Stock reshaping

[wahunterinrok]

Well made it back safe from Afghanistan and getting ready to start my next project, reshaping the stock on my Cabela's Hawken. My Cheekbone doesn't like the cheek piece on it when I shoot anything above mild round ball loads. Any advice on working the cheek piece down? I figure Ill end up doing a full refinish of the stock after complete, probably a nice oil finish rather than the shiny stock finish. Thanks in advance

 

[crockett]

I may be wrong but reducing the cheek piece might be the wrong direction. I had a 12 gauge pump that I put a rifled barrel on. I added a scope which required me to lift my head a bit- so everytime I shot the stock would belt me in the jaw. A modern rifle usually has a straight stock whereas the traditional muzzle loader a lot more drop. What about a leather- sew on pad you can remove after shooting?

 

[necchi]

A 4-in-1 rasp.
Use the toothy side too knock it down and the finer side to smooth it up a bit before sanding for the finish.
I'm another that doesn't care for that high cheek.
Take a little at a time, and shoot it too see how it feels.
I think they still look a little better with some cheek left on there, but there's no need to feel like you just came out of a bar fight with a guy with a good left hook just because you've been shooting your gun!!

Good to hear yer back safe-n-sound,

 

[jmatley]

Congratulations on making it back safely. Have a son-in-law who will finally be home later this month also.

I started a Cabella’s Hawken rifle kit for both my son and one of the son-in-laws. It was a first project and I wanted to make them as close to an original style as possible, given what I had. I soon realized that I didn’t have the faintest idea what Hawken rifle actually looked like. So, I purchased a set of Hawken rifle plans from TOTW and made a template of the beavertail cheek rest. Took a LOT of wood off of that stock in order to make it look not so heavy and clunky.

Later, my wife reminded me that I had another son-in-law that I needed to assemble a muzzleloader for also. I purchased another Cabella’s Hawken kit that the owner had not finished. The woodwork was in pretty rough shape and there wasn’t enough wood on the stock for the beavertail style cheek rest. With the wood I had to work with, the best I could do was to carve a more traditional style.

Hope that this gives you some ideas.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Nice job on that stock! :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

I'm in about the same boat as you with cheek issues on a Cabela's Hawken. I'll use the same approach I do with GPRs- Cut and shoot. The cheek piece and comb seem "massive" to me on both models, so there's lots to work with.

I start by "thinning" the cheek piece, doing nothing else but taking down the thickness. It works out for me to cut them down to about half thickness. In the shop I close my eyes, shoulder the rifle, then open my eyes to see how the sights align.

Once I have the sights lining where I want them, I shoot it for a little while to get acquainted with the new feel. If I'm happy, then I move on. I usually do the comb next, because I find I still have issues with cheek bone pounding and head height even though the side-to-side adjustment is right. Gotta go gentle with how you lower and shape the comb though, because it's sure easy to throw off the lines and proportions. More close-eye shouldering followed by shooting, of course.

Once I have those two dimensions right for my face and build, I go about shaping the cheek plate and fine tuning.