Big bore build, grouse to Cape buffalo

[Robobiss]

Wow, what a beauty of a rifle you have there. Excited to see all that you do with this.

 

[Sinistram]

Outstanding! Sub'd for sure.

You've got quite the project in front of you, and it sounds like you have ample time to work on it. Winter is coming, and there's nothing that passes the time better than carving away on a wood stock in the shop. You can kill hours down there without realizing it. If you weren't already aware, you might want to read up on some of the experts of stock making, D'Arcy Echols, Curt Crum, et al. They've published enough articles on stocking big bore rifles to give you some pointers so you can avoid any issues down the road. The highlights are - bed the crap out of it, leave some room at the tang (~1/16") and put a few crossbolts in so it doesn't move. Speaking from experience, a split rifle stock is an absolute heartbreaker (and really expensive to fix!). The grain flow on your blank looks textbook perfect, flows almost the whole way from tip to tail! gonna be a beaut when it's finished.

Also, the "grouse loads" olde tyme guys used were usually some type of fast pistol powder in a small quantity. I can't recommend doing that, but others have mentioned H4895 and Trail Boss, and they work great at giving everyday shootable loads. I have some for my 416 Rem. that approximate moderate 45/70 ballistics, and you could blast all day. Plus, it means you can take it for deer, black bear, or whatever and get the rifle some extra time in the field - and confidently explode fruits and veggies.