doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Bend stock on RBL?

I've got another question for you guys. Has anyone tried to have the stock bent on their RBL yet? I just got mine in yesterday and it is stocked to high for me. I know it has a through bolt stock and was wondering if it could be done. I need to have it bent down about 1/4".

Also, do you think having the stock bent will hurt the value of the gun?

Tim, on a thread a few days ago someone called Lou and wanted to know same thing and he heard Lou ask Tony and said no problem to bend it. I know it is new but a rasp will take 1/4" off comb fast! Bobby

It's wood and if the grain is amenable, it'll bend. I would think Art's down in Hillsboro might be able to do it.

Have you shot it yet? Not meant to be smart-alec question but you said you just got it yesterday. If you are making that decision just based on how it "looks" without shooting it a fair amount, both at targets and patterning board, I wouldn't be too quick to do anything. Another point, if the 1/4" you'd like to change is at the comb, where you put your face, that's a big bend! Was it not made to your specifications? If you paid for custom dimensions I'd ask RBL to make a correct stock for you.

Thanks for the replies.

Jim, you make a good point. I have not fired it yet, but I see a whole lot of rib when I mount the gun. If I decide to keep the gun, I will definitely shoot it for POI before I have the stock bent. Based on my other guns, I think I would have to have it bent between a 1/4" and 3/8" at the heel not the face.

I posted earlier but must have screwed up since it is not here. Make sure you pattern it before doing anything. You might be surprised. I was.

Thanks. Most of my guns show me a fair amount of rib with even a bit between the front and the middle bead that I usually add. I generally don't have the feeling that I have to "float" the target significantly above the bead or rib. Give it some real test before changing anything. If you do decide to have it bent, 1/4" or 3/8" at the heel should be easy. It should also not be noticeable so should not affect resale, IMO. I've only tried bending 100 year old stocks. I'm told new wood is much easier.

I did not think that an RBL was custom dimensions.

Remember because of downflip you can see a lot more rib on a 20 than a 12. The stock on my 20 is 1/8" higher than my 12.

Just a reminder, SxS's generally shoot flater than expected. It's in their nature.
Also, guns are like new baseball gloves. It takes a while to brake them in. It is always a source of amasement to me how quick even the best shooters are to modify guns.
I have a friend who both hunts and shoots clays with me. He missed a couple of easy Chuckers with me and immediately started talking about cutting the stock. He should have been talking about cutting his head which was off the stock when he pulled the trigger. That same fellow ran 100 straight at modified international trap and hadn't walked off the field and was talking about openning the chokes on his Perazzi.
The obvious point is you have to shoot the gun before you decide to modify it and not just once. Give the gun several months and make decisions based on experience and for the right reasons.
These guns are not stocked particularly high by the way. When I first got mine, I was concerned that it would be too low for me to shoot. Also, nearly all my field guns have recoil pads on them to avoid slipping when shouldered. I was ready to modify mine based on experience with other guns. I took my own advise, shot the gun, and found that neither issue was a problem.
Yes, gun fit is everything and this implies that the gun shoots where you point it. You don't know, at this point, that your RBL doesn't. Give it some time and it may surprise you.

Does downflip refer to the direction the barrels go after firing? If so, how is a 20 different from a 12?