I recently purchased a Remington 700 AAC-SD .308. I love the gun although I have not shot it a lot yet. Some of the reviews I've read about the gun, people hate the Hogue stock that comes with it. It has a very nice feel but the end of the stock tends to touch the barrel when resting it on sandbags or when a bipod is mounted on it, thus taking away the free floating feature.

I am currently looking at purchasing a HS Precision or Bell and Carlson stock. I don't want to break the bank but want to get a nice one. I think I want one with the aluminum bedding in it (if that's the right terminology). I am going to have someone install a muzzle brake (American Precision Arms Little Bastard Brake) on it (since it comes prethreaded) and am debating if I should have them glass bed the stock also. My main question is, is it necessary to do the glass bedding if the stock already has the aluminum/metal bedding???? Also if anyone has any bits of advice of which type/style of stock to choose from that would be helpful. There are so many styles. I don't think I want a fancy tactical stock that is adjustable, although they do look nice. Thanks for any help!!

Should you, yes. Do you have to, no. The aluminum beds are shaped to a Remington but isn't a exact fit. So you should do it for optimal accuracy. But it's not absolutely must do,.....it may not shoot the ammo as well Iike it did before you changed stocks. So you may need to try different ammo to find out what it likes now.
I like a stock that keeps my wrist straight up and down. So i go for a long range stocks/pistol grip style or a thumbhole stock. Now my buddy hates thumbhole stocks, so it really about personal preference.

Why go through all the hassle of buying and fitting a new stock? It isn't very hard at all to relieve the pressure point at the forend of the stock. Just lightly sand the area(s) that touch the barrel when the guns is on the bags or sticks until it no longer touches there. I like to be able to slip a folded dollar bill between the barrel and the stock along the entire length of the barrel while it is resting on the bags.

Thanks guys, I'm leaning toward the B&C Vertical Grip Tactical (which has the pistol grip style built in) or the Weatherby style stock. Both look really nice!

I've thought about sanding it but have had lots of input from others that it's not worth doing with this stock. Supposedly sanding it does not take care of the problem. There just isn't enough support at the foreend of the stock.

I've had a couple that required a lot of sanding to get it to be free floating while laying on the bags. By a lot, I mean more than just the 2 pressure points Rem usually uses at the end of the barrel channel. Sometimes you need to take an extra 1/8" or so out of the stock in that area, sometimes a bit less to get there, but it's a LOT cheaper than buying a new one and it works just as well. Save your money if you can.

I would recommend that you shoot your rifle, extensively, before deciding it won't group for beans without a new stock. Truth of the matter, regardless of what "they" say, is that every rifle is unique. Maybe your Hogue stock is a piece of junk and maybe your rifle will shoot bug-holes, just the way she sits.

Don't over think it or have a knee-jerk reaction based on some thread you saw in a forum. Shoot the gun. If it doesn't shoot well with 2 or 3 different loads, try relieving the stock as American Made suggested. The odds of you being able to get EXCELLENT groups with the setup you already have, and ammo your gun likes, are really very high. It's also quite likely that you'll have to try several different loads to find your best groups, regardless of what stock you have on the rifle.

Consider that the right ammo can turn a rifle with an inexpensive wood or synthetic stock into a sub-MOA rig. The key is to not go swapping around components until ya know what you're working with.

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Why you would want to restock a rifle you haven't even fired yet is beyond me. The odds are even at this point that a new stock will make it shoot worse! But if you are like me, and sometimes have more money than sense, have at it. I put a nice B&C on my .308 VTR -- once determining after hundreds of rounds and hours of stock mods that the original stock was too flimsy.

I have shot it about 20 times but just enough to get it sighted in for deer season, I have not done any precision shooting or shot any reloads with it, which I plan to do eventually. I do admit the new stock at this point is more of a want than a need, but I just really want to trick out this gun. Like I said above I will be putting a muzzle brake on this rifle to tame it down, I am putting a tactical knob on the bolt, and plan on purchasing a B&C stock.

On another note, I too have a Remington VTR chambered in .204. I have heard some issues with it's stock also. It took a long time to tame it down to get it to shoot decently. Not sure if the craziness was the non-free floating barrel or just finding the right load. I have it shooting sub 1"MOA currently. I would like to get it better than that.