Your "must have" chassis features?

[rustyN]

I want to know what you are looking for when purchasing a chassis. If you could narrow it down to your top 3 [or less] features.

Full disclosure - I designed, built, and brought to market a chassis that filled my wants/needs and sold 3. Actually 2, some guy returned his because he said he found out he was going through a divorce shortly after it arrived. It was a lot of time, money, and energy spent over a couple years.

Clearly what I thought was great wasn't what anyone else though was great. I have redesigned and made some changes for the next iteration, however everyone I talk to gives me different feedback.

"It has to have a folding stock"
"Short Handguard to cut weight"
"Long handguard to get bipod farther out"
"carbon fiber handguard"
"mlok"
"integrated arca the whole way down the rail"
"integrated arca but only close to magwell"

You name it, someone has probably mentioned it to me. I made a poll of stuff that I have heard, but feel free to just comment your thoughts.

 

[bojangles808]

the notch for your thumb on the hnt 26 is very underrated

 

[rustyN]

the notch for your thumb on the hnt 26 is very underrated

Is that more a function of the grip they use? I am a big fan of grips with a "shelf" or thumb rest.

 

[bojangles808]

Is that more a function of the grip they use? I am a big fan of grips with a "shelf" or thumb rest.

no just how they machined it (although I do love the palmswell in their pistol grip )

 

[flyfisher117]

Is this for a hunting chassis or a range gun chassis?

 

[swavescatter]

Thumb rest, QD cups not sling studs, integrated bubble, vertical grip, light.

Buttpad slightly above bore would be chefs kiss

 

[wind gypsy]

To me, short hand guard is about the dumbest design feature possible for a rifle one actually wants to shoot. XLR element length or longer is the way.

Light is basically a requirement if going to be for hunting rifle.

I selected FL arca as second choice but thats just because that is typically the type of function i expect when choosing a chassis. If I didn't want that, a stock is probably a nicer choice for carry.

Folder would be nice upside, especially for sales since so many people buying hunting chassis seem to be doing it primarily for that and because they think chassis look cool.

Thumb rest or means to add one is a nice feature.

Anodized/painted is nice unless raw AL is a significant price savings. I'm not big on Lipstick but I'd rather not have to paint.

Butt pad should be at least bore level, if not higher. If using proprietary buttstock setup, include adequate bag rider or toe line to be used as such (I.E. not something stupid like the seekins slam buttstock)

 

[rustyN]

Is this for a hunting chassis or a range gun chassis?

Good question - primary focus hunting, but not throwing the range out the window.

 

[PathFinder]

If I were to consider using a chassis again, having the folding option would be 90% of the motivation to switch. It would have to be extremely light as well.
The factor keeping me away from a chassis at the moment is cold. Having plastic or CF at all contact surfaces would probably be a requirement for me. That's a little unusual, but highly conductive metal surfaces are not fun in single digit temps.

 

[flyfisher117]

Good question - primary focus hunting, but not throwing the range out the window.

I only ask because I feel like many companies just take target chassis and make silly modifications to them to make them short and light and market them to hunters but they feel half assed.

I’m picky. I will nitpick the gear I own and if it bothers me enough I will sell it just because of one minor detail. It’s my job 40+ hours a week so it carries over into my hobbies . Take it for what it’s worth.

I despise the silly 4” hand guards some chassis use to cut weight. I’ve seen applications where they work out well, but usually they don’t I want it long enough to work well shooting prone off a pack or natural features.

I don’t like excessively heavy folding stocks, I don’t like excessively long AR adapter stocks, and I don’t like the fixed stocks that are bulky or too skeletonized. I’m still searching for the stock that is light enough not to make the rifle butt heavy. I want it to work off of a rear bag without being a snag point.

I have/have owned both machined in and bolt on Arca rails. I like both for different usages. For hunting I lean towards bolt on but I hand carry my rifles a lot. I don’t like holding the Arca. I wish more companies used the Seekins Hunter style of adapters more.

I do want it light weight, but for me rifle balance is more critical than light weight.

 

[rustyN]

I only ask because I feel like many companies just take target chassis and make silly modifications to them to make them short and light and market them to hunters but they feel half assed.

I’m picky. I will nitpick the gear I own and if it bothers me enough I will sell it just because of one minor detail. It’s my job 40+ hours a week so it carries over into my hobbies . Take it for what it’s worth.

I despise the silly 4” hand guards some chassis use to cut weight. I’ve seen applications where they work out well, but usually they don’t I want it long enough to work well shooting prone off a pack or natural features.

I don’t like excessively heavy folding stocks, I don’t like excessively long AR adapter stocks, and I don’t like the fixed stocks that are bulky or too skeletonized. I’m still searching for the stock that is light enough not to make the rifle butt heavy. I want it to work off of a rear bag without being a snag point.

I have/have owned both machined in and bolt on Arca rails. I like both for different usages. For hunting I lean towards bolt on but I hand carry my rifles a lot. I don’t like holding the Arca. I wish more companies used the Seekins Hunter style of adapters more.

I do want it light weight, but for me rifle balance is more critical than light weight.

Sounds like we have sort of the same view on a lot of it. I don't really have a desire to make a target chassis. They're all over and easy to do with less design/thought.

Balance, for me, is important. The hard part with chassis design is trying to make something reasonably balanced for everyone because so many people have so many different setups.

 

[khuber84]

Must halves:
Thumb shelf
Integral arca
3" minimum horizontal bag rider, zero angle
Minimum 13" LOP

Most desirable but not deal breakers:
Adjustable mag latch
Folder
Butt pad vertical height adjustment

 

[silver15tacoma]

Cheek riser

 

[Chris in TN]

Vertical grip carbon fiber stock >>>chassis.

I never give chassis’ a second glance. I prefer stocks.

If you could make a VG stock with fewer complaints than Stocky’s but cheaper than AG composites I think you’d get a lot of market share. ???

 

[Dave0317]

Missing some features I always look at right off the bat.

What does the bottom of the stock area look like? IE, what is my left hand holding while in prone/what is the bag rider area? And will it snag easily?

Can the heel of the butt be even with or above the bore line? Is negative comb an option?

Hand guard length just depends on what I want to put it on. If it’s a 16 inch barrel with OTB suppressor, it may need to be a bit shorter. Otherwise, I want room to be able to use various types of rests in odd positions and a longer hand guard means less opportunities for something to touch the barrel.

Adjustable LOP is a must for me. I have kids and one season I may hunt with it, the next, I may shorten LOP and it’s a kids rifle for a while.

Overall I think I prefer a stock more, but if I get a chassis for hunting, I suppose one of the things that might make it worth it over a stock is a folding option.

Looking at my preferences above, I guess I’ve about described a Gunwerks endex.

But a KRG bravo does almost all of this except fold, and it’s only $400. So its hard to justify some of the more expensive options in my mind.

 

[BreechFace]

My desires for a hunting chassis rifle.

1. Lightweight
2. Folding stock with adjustments
3. Carbon Fiber full length arca railed handguard with top removed to allow for larger objective scopes to sit lower
4. Try to keep overall rifle streamlined being conscious of hang up points
5. AR grip compatibility for many options
6. Standard hole spacing on receiver bridge for use with a picatinny rail OR direct mount LW rings
7. Protected mag release to prevent accidental loss

 

[J.B.]

Folder is a must. If I’m not needing a folder, there are far more options available in stocks, and usually cheaper.

 

[Shortschaf]

Folder is a must. If I’m not needing a folder, there are far more options available in stocks, and usually cheaper.

+1 to this
Folding is the biggest thing that a chassis brings to the table IMO