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Grayboe Outlander Stock Review
As mentioned at https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....olt-Gun/page26 I’ve been working with a Remington 700 in 308 that started off with a 24” barrel and an ADL-style synthetic stock but ended up with a 22” barrel and bedded into an HS Precision stock. These days, it’s wearing a 3-10x42 Nightforce SHV.
I hunt in the Pacific Northwest, where shots can range from 15 yards in timber to half a mile across a clear cut. I want to end up with a rifle that’s light and handles quickly in the brush but that can reach out several hundred yards across a clear cut. This rifle is accurate enough for longer shots but it’s heavier than I like for still-hunting. The HS Precision stock also moves the balance point far enough aft that the muzzle starts to float when I get in a hurry, so I was looking for something lighter that moved weight forward. Early Outlanders were on the heavy side, but when I saw that it had been lightened up, I bought one.
Customer service started before delivery.
I had to spend a fair amount of time on the road on short notice and I didn’t want a $350 package sitting on my porch for weeks. I called them and they agreed to coordinate shipping with my travel schedule, which they executed perfectly. It arrived a few days ago after a wait time at the shorter end of the window listed on their website. Build quality looks and feels good. Lines are slightly thicker than a classic sporter stock with less drop at the comb and heel, like the stocks that Finn Aagaard used near the end of his career. I had no problems dropping the barreled action into the stock and torquing everything up to the recommended 45 inch-pounds.
Attachment 70805
Accuracy stayed the same.
Grayboe claims that their stocks don’t need bedding. They’re right. In the HS Precision stock, this rifle groups ~1 MOA with the Creedmoor Sports PALMA load (Lapua brass with a 155-grain Lapua Scenar bullet). It also groups around 0.5 MOA with 45 grains of TAC under a 168-grain Hornady Match Boat Tail in Lapua brass with Winchester magnum primers. Both loads group as well as they did when the rifle was bedded into the HS Precision stock.
Balance got better.
I want my rifles to balance at the front action screw. In the HS Precision stock, this rifle balanced aft of that with the NF scope. Switching to a 4x Leupold for brush hunting restores the balance (mostly) but costs quite a bit of reach. In the Grayboe stock, this rifle balanced properly with the NF scope. I haven’t tried it with the 4x Leupold yet but that’s coming up when I have a little more range time.
My rifle is lighter.
The HS Precision stock weighs 36.32 ounces. The Grayboe stock is just over 11 ounces lighter at 25.125 ounces. With the HS Precision stock, a Nightforce 3-10x42 SHV in SWFA low steel rings, it weighs 8.68 pounds. In the Grayboe stock, it weighs 7.98 pounds. In the Grayboe stock with a 4x Leupold scope and low Weaver rings, it should weigh 7.41 pounds.
Conclusions
I’ll definitely buy more Grayboe stocks. Service was great but I’d love to be able to buy one of their stocks off the rack from a gun shop or some place like Cabelas. I understand that they’re is working on that but I also understand that they’re busy building stocks and expanding their line, so maybe we’ll get that in the future.
Let me know if you have questions.
Thanks,
Okie John
