Umarex Special Force "Crane" stock...Nice improvements!

[wobblinwheel]

Has anyone here tried the Colt/Umarex "Crane" stock for the M4 rifles with collapsable stocks? It is a VERY nice add-on for sure! Very comfortable cheek rest, and very smooth lines. Also has a rubber butt plate. While they claim it has "storage" compartments on the sides, they are quite USELESS in their "stock" form (pun intended). If you look at the supplied little CAPS that come with the stock, you will notice that a 5/8" O.D. piece of rubber automotive hose will "plug" right in there. Also, if you look inside the compartments on each side of the stock, you will notice a 5/8" diameter "receptacle" at the far end. Well, just cut yourself two pieces of 5/8" O.D. hose (3/8 I.D. I think) and plug one end into the relief in the stock's compartment, and slip the little knob over the other end, give the knob a turn into it's locking notch, and VOILA: You can actually STORE things in there! "How?" you ask? Simply cut necessary "slits" in the sides of the two hoses to hold your various items. Inside my hoses I have:

1. Long Allen wrench for grip removal and spring tension

2. Smaller Allen wrench for everything else.

3. Short wooden dowel for knocking out receiver pins

4. Wrench for removing compensator/ flash-suppressor

5. Small brush for brushing-out bolt/ extractor area

6. and even an extra CR2032 battery for my scope

I don't know if this info is helpful, but it took me a while to figure out how I was going to use the "storage cavities" on this otherwise REALLY comfortable and good-looking stock! Even the folks at Umarex weren't aware that these compartments were designed to accept "tubes"! They even told me the knobs should stay in place without them.......NOT VERY WELL!

OK, I'm going to take a pill and quit babbling. Hope this helps somebody!

[rodent.22]

Great info- thanks!

[Glowin]

I got sucked in by the whole Magpul brand image/marketing and bought a CTR stock (like nearly everyone else with a black rifle) but I do love it. The Crane stock does look smart though. I was seriously considering it before I developed a man crush on the Magpul Dynamics guys. Now I just want to be like them!  ???

Cheers

Glowin

[techmike]

Sounds cool, how about some pics?

TM

[wobblinwheel]

Wish I had a clue how to post pictures! Sad but true....

[imschur]

Wish I had a clue how to post pictures! Sad but true....

http://tactical22.net/forum/index.php?action=help;area=posting_topics#attachments

look for "Additional Options" and click the "+"

[wobblinwheel]

Maybe you can get an idea of how neat this stock is from these. Notice the rubber hose (about 6" long) that's holding the tools. One on each side!

[HogMan]

:thumb: :thumb:Tht does look good .

[George Wood]

Nice job thanks for sharing.

[wobblinwheel]

I have seen these same stocks advertised in different magazines for up to $200.00! The only difference I can see is they have the internal water-tight storage tubes already in them. You can easily see on the Umarex (Walther) stock that it was made to accept such a tube on each side. I paid about $50.00 for the stock (Cheaper than dirt) and about 50 cents for the rubber hose. Not a bad deal in my book!

[M4rk]

hows the sturdiness?? does it have alot of (wobble) play??

[wobblinwheel]

Actually, no more slop than the original stock. I put a small length of good ole duct tape down the top of the tube, and no more slop!

[M4rk]

i still have the stock one.. i used painters tape to eliminate the play.. worked pretty good. but i kinda jus want to get it for the looks. LOL

[wobblinwheel]

It is MUCH more comfortable to shoot with than the original. the built-in cheek rest and the rubber butt pad work really nice. Not to mention the smooth looks....

[M4rk]

i saw this stock in amazon, it had one review, and it was a bad one... but overall, how does it compare to magpul MOE.. and the other stock out there?

[wobblinwheel]

I;m not familiar with any of the other stocks out there. Once I got this one, I was very happy with it.

the only drawback I can think of is the lack of the internal storage tubes that come with the more expensive versions that I've seen advertised. From the pictures I've seen, these are the exact same stocks, under a different name, sometimes in other colors, but externally IDENTICAL. As demonstrated earlier, a dollar's worth of rubber hose solves the storage issue. I wonder what made the BAD review??

[M4rk]

I;m not familiar with any of the other stocks out there. Once I got this one, I was very happy with it.

the only drawback I can think of is the lack of the internal storage tubes that come with the more expensive versions that I've seen advertised. From the pictures I've seen, these are the exact same stocks, under a different name, sometimes in other colors, but externally IDENTICAL. As demonstrated earlier, a dollar's worth of rubber hose solves the storage issue. I wonder what made the BAD review??

the review said that it was made for a toy.