Agreed, maybe try rolling a q-tip around in the chamber to see if it catches on anything or picks any foreign objects. If you have access to a bore scope that could show something too.
If you still have your old stock can you put that back on and shoot a couple through it to see how it behaves? Might narrow down if its a just a stock issue or something more serious. Having a case suck in your chamber makes me think you may have bigger issues.
The only gun I have ever sold, and still regret after 20 years, was this exact gun. If it is the 700VS (Varmint Synthetic) model then I believe the HS stock with full aluminum bedding block was a factory offering. One heck of a gun and a blast to shoot, great find.
Sightron S-TAC 3-16, the MOA-3 looks like it is fairly thin per the actual pics I've seen. Thats probably the route I'll go when I convince my financial advisor I need a new .223 bolt gun.
I had and shot Lapua, but traded it to my neighbor for more Hornady as I already had a decent stockpile. I usually avoid Hornady, but I've pretty happy with the 6.5 PRC stuff. Watch the individual case weights I definitely had some large spreads.
I gave up trying to match the hatch outside of the obvious caddis and damsels and just strip buggers of various sizes and colors. They work well trolling out of a float tube also. An egg sucking leech could be a good option this time of year.
I have loads for both H1000 and H4831sc with 143 ELD-X and recently 139 Scenar, H4831 is a bit slower but works just fine. For both bullets in Hornady brass I top out in the 57gr range with H1000 and CCI 200. ~54gr is a sweet spot for me with H4831sc. Velocity for H1000 and 139 is just above...
Was in Vegas a handful of years ago for the weekend and they found one live .357 round in my carry on as I was trying to board the flight back to MT. It slipped right past the MSO security when I checked it a couple days earlier, so in Vegas I was very nervous because I had no idea what they...
Still hunting deer in thick timber about 25 years ago I caught a glimpse of movement and identified the butt of an animal through the trees. Head obscured I couldn't tell if it was a buck or doe so I watched intently through the scope for identification, soon after I noticed a large ball bag...