking the various adjustments and I had a gun that was perfectly fitted to me without having to contort my body in any way. My shooting has improved and that is all one can ask.

 

[smoooth1]

I heartily agree with the sentiments above about the KRG X-Ray, it just feels "right". In fact, after getting one set up, I bought another less than a week later!
While the chassis system is awesome, it is not for every situation, but neither is a 5' long 13-15lb rifle. Different strokes for different folks. I can say with confidence that I will NEVER own an all metal chassis ever again; learned from my mistake.

 

[308Gunner]

Making the rifle fit you versus you trying to fit the rifle

 

[tevans0707]

I could never shoot a chassis as well as I do my McMillans. I just couldn't get comfortable behind them. I bought a RPR and even with the Ergo deluxe tactical grip on it I just couldn't get the thumb shelf I like. So now the Ruger sits in the safe and I have 2 tikka's both is McMillan A5's and haven't looked back.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[spife7980]

and even with the Ergo deluxe tactical grip on it I just couldn't get the thumb shelf I like.

Sounds like you’re a prime candidate for the krg chassis’s, it’s almost impossible to shoot without it on the thumb shelf.
I had the same problem with your ergo grip on my cousins element.

 

[tevans0707]

Sounds like you�re a prime candidate for the krg chassis�s, it�s almost impossible to shoot without it on the thumb shelf.
I had the same problem with your ergo grip on my cousins element.

Honestly I was going to get a Whiskey 3, but then I found a A5 fully adjustable and couldn't pass it up. I may switch to a Whiskey 3 in the future, but I'm to comfortable with my McMillans right now.

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[demolitionman]

There's alot of appeal to buying a chassis and not having to f' around with drilling out the mounting holes to the proper pillar diameter, then epox'ing the pillars in perfectly straight using custom cut long ass bolt-rods attatched to the action then run through the stock so they protrude a few inches, then using tubing or tape to lock the action down ontop of the bedding compound perfectly even, then glass bedding the stock to the action, then trimming and cutting the mounting bolts to proper length, then having to chamfer the cut bolts and re-thread them so they take into the action proper without cross threading on start up.....sometimes with two kids and a wife, it's just easier to spend 5 minutes and drop a barrelled action into a chassis. That being said, the most accurate gun I own is one I epoxy bedded into a stock.

 

[Scotts556]

As much as I like the feeling of MCM or Manners stocks. I love the modularity of a chassis. the ablity to add and remove rail sections for things like bipods, IR devices, night vision and thermals Makes it a far better option than no Chassis systems.

The one thing I don't understand is peoples complaint about chassis is in the cold. I'm a Military guy so gloves are a must always. And I have never had issues handling them in the cold.

I do see how some chassis are can be rough on the hands. But a IMHO a good chassis shouldn't have all this intricate machine work with all these lines angles shapes that don't need to be there.

Scott

 

[Ledzep]

I switched from a KRG Xray, which is probably my favorite chassis short of a JAE (but I don't have the $$$ for that) to a Manners EH1. I ran a Manners T2 before the KRG, and a Manners MCS-T before that. The T2,T4,T6,EH1 grip is the best thing ever, and I don't know if it's real or not, but the Manners stocks don't seem to get caught up in things as much. It's not the "traditional" spots on the chassis that cut you up. It's rail sections, or sling mounts, or whatever else, little pokey things all over and corners, even on the "smoother" ones.

Chassis feel more blocky and less natural to me in general, I guess. Harder to get my zen on or something.

 

[kimberyote]

Great comments. Im going for my first build, and I'm asking all of these questions that are here. I just want to blast coyotes from 250-500 yards. No competing, unless I win the lottery. Me Buying a TAC A1 would solve a lot of questions, but Im going to tour the Manners shop and see what they have in regards to full stock/actions set ups. it's hard to get your head around all of the pluses and minuses w/o spending the time & $$$ to through using each type.

 

[SLG]

I like both stocks and chassis' very much. Can't really say one is "better" than the other, though for certain applications, one might be better than the other. I do think that a thumbhole AICS chassis is the best thing ever made for me, ergonomically. It's just too heavy for a lot of things I like to do with rifles.

As a counterpoint (meaningless eitherway) to a statement above, my most accurate gun is in a bedded chassis.

Chassis' may not need bedding, but they do seem to do better when bedded.

 

[Crews]

I just bolted a 5” pic rail section to the end of my Evo rail @ the 9 o’clock position. This will allow me to use my new Magnetospeed rail mount, and always collect good solid MV data and not worry about POI shift. Went ahead and put a rail mounted HK loop up there too while I was at it. Took 5 minutes.
I would have to think about it for a week before I even considered adding this capability on a Manners.

I agree the fiberglass stocks are more comfortable. But damn a chassis sure makes adapting a rifle to your needs easy.

 

[Bradu]

I prefer a chassis for a couple reasons. Number one is availability, most of the time you can get a chassis delivered to your door the same week. Most of the time a traditional style stock takes several months unless you find one at stocky's. The second reason is the adjustability of them including the length of pull is very simple on a chassis like Krg whiskey 3. I know now with the manners mini chassis there are other options but I like dropping a rifle in and being ready to shoot in a few minutes. I have had a bad experience with a so called gunsmith that fucked up the bedding on a pair of rifles which caused one to not even allow the mag to lock into the magwell. He redid it and when I got them both back, the bedding was too thick and the bolt didn't even touch the round. His solution was to give me 2 10 round mags lol.

 

[Baron85]

Chassis and traditional stocks are all personal preference. I have a McMillan A5, Sako TRG, krg bravo, and have owned a j Allen and played with a few of the pistol grip AR chassis. To me I can't get my hand comfortable with the pistol grips. The j Allen grip was no vertical enough for me and was too heavy. The McMillan is very comfortable but my favorite is the Sako trg. I sold the j Allen and replaced it with the bravo and just ordered another bravo for another rifle.

They will all shoot it's just a matter of what fits you the best to allow you to shoot better.

 

[OLD308]

Well like everyone else I’ve bought and tried most all the stocks and stock types out there. I did the chassis thing for about 6 months. Winter hit and that cold chunk of aluminum was sold ASAP. The overall feel also left me wanting more. If McMillan makes it I pretty much own it. I have Mannors too. Just can’t find anything better to me than the McMillan A4. A3-5 comes close, can’t stand to even think about using an A5.
Yea the wait time on a McMillan sucks, and the price is high. But it fits perfect, and it doesn’t feel like hugging a ice sickle. If you have the money, it can be adapted to do anything a chassis can. That includes the barricade stops, levels, bags, and flashy tactical lights for showing off the glitter paint.
Try them all first, maybe you’ll get lucky like me. Most don’t like the A4 so I get them cheap.