Crack in Carbon Fiber Stock (Pure Precision Altitude)

[Blabetron]

Need some advise and additional perspective.

I bought a Mesa Precision (now Pure Precision) Altitude Stock for my Tikka T3x 300 win mag back in 2020. I havent shot this rifle in about a year, but was giving it a look over before going to check its zero. I noticed a crack in the mag well (photo below) and initially had some concern about it.

Upon taking the barrelled action out of the stock, the crack is nearly invisible, so it seems to have cracked from the compression of the action screws (maybe I over torqued it?). The crack goes from the front stainless steel pillar to the mag well opening, so about 1/4 - 1/2" long. I cant see any other signs of crack around the recoil lug. Nor do I see any cracks around the rear pillar.

First question, is this 'safe' to shoot with. Meaning, will shooting this continue to damage the stock? Second, do you guys think this is repairable? If so, any suggestions? I was thinking that I could glass bed the action, and while doing that, I could add some bedding material in this area. It looks like I would have plenty of space to add some bedding material, and could potentially completely surround the crack.

 

[06 SB]

It is probably safe BUT I would not shoot it. It is not worth further damaging the stock or you. Send the pictures to Pure Precision and see what they say and ask about returning it for repair. It could be that the pillars are AFU.

How much did you torque the action screws? You should get a torque wrench if you do not already have one. While you are on the phone with P2, ask about the torque requirements for the action screws. If none is provided, 50in-lbs is a good spot.

 

[WeiserBucks]

I had a similar issue with a McMillan years ago, upon inspection they replaced it rather than attempting a repair.

 

[gbflyer]

I had a similar issue with a McMillan years ago, upon inspection they replaced it rather than attempting a repair.

Same although they did repair mine. I had skim bedded it so they could have told me to pound sand. They fixed it without issue. Excellent CS.

 

[Kurts86]

It looks like the recoil lug moving caused the crack. That’s a fairly critical area and I’d contact the manufacturer.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Same although they did repair mine. I had skim bedded it so they could have told me to pound sand. They fixed it without issue. Excellent CS.

Mine was an Edge fill on a big magnum that the stock wasn't rated for. It was built by a big name gunsmith and McMillan warrantied it with a sturdier stock. They said it would have been rejected for warranty but they wanted to maintain their business relationships and get me up and running quickly, great CS even though their product was used inappropriately.

 

[HandgunHTR]

I wouldn't shoot it until I verified that it isn't a surface crack by removing the BA and bottom metal from the stock and seeing if it went all the way through to the top. If it does, then it will flex every time you shoot it and the consistency won't be there. In that case, the only way to fix it would be to grind out the entire crack and re-fill the area with original stock material or some sort of epoxy. If it doesn't go all the way through, I would still excavate the crack and refill it with epoxy. Mill it back to original dimensions.

What did you have the action screws torqued to?

 

[TxLite]

Contacting the manufacturer should have been your first step after removing the action and seeing the extent of the crack. Call them and see what they say.

 

[Blabetron]

It is probably safe BUT I would not shoot it. It is not worth further damaging the stock or you. Send the pictures to Pure Precision and see what they say and ask about returning it for repair. It could be that the pillars are AFU.

How much did you torque the action screws? You should get a torque wrench if you do not already have one. While you are on the phone with P2, ask about the torque requirements for the action screws. If none is provided, 50in-lbs is a good spot.

Thanks for the advice. I will send a message out to them to get their thoughts.

I do use the Wheeler Fat Wrench and have always set it to 60 in/lbs for all of my rifles. I don't recall if there was a specific spec for the stock, but I will see if I can find one.

I wouldn't shoot it until I verified that it isn't a surface crack by removing the BA and bottom metal from the stock and seeing if it went all the way through to the top. If it does, then it will flex every time you shoot it and the consistency won't be there. In that case, the only way to fix it would be to grind out the entire crack and re-fill the area with original stock material or some sort of epoxy. If it doesn't go all the way through, I would still excavate the crack and refill it with epoxy. Mill it back to original dimensions.

What did you have the action screws torqued to?

Unfortunately it isnt a surface crack. It extends from the top of the pillar to the bottom of the pillar, so all the way through unfortunately. I guess for now I will put it back in the factory tikka stock until I hear back from Pure Precision. 60 in/lbs for the action screws.

It looks like the recoil lug moving caused the crack. That’s a fairly critical area and I’d contact the manufacturer.

It looks like that form the photo, but when you take the action out, it looks like there are no cracks directly touching the recoil lug. The carbon fill between the recoil lug and pillar appears to be intact with no cracks. But since, the crack its hard to see unless the stock has some compression, I can't be 100% sure if there a crack or not.

 

[wapitibob]

A correctly cut action inlet, btm metal inlet, and correct length pillars won't do anything but try to compress the pillars when torqued, which won't happen at 65 ip or 100 ip. You should be able to see the contact patch on the stock with the barreled action removed.