Rifle stock options for budget shooters.

In today's economy we all want to save money, people will get a rifle and when there expectations of accuracy aren't meet they think without a trip to the gunsmith and several hundred dollars there stuck.
Let me tell you a rifle stock may have the greatest effect on accuracy, I have seen rifles shooting 2" groups and with a new stock and a bedding/pillar job that same rifle shoot sub MOA!..

So now there's the question of cost, we'll the work you can do yourself, it's truly not that hard, and you can practice on the factory stock first. So now we are down to stock selection, and we don't want to spend $400+, my answer has always been and will always be hogue or bell and carlson, they have gotten more expensive over the years, but there still the best value (aside from ordering an old 40xb from numrich).
I get people asking for something light that they can carry all day then those same people want benchrest accuracy........not going to happen, it's a trade off the heavier the stock the more consistently accurate, the lighter the easy to carry, but fret not, are you really going to notice 1/8" difference? Probably not, for people that will hunt and still want impressive groups I would go with hogue over mold.
Let me  discuss a few more things pertaining to these stocks.
With bell and Carlson, you will pay more than a hogue, but they have more options in design, and there tactical stocks are awesome and still $300 less than the competitors, the forend will be rigid, but as with any stock, for the best accuracy you must glass bed.

With the hogue you can go pillar (about $99) or full length bedding block(about $190) if you go pillar you will want to stiffen the forend by filling it (which will add weight) or buy an arrow cut it in half and using bedding compound glue it in after you have cut channels for them in the forend ribs.

With bell and Carlson depending on application I would recommend the light tactical (if you're going to be walking a lot) or m40 tactical (varmint or matches) either will run you about $290.

No matter which stock you go with you will want to skim it with bedding compound to ensure a tight fit, from the factory all stocks have tolerances (slop) that allow a drop in fit, this slop also allows the action to shift within the stock negatively affecting accuracy.

One last option, I've mentioned this in an earlier post. You can order a Remington 40xb stock from numrich parts, if you are mounting a Remington onto this stock and using it for comp shooting where loading one round at a time is all you'll do, then it's perfect in stock form with a bedding job. If you are mounting a diff action, or want bottom metal or mag, you need to work on it and you will need some skills and tools, let's go down the list.
Dremel, helpful not necessary though.
Wood chisels
Sanding paper
Wood rasps
Drill gun.
With these items you can modify the stock to accept mags, different rifle actions, change the forend design, hollow (skeletonize) the butt to lighten it. I strongly recommend coating the stock with rubberized paint, or bedliner to prevent wood swelling.
I will be posting a video in the future on modifying a 40xb stock as well as glass/pillar bedding.
Stay tuned..