Joe West Riflestocks

For so long, those of us wanting to either improve a current rifle or design and build a new one had to look across the Atlantic to find suitable replacement riflestocks. Not any more, Joe West Riflestocks in Norfolk have hit the ground running and are now up to full speed offering 95% finished laminated gun stocks. As well as a wide range of standard models, laminates offer a blank sheet in terms of modification to designs, and the colour choices will build a great looking gun - so what is available?

GOOD FOUNDATIONS

Rutland Plywood in Vermont makes a material they call “Stratabond” which is THE high quality, multi coloured laminate seen in virtually every type of laminated stock. Joe West also uses this material, so you can be confident the foundations of quality are built on the right ground. Stratabond is stable and resistant to environmental changes and although not quite as light as a composite material, is cheaper and more reminiscent of walnut for the traditionalist in terms of appearance and feel if not colour. I first met Joe and Simon West at the British Shooting Show in February and was lucky enough to be invited along to their workshops in Norfolk to see the time and effort that had gone into starting up the new business.

VISIONARY BEGINNINGS

It all began when Simon, whose background is in bespoke kitchen manufacture, helped out a friend who needed a stock modifying with a heavily offset cheekpiece to assist with an eyesight problem. This initial work led Simon to realise the potential in this material and that manufacturing from scratch was already within his skillset. After starting with a small number of blanks to clad their own guns, Simon and son Joe began using custom built machinery to start outfitting customers’ guns. The snowball grew and grew requiring bulk orders of laminate from Vermont in the full rainbow of colours on offer.

All stocks are built around a core of basic styles but Joe and Simon are keen to embrace modifications, design input from the customer and are wide open to new ideas. Any current forend can be mated up with any buttstock design with pistol grips, thumbholes and vertical grips for `tactical` rifles or flowing, slim designs for lighter hunting guns. I was also shown palm shelves and finger grooves let into the primary rough-hewn stocks, tailor made for the hands of the end user.

I asked how this was possible without performing a personal `hand-fitting` service and was shown blanks created from cheaper softwoods that could be sent out to customers for them to personalise with car body filler. Once sanded to fit themselves making a `pattern`, they are returned for translation into the Stratabond. I saw designs from sporting rimfires to F-class target rifles and discussed how careful evolution had taken place to make sure all bases were covered for the many arenas of our sport. For example in the case of F-class, stringent weight and performance parameters have shaped the designs. Although appearing initially very similar, F-open and F-tr stocks used subtle differences to accommodate for their relevant rests and weight limits in category for example.

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT

I ordered a stock for a Remington 700 with a varmint forend and vertical pistol grip/tactical rear end in Woodland laminate, inlet for the standard BDL action/Floorplate setup. I found it hard to resist an adjustable Cheekpiece and was delighted to be offered a millimetre perfect length of pull specification, including a 1” Decelerator recoil pad. My stock arrived two weeks later and was exactly as specified with a 95% perfect inlet and rough sanded, requiring a few hours to finish it spread over a few days to allow drying time.

The external machined surface was excellent with no imperfections to sand out but I enlarged the bolt handle recess to make sure it cleared the oversized Third Eye Tactical bolt knob fitted to the gun. I also removed some material from the cheekpiece to assist bolt removal. As I sometimes shoot left handed, I did not specify any grip modifications and the vertical profile was comfortable with a thumb-up hold. Other than the bolt knob cut-out, the stock was symmetrical in design for my south paw yearnings and the action, bottom metal and action bolts fitted together with no further modifications. The varmint barrel channel I had specified was well executed with a very consistent 2mm gap along its full length. I intend to do a full pillar and Devcon bedding job to this gun long term but for now, shot it without to test the basic inlet.

ELBOW GREASE

A generous finishing pack is supplied, bursting with increasingly fine grits of sandpaper, steel wool, latex gloves and a bottle of Birchwood Casey’s Tru-oil which I have used for similar jobs before. Sanding a laminate requires some elbow grease but it will always reward the effort put into it. After ascending finer and finer grits of sandpaper and grain sealing with the Tru-oil, every further coat can reveal small imperfections which are easy to re-sand in localised areas and continue to build the finish. If you put too much Tru-oil on, rub it back a little, it’s a very forgiving product. You can get a feel for it as you go and learn from mistakes without feeling you have messed anything up.

TAKING STOCK

I’m pleased with the stock, the inletting quality and how it was specified and delivered. I might slim down the Cheekpiece a little to suit my personal preferences but know if I had asked, it would have been no trouble at all for Joe or Simon to have done it for me. Joe West has a great future and is a manufacturer who invites personalisation rather than `allowing` it, and is a breath of fresh air. Manufactured in the UK from a pre-held stock of blanks with more options available than I can list, check out the website for more information on colours, models and rifle model inlets, what is not to like?

FOR
UK made with laminate blanks in stockPersonalised customer serviceFull custom modifications available
AGAINST
With so much choice, think carefully about what you want
VERDICT
It’s hard to find anything not to like, everything they are doing is right and they still want to learn more about their customers’ needs and requirements