Choate stock for M96 Mauser?

[lurcher]

I am sporterizing an old M96 swedish mauser and I'm trying to keep the weight down.  To this end I have obtained the lightest rings and bases I could find and I am considering carrying out other modifications including fluting the bolt , drilling the ball on the end of the bolt handle and shortening my new military contour barrel to 20 inches.

I have checked out the choate synthetic stock  for the M96 on the web. Are these a good durable synthetic stock? I notice that the trigger guard is built in. Does anyone know if it is it synthetic or alloy? does the stock also incorporate a magazine box? Would one fit a floor plate to this stock or is it now a blind magazine as is the case for some Remington rifles?


Cheers

John
NZ

[Mikey]

lurcher - I'm not certain about this but I think the synthetic stocks are a bit heavier than the wood stocks are.  I would liek to think that if you are trying to keep the weight down, a synthetic might not be the way to go.

Also, you mentioned cutting your barrel back to 20".  Is that 96 carrying a 29" bbl now?  The M38s wear a 23" bbl and mine is pretty sweet and I think that is as short as I would want to go.  You spoke to fluting the bolt and drilling a hole in the end of the bolt knob - all that would certainly customize your rifle and its looks but would it reduce the weight by any significant amount?  I would hate to see you go through all of that work with a beautiful Carl Gustav, and then not be happy with it or have an unbalanced rifle that didn't feel good in your hands or when you brought it to your shoulder.  

But, alla this is just my two cents worth.  Mikey.