I'm contemplating how to get more drop on an SKB 100, 20 gauge that I have restocked. It has a through bolt, of course. However, I have heard that even through bolt stocks can be bent. I'd like to add a little bit more drop and some cast off as well (1/4" in each direction would be ideal). The question becomes, how?

I have bent other guns including a W. Evans and a couple of Cashmores for more drop and more, or less, cast. They are all "conventionally" stocked, in the sense that they lacked through bolts.

In this case, the through bolt is about 6 or 7" long. I'm considering shortening it to about 4.5" long to just behind the point of the comb. That would leave a little more wood behind the bolt to be bent. But still not much.

Is this the normal way to do this?

Thanks

Dennis Earle Smith told me the first thing to do is make the through hole bigger, then loosen the bolt when you bend the stock. You could also change th shape of the comb to the dimensions you need.

The only thing I do differently when bending a through bolt gun is place an additional clamp on the cheeks of the stock at the head to prevent spreading. I keep the bolt very tight during a bend and often tighten it a bit more afterward.

You are looking for a very small amount of travel to get your bend, the bolt should not cause you issues but if it does you will know it. I would set it up and see if you can push it as far as you need for the bend without issues cropping up.

I bet it will be fine.

Thanks for these two comments. I'm going to give it a go tonight or tomorrow and see what happens.

Someday, I need to learn to checker.

Follow SKB's advice. I do exactly the same. Don't forget his advice about clamping the cheeks so when you put pressure on the butt it does not spread the cheeks.

Not to hijack BrentD's thread, but if I may ask Steve, if you don't loosen the drawbolt a bit so that the head and washer can slip a tiny bit to a new position wouldn't the constant tension that the draw bolt would be under, by being sprung, increase the chance of the wood going back to it's original position? Or, at least, after the bend is done, slacken the draw bolt a bit and allow the head to reposition itself, then retighten it, relieving any lateral tension the bolt would be under?

Just trying to understand the process better before trying it myself on my Dickinson .410.

Thanks.

I feel that keeping the through bolt tight is critical in preventing damage to the head of the stock once pressure is applied. My experience is that the wood moves around the bolt and washer. I do not find through bolt guns any more difficult to bend than other guns, nor do I find increased spring back after the bend. It really is more a matter of the piece of wood in my opinion.

The SKB stock has a hole that is only about 5" deep. So there is not much wood behind the bolt to bend. I could deepen that hole, and then rethread the bolt and shorten it. But I don't know if that would be a good idea. I'm pretty sure the bolt is metric so I'd have to order up an appropriate metric threading die but that should be easy enough.

Is there any consensus on where, in the stock, the bolt should stop? What if the bottom of the hole was even with, for instance, the center of the grip cap? Too deep?

Thanks, Steve. I appreciate that.

I have not had springback on the two I have done however, I have had springback if I did not adjust the trigger guard after bending.