Form Churchill MK I Stock

My first firearm was a Ruger 10/22 and I loved it straight away. It was accurate, reliable and a lot of fun to shoot and also made a great bunny basher with a suitable moderator. I later sold it (stupid me!) but I sold it to someone I shot with and he still uses it to this day. One of the reasons why they are so popular, apart from being affordable, is that there are just so many aftermarket accessories for them.

Upgrade to 1st class

If you want to upgrade the barrel, trigger, controls etc. there are loads of companies that offer a myriad of options. Ruger’s wood and synthetic versions will never win any style awards, but they do the job and get the rifle into the hands of millions of shooters around the world. So, one way to instantly improve any 10/22, especially if it has the functional factory stock, is to replace it and, like the mechanical bits, the world’s your oyster!

I bought a Boyd’s laminate thumbhole unit many years ago, as it was a massive improvement. However, it’s always nice to see something different, so I was very keen to try out one of the versions offered by Form Rifle Stocks. I recently reviewed one for the BSA R-10 pre-charged pneumatic air rifle and found it to be an absolute work of art! So, without further ado, here’s the Ruger option, which is also available for other rifles.

Laminated lovely

Form use the finest quality hardwood laminate from Coloured Wood Products (CWP) of Finland to produce their stocks and CWP use time-proven and environmentally friendly techniques to produce a material of outstanding natural beauty and uncompromising practicality. 1.5mm birch veneers are individually pressure treated with natural wood dyes; then layered and pressed together with hot resin to create a highly stable material. Laminated wood is far stronger than conventional, natural timber, as there’s no ‘grain’ at all, which might be a weak point in a traditional build.

This is why this type of furniture is so popular with target shooters and hunters alike, as it’s incredibly strong but will not warp when exposed to heat, cold and moisture. First off, what a striking laminate! Like a lot of stocks like this, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what is one shooter’s dream could be another’s nightmare! I think it looks great, but Form offer a wide selection of colours should green and black not be to your liking.

Up front

Starting at the front, the tapered, hand-filling forend allows for a variety of holds and I love the way the top part is relieved, which sheds weight and ups the looks. The barrel free-floats nicely and any profile will fit. My Ruger has a shortened factory tube and it looks great in the Form, especially when fitted with one of the excellent Wildcat Panther moderators. The grip and thumbhole are absolutely spot on for me and the upright stance allows for a perfect reach to the trigger and the large, almost triangular hole gives plenty of room for the hand, much more than on my Boyd. The grip is quite chunky, which I like and there’s one of Form’s stylish alloy medallions set into the base. Overall length is 28” and it weighs 3 lbs 3 oz.

The rear

Moving back, the lower portion of the butt is relived and would make a great gripping hook for prone work off a bipod. No QD sling studs are fitted, but Form will do it on request for free! As this design is ambidextrous, the comb/cheekpiece unit is twin-sided and the triangular adjuster button doesn’t interfere when mounting the rifle. It runs on two, plastic-coated alloy rods, with another threaded rod in the centre, which engages with the adjuster/locking mechanism. To adjustment; press in on the catch and position the comb to the desired position; height can be raised by 33mm, which is plenty for anyone. The butt assembly is similar and uses the same locking/adjustment system and working length of 33mm as the comb/cheekpiece. At first glance, it might look like it’s only length-adjustable, but the rubber, Limbsaver pad can be raised or lowered to refine your shoulder position by up to 20mm, which is done via four small crosshead screws

Used and pleased

I’ve used the stock with both low and high powered scopes, as well as a red dot sight and I could adjust it to suit any optic. A well-made and designed product like this does not come cheap at over £600, which is a lot more than the rifle sitting in it! However, there are other options if you don’t want the full Monty of this version, you can just have an adjustable cheekpiece for £478.40 or a non-adjustable version for £225.

Once again, Form have really delivered the goods; so, the Churchill Mk I stock comes highly recommended. This go-ahead, British company have loads more gorgeous furniture available, for a huge range of rifles, so check out their website for more details.