I was bored today and wanted to go soft case shopping for my 16" bushy HBAR.....I recently got a 4 position collapsible buttstock from a friend and wanted to know the length of the rifle in the fully closed position before I bought a soft case....and I wanted to see how it looked firsthand.

I know its before the ban but I the stock was only going to be on for a couple of minutes.

Well I stripped the hell out of the top screw....I dont know what to do now...any suggestions...

needless to say i wont be going case shopping.

Just buy a new buffer tube and top screw at the next local gunshow or in the e/e.

Quoted: I was bored today and wanted to go soft case shopping for my 16" bushy HBAR.....I recently got a 4 position collapsible buttstock from a friend and wanted to know the length of the rifle in the fully closed position before I bought a soft case....and I wanted to see how it looked firsthand. I know its before the ban but I the stock was only going to be on for a couple of minutes. Well I stripped the hell out of the top screw....I dont know what to do now...any suggestions... needless to say i wont be going case shopping.

Bummer, dude!

Top Screw...hmm...you mean the phillips screw on the back of the stock above where the trap door opens?

What did you strip? The philips slots? is there any semblemce of philips left?

Dremel the slot deeper and hope you don't break half the head off trying to loosen the screw.

Do not compound your thought crime by actually installing the stock. Just lay the rifle on its side, lay the new stock on top of the one on the rifle, and measure.

The house you save (from being burnt to the ground) may be your own.


Edit to add; Use a bigger screw driver next time, and plenty of preasure against the head of the screw.

It was the top screw on the buttcap....I just stripped the screw driver slot off...there is some resembelence  that there is still a slot on it..

I'd hate to have another ruby ridge due to my vanity.

I was thinking about using an impact screwdriver...

I plan to buy a new screw..I think its a dollar in the bushmaster catalogue...but I could really care less to use that stock ever again after the ban

You might have to drill the center of the screw head until it falls off.  Just make sure that the drill bit diameter isn't larger than the shaft of the screw.  When the screw head falls off , the stock should pull off.

If it's a Bushmaster stock I'm laying odds that there's a dab of red locktite on the threads of that stock screw that goes into the end of the buffer tube.

Have run into that on 2 different Bushmaster lowers.

DEFNITELY GET A GOOD FITTING SCREW DRIVER FOR THESE SCREWS!

Quoted: It was the top screw on the buttcap....I just stripped the screw driver slot off...there is some resembelence  that there is still a slot on it.. I'd hate to have another ruby ridge due to my vanity. I was thinking about using an impact screwdriver... I plan to buy a new screw..I think its a dollar in the bushmaster catalogue...but I could really care less to use that stock ever again after the ban

Sorry to hear about the mishap.

Your local harbor freight should have a good impact screwdriver ...might even be on sale:

www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=37530

Good luck!

Harbor freight sells reverse drill bits and screw extractors.  The reverse drill bit may be enough to remove the screw.  This takes precision and patience.  Use a center punch to insure you drill the center of the screw.  Sears sells a reverse kind of deal that removes stripped screws, but I don't know if it works.  Removing the screw head is an option, there may be enough shaft left to remove with vice grips after the stock is slipped off.  And, wear eye protection.

Using an impact driver will probably ruin the buffer tube.

A screw extractor might work. Good chance the screw already has a drain hole bored in it, which will help to center the screw exractor.

If it is a milspec screw, it has a hole drilled through it already.  The screw is 1/4 inch in diameter.  Open the hole up enough to get the largest ez-out in it that is smaller than 1/4 inch.  Support the stock well, put a wrench on the ez-out, and remove the screw.  If you break the ez-out, there is no drilling it (metal is about as hard as a drill bit), it is dremmel time.

I had no luck with any type of screwdriver...so it became dremel time real quick!

Stupid screw had about 27 pounds of red loc-tite on the bastard....someone at the bushmaster factory needs to put down the little bottle and reevaluate his position in life.

After about an hour and a half of dremeling...I ruined the screw...after it broke in half in the buffer tube...

more dremeling.

After I finally drilled out enough room in the screw to pass the bottom screw through the top screw hole and the dremeled top screw..I got everything back together....

During this little happy dremel time...I stuck the pre-ban stock on to get a good idea of how it would look and how short it became.  I figured...I have lost too much blood and used far too many swear words not to get my cookie. All of this for only five minutes of a little no-ban perfection...

All I have to do now is buy a new tube and a new screw...and I'll have a perfectly good stock to go along with a build someday.....

Thanks alot ARFCOM!!

Its so nice to have a bunch of people support such a dumbass as my self.

Dont do what I did...do it right..on the 13th..and that way when you are bitching about loctite...it will be well founded

Quoted: Stupid screw had about 27 pounds of red loc-tite on the bastard....someone at the bushmaster factory needs to put down the little bottle and reevaluate his position in life.

CALLED IT :)

A small suggestion........

Red loc-tite is considered a "permanent" adhesive. To unscrew anything that has it applied... you have to apply heat (in the form of a torch, propane, not acytelene).

Get a small torch and an "easy out" set that contains left hand twist drill bits and broken bolt extractors (snap-on sells a good set).

Drill the center of the broken screw, sometimes just the drill will extract the broken screw, but in your case you'll have apply heat while you drill, or you'll have to apply heat once you use the extractor to loosen the loc-tite.

Always use "blue" loc-tite. it's semi permanent, and can be removed with regular hand tools

check out the different "field repair kits" on busmaster.com. I believe it comes with an assortment of screws, springs, etc. you might need on the fly.