I finally found something on the Veteran that I thought was a bit janky. And honestly, Minelli is more than likely the source of these problems.
First off, the two bolts that hold the action in the stock. They really need a flat washer and a lock washer, like this.
Otherwise, the head of the bolt starts to sink into the laminate a bit.
Second, the manner in which the buttpad attaches is simply less than ideal. I came across this with a recent coffee Lam Vet purchase. The previous owner included a Bryan Samson 3d printed buttpad and I decided to swap out the Minelli rubber pad for the 3d printed one. I noticed as I was removing the screws that there was not enough resistance, they had that loosy goosy feel of wallowed out wood screws. Got them out and saw that that about half of the top screw had been ground off so as not to stick all the way into the inletting and contact the bottom of the action (right behind the trigger guts). Also saw that the top screw was a bit bigger in diameter than the bottom screw. Also saw that whoever did the grinding off of that top screw left it about 1/16th of an inch long and it actually was coming into contact with the action and had removed some anodizing. I really thought I had been Bubba'd by prior owner. Cut some toothpics and placed them in the holes so that screws would get tight, but it bugged me, a lot. So, fast forward a couple weeks and I decided on a solution: threaded brass inserts, like this.
The one's I grabbed are M4 threaded on the inside so I picked up 4 allen head M4 bolts of the correct length to not go all the way through the insert and the contact the back of the action. These inserts are pretty brittle brass so I bought a couple extra as sacrificials. To thread them into the laminate it worked kinda like cutting threads in metal, half a turn (or so) forward, half a turn (or so) backwards before advancing again. Ended up breaking off the flat screwdriver "ears" on a couple of the sacrificial inserts, but at 75 cents a piece, I figured it was worth it. After getting them threaded into the laminate to the correct depth, I replaced the sacrificial inserts with non-mangled ones. Probably better to use a different type/style of insert as there are many out there. From other projects, I'd recommend the allen headed inserts before these flat screwdriver types.
I was also really curious to know if I got Bubba'd or if these laminate stocks actually come this way. So, pulled the rubber buttpad off my other laminate Vet stock and found the exact same thing! Top screw ground off, slightly bigger than the bottom screw, and both screws wobbly as could be in the wood. Needless to say, both lam stocks got the same threaded insert treatment.
My biggest gripe is how close to the top and bottom of the stock the buttpad holes are drilled. I suspect Minelli was using a standard buttpad and just matched up the holes, but the problem with the Vet stocks is that the top hole is into the inletting, and the bottom hole is dangerously close to the bottom of the stock. I can see that bottom toe area of the stock getting broken off pretty easily. If I had been mounting a buttpad on here and didn't have to worry about matching up holes, I would have put both screws at least 1/2 an inch closer together to get away from the inletting and the bottom edge of the stock. In this case though, both the rubber buttpad and the 3d printed buttpad had holes where Minelli's OEM holes are.
Now, post brass insert install, the OEM or 3d printed buttpad snug right up, and can be swapped without concerns of further wallowing out the holes.
One of the inserts looks crooked in the photo but it was just starting and didn't end up crooked.
Also, that extra hole was in both laminate stocks, and I bought this pepper new/I'm the only owner. Dunno what that is all about, perhaps Minelli hangs them from a screw for the process of clear cloating?
First off, the two bolts that hold the action in the stock. They really need a flat washer and a lock washer, like this.
Otherwise, the head of the bolt starts to sink into the laminate a bit.
Second, the manner in which the buttpad attaches is simply less than ideal. I came across this with a recent coffee Lam Vet purchase. The previous owner included a Bryan Samson 3d printed buttpad and I decided to swap out the Minelli rubber pad for the 3d printed one. I noticed as I was removing the screws that there was not enough resistance, they had that loosy goosy feel of wallowed out wood screws. Got them out and saw that that about half of the top screw had been ground off so as not to stick all the way into the inletting and contact the bottom of the action (right behind the trigger guts). Also saw that the top screw was a bit bigger in diameter than the bottom screw. Also saw that whoever did the grinding off of that top screw left it about 1/16th of an inch long and it actually was coming into contact with the action and had removed some anodizing. I really thought I had been Bubba'd by prior owner. Cut some toothpics and placed them in the holes so that screws would get tight, but it bugged me, a lot. So, fast forward a couple weeks and I decided on a solution: threaded brass inserts, like this.
The one's I grabbed are M4 threaded on the inside so I picked up 4 allen head M4 bolts of the correct length to not go all the way through the insert and the contact the back of the action. These inserts are pretty brittle brass so I bought a couple extra as sacrificials. To thread them into the laminate it worked kinda like cutting threads in metal, half a turn (or so) forward, half a turn (or so) backwards before advancing again. Ended up breaking off the flat screwdriver "ears" on a couple of the sacrificial inserts, but at 75 cents a piece, I figured it was worth it. After getting them threaded into the laminate to the correct depth, I replaced the sacrificial inserts with non-mangled ones. Probably better to use a different type/style of insert as there are many out there. From other projects, I'd recommend the allen headed inserts before these flat screwdriver types.
I was also really curious to know if I got Bubba'd or if these laminate stocks actually come this way. So, pulled the rubber buttpad off my other laminate Vet stock and found the exact same thing! Top screw ground off, slightly bigger than the bottom screw, and both screws wobbly as could be in the wood. Needless to say, both lam stocks got the same threaded insert treatment.
My biggest gripe is how close to the top and bottom of the stock the buttpad holes are drilled. I suspect Minelli was using a standard buttpad and just matched up the holes, but the problem with the Vet stocks is that the top hole is into the inletting, and the bottom hole is dangerously close to the bottom of the stock. I can see that bottom toe area of the stock getting broken off pretty easily. If I had been mounting a buttpad on here and didn't have to worry about matching up holes, I would have put both screws at least 1/2 an inch closer together to get away from the inletting and the bottom edge of the stock. In this case though, both the rubber buttpad and the 3d printed buttpad had holes where Minelli's OEM holes are.
Now, post brass insert install, the OEM or 3d printed buttpad snug right up, and can be swapped without concerns of further wallowing out the holes.
One of the inserts looks crooked in the photo but it was just starting and didn't end up crooked.
Also, that extra hole was in both laminate stocks, and I bought this pepper new/I'm the only owner. Dunno what that is all about, perhaps Minelli hangs them from a screw for the process of clear cloating?
