Answer

The stock has to go on before the pad, so I would really look for screws. What is the indicator of pins vs. screws?

Reply:

I initially probed the screw holes with a Phillips screwdriver and it would not bite or grip the screw slot. I tried to look into the hole using a high intensity bore light and could not see any screw slot. I therefore assumed i was dealing with a pin and not a screw. I finally used a thin shanked flat head screwdriver (the screw holes are very small) and felt the bit drop into a screw slot. However, the screw was in so tight that I deformed the bit trying to break the screw free. Is it possible that Remington epoxied or lock-tited the screws in? Any suggestions on how to break the screw free without damaging the stock or ruining another screwdriver?

Answer:

OK sometimes they are really tight and sometimes they are rusted in place so I know exactly what you mean by tight and wrecking screw drivers. I don’t believe the screws are glued in but anything is possible. Do you have to save the recoil pad? You might end up wrecking the pad in the process of removing it. I would start by soaking the screw in a good oil like Kroil, or Break Free. Then I would get a screw driver that is slightly larger than what you started with. Index the driver in the slot then tap it down into place. Then with a lot of downward pressure see if you can break one of the screws loose. If you can break them both loose you can undo like normal, if not back out the one you get loose and spin the pad to the side to remove the buttstock. If the pad fits down into the plastic stock slightly you will have to remove one screw and the other one just enough to allow the pad to slide to the side. If you cannot get the screws loose at all, contact your customer and tell him you will have to cut the pad off and then fit a new pad. Use a hack saw and cut the screws off, but be careful not to hit and damage the stock.