Marlin 60 Adjustable Stock

Overview

Too bad I didn't think of this when my kids were growing up. But I've got it ready for their kids. I was pondering shelling out some $ for a one of those "kids" 22lr when I remembered I had this sitting in the back of the gun cabinet - not being used.

I love the Marlin 60 - I think I paid $89 for this one. Much more accurate than any 10/22 I've shot and it will keep running brick after brick without cleaning. My pack-around, do-everything 22lr rifle is a Remington Nylon 66 - but I can't cut one of those down.

I'm showing what I did - I think a lot of you will see and improve on it.

Construction Ideas

I cut the stock down to create a 12" Length of Pull - which seems about right for the average 8 year old. Then I create a sliding butt pad that lets you get the LOP up to nearly 15 inches - enough for a big guy.

These are the basic components

Here is an end view

And here is the stock in "child" position

Adult position

Parts

• • 1/2" aluminum rod - ACE hardware - $3.99

  • 1/4" threaded inserts - 75 cents ea at ACE

  • 8x32 thumb screws - 25 cents ea at ?

  • 8x32 carriage head screws - 10 cents ea

  • A couple of purple rubber plumbing washers to provide a little wiggle.

You don't need 1/2" rod - 3/8" will do and you'll likely have an easier time drilling the stock as most drills have a 3/8" chuck.

You need to drill and tap the rod to accept a screw.

You need to inlet the stock for the thumb screw. Everyone in my clan is a right-hander, so protruding thumb screws on the right side aren't an issue. Maybe you can find those thumbscrews with the flip over heads?

Not shown is that you'll need to grind down the screw heads just a touch if you buggered them up with a slipping screwdriver. I probably should've used a different fastener.

Things I would change

The moment I finished this page I could see some things I should've done different:

• 1. I would've cut me a 1/4" piece of black HDPE plastic to the exact shape of the buttpad. Then I would've fastened the rods to the plastic and then fastened the butt pad to the plastic. I think that would've looked better. Would've needed to cut the stock shorter for that and maybe made the rods longer to compensate.

  2. I think 3/8" rod is plenty. And it would've been easier to drill a deep hole.

  3. I used my $10 die grinder to inlet the stock - which was fine. But I think I should've ground down the brass inserts some more.

  4. I'm seriously thinking that I could've skipped a lot of work if I had simply cut a big slot in the stock on my table saw. Then I could've used a chunk of black plastic that would slide in and out and held in place with a single thumbscrew. I would screw the stock buttpad into the plastic. Oh well - next time.