MODEL 14 & 141 BUTT STOCKS / FIT TO LOWER RECEIVER

[nambujim]

I make these postings in no particular order but rather by the number and frequency of inquiries I get on the subject. To simplify the subject matter to some degree it is fair to state that virtually all the Model 141 stocks will interchange and can be used on other Model 141 lower receivers with little difficulty.

While it's nice to clear that up for those in need of a M141 stock the situation is not so simple with the Model 14 and I get hoarse from retelling those in need of the problems involved of which there are several.

I don't know how many patterns for the lower receiver/triggerguard Remington used during the production of the Model 14 but just this last week I sold a stock to a chap telling him that out of my spare "guards" it fit those numbered 3214, 35xxx, 64xxx, & 117xxx along with some others or about a third of those I had on hand. It did not fit 2224, 614xx, 85xxx, and 90xxx. I obviosly threw out all those numbers not only to impress you but in the hope you get the idea that a good flush fit to a specific lower receiver is a crap shoot and based on this one test its about one in three.

So you're thinking "oh goody, one in three that's not too bad" but it gets worse when you inject the fact that stocks made before the hook/lever safety won't "readily" fit on a rifle that has a hook/lever bolt. They can be made to fit but it takes a little "know how" and patience to open up the area in the stock behind the lower receiver to accept the wider/longer protrusion.

Got a call from my good friend Tom Hemphilll about a year ago who picked up a nice stock for one of his guns that was in great need, it fit perfectly, he was excited, and then he "shucked" the action back and firmly wedged the bolt into the stock. Tom didn't immediately tell me the entire story but rather stated "Jim, I simply worked the action and it locked up like a vault", I've known Tom for a good while so it was necessary to torment him a bit by asking "did you just put a new stock on the piece"? There was silence and since Tom doesn't swear there was just this loud groan on the other end of the line then "what do I do to fix it"? After the laughing subsided I told him to simply remove the stock and the action would be set free then detailed what he would have to do to make it right. I told this story because there will be those that get on the "Forum" with a similar problem, maybe this will help a couple of them before they do something dumb in an effort to free up their action.

So we have these two major fit problems so if you want a stock and aren't fussy about it I would say your chances are one in five you might get a perfect fit. It continues to get worse in that you need to get a stock with the same buttplate on it as your old one, good luck with that but let us assume you do and that is when you find there are different patterns of semi-crescent plates but mostly the 90-100 year old wood has shrunk and that steel shotgun plate hasn't.

Steel shotgun style plates are getting really hard to find and there is precious little steel at the bottom edge so it is very difficult to find a good fit so on that basis alone you might be left with replacing it with one of the plastic repro
plates which are in themselves a pain to fit and I don't even try to do it.

I have spelled it out as best I can, hopefully it will stop a few of the calls I dread that start out "do you have a stock for a Model 14 Remington". Let me add that there are some aftermarket stocks out there, some are better than others, none fit perfectly, none have buttplates, and I'll quote my "stock guy" at this point "don't ever bring me one of those again, I'd rather make you one from a chunk of wood".

For information, hope this helps or explains the situation for those in need.

Jim Peterson
Charlotte, NC