Wood stock rifles

[CBeck]

But for me, a walnut stocked rifle or shotgun is like a beautiful woman. I want to look at it, I want to hold it, I want to make memories with it.... Just me....

Amen!

 

[JimP]

Sounds like I'm a old man that's in the minority.

I love a nice grained wood stocked rifle and happen to own a few. But my last two rifles are packing synthetic stocks. And one of them is a stainless action and barrel. That rifle sat in a steady rain for seven days up in British Columbia on a bear hunt.and other than a wipe down back at camp I didn't do a thing to it until I got home. No stock swelling and no rust had started when I stripped it for a thorough cleaning back home.

The other one is a synthetic and blued one. I got this one for the rougher mountain hunts and it has performed flawlessly on the hunts its been on.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Manufacturers got smart and decided to put their money in the barrels so something had to get downsized or cheapened, enter plastic stocks and no sights.

 

[Dukeisok]

Nothing like a wood stocked, blued steel rifle with an eight inch long, two inch diameter can hanging off the end.

I agree with the assessment of the aesthetic however there is no better way to introduce a young particularly noise-sensitive girl to the sport. She could not hunt without a suppressor and I support her in that.

 

[Dukeisok]

My other problem is that I find it very difficult to alter synthetic stocks to fit me. For shotguns I require a 15 and 7/8 length of pull. I can get by with shorter on a rifle but really need to be able to add a spacer and a butt pad. That's hard on most synthetic guns

 

[yamoon]

Love walnut and blued steel, but if I was on a once in a lifetime hunt in the northwest for sheep or bear, the rifle would be synthetic and stainless. This semi- inleted blank cost me $75 in the mid 1990s.
Mike

 

[Hunter-Habib]

While I agree with all your feelings towards wood and blued steel, I also feel that if the next generation finds plastic and camo attractive, support them. We need every new or young hunter to stay the course and help carry on the tradition of shooting and hunting we all love. Don’t dissuade them. Encourage them. And show them the beauty and serviceability of wood and hope they come to our side eventually.

THIS.

100% agree. The big picture is not about what firearms they prefer for hunting. It’s the sheer blessing that at least they do love firearms & hunting. We must be supportive towards them.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

My other problem is that I find it very difficult to alter synthetic stocks to fit me. For shotguns I require a 15 and 7/8 length of pull. I can get by with shorter on a rifle but really need to be able to add a spacer and a butt pad. That's hard on most synthetic guns

Try adding a slip-on recoil pad. You can cut a spacer to insert inside it. I cut one from shower flip-flop and it worked great. I need just a bit more than slip-on for shooting trap.

 

[rdog]

I was in a large gun shop the other day, one that sells every thing Tactical , big magazines plastic stocks ,muzzle breaks cammo gear .pink guns for girls ect , in the second hand rack there was a very good Intrerarms mk10 m98 mauser in 7x57 with a great walnut stock, the owner said, no one wants a wood stock rifle that comes in here & no body wants a 7x57 most do not know what it is, i can not sell it, they want a 5.56, 6 .5 CM or a 308 . I have a Ruger 7x57 & own about 30 rifles i but am still thinking about it. At the local rifle range, i look at the guns in the racks . Most have plastic stocks , the wood stocks rifles are owned by old men like me.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Hunting is an art, it encompasses so many inputs to the total experience and enjoyment. Your clothes, your gear, the location, what you are after and of course the rifle itself. If it is a beautiful walnut and blued rifle that fits into all that for you, then that is correct. If it is black plastic, then that is your choice, but my personal opinion is that something will have been lost in the compromise. I am too mature in years to make compromises easily, every grain of an experience that comes along is to be savoured to the full.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Generally black guns are soulless. Lack individuality or character that by its nature as an element of nature wood provides. At least my black plastic shotgun is an old design. As the first semiautomatic shotgun ever marketed, the Browning A5 will always have a story to tell no matter what I do to mine. The explanation for changing it to plastic only adds more flavor.

It is a shame we have become so bland. Interior designers make homes that look like surgery rooms. Looking for a new carpet the other day and everything is either white, gray, or black. White carpet? WTF? Seems the only time people dress uniquely is Halloween. We have become boring. Very sad.

 

[Kalthoff]

All my own shotguns and rifles have wooden stocks, purely because I prefer them that way.

I will not hold it against a hunter if he or she prefer a synthetic stock. They do have their advantages and the wooden stocks have their drawbacks. Also I will not rule out the possibility that I might obtain one myself some day for a specific purpose.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I can see the pros of a nicely made synthetic stock, especially in carbon fiber. You can fit a metal bedding block into the stock and achieve better accuracy without glass bedding. This in turn enables the owner to pull the action out of the stock without worrying about messing up the bedding. It can be made lighter in weight and will not warp, crack and is less likely to be damaged in the field. Hot humid weather will not affect a synthetic stock and it can be made with less labor inputs and with more consistent results. It can be beautiful in its own right but many are not. But...

As a hunter, most of my best, most prized hunting rifles are blued steel and walnut. They are however, mostly/sadly also older production from the 50's, 60's, etc. Mauser, FN Browning, Husqvarna, as well as a few custom rigs. Most fit into the category of being too pretty to hunt with. But, I do still hunt with them in KY, WV and Africa. But, if it rains, I either do not hunt or swap them out for a good old, newer carbon fiber stocked rifle with stainless or Ti action or ceracote metal parts. It is just my way of preserving the nice old wood/steel rifles. Example, is a planned moose hunt in Canada. I will likely take my carbon/titanium mountain rifle in 7mm Mag for that trip. If I ever get to hunt Alaska - same. Horses for courses. For me, I like and use both, but I seem to only get emotionally attached to the older classic wood and blued steel rifles. Still, I have seen very few new production in that type these days that I would want and could afford.

 

[Wiley64]

Because people have poor taste, and some people just like the durability of having a rifle they don’t have to baby.

 

[Wiley64]

Can I also just say the gunwerks invented trend of putting your bipod held rifle in front of your trophy for pictures with that neoprene scope cover needs to die, and quickly.

That is all.

 

[Russ16]

I was thinking about this thread last night. It did occur to me that the wood on most regular production rifles these days isn’t that good. Yes you can get a deluxe or super grade or whatever the various manufacturers call their higher end models. But it raises the price pretty quickly. If I was a young guy looking at a plain and not great finished piece of wood vs a decent synthetic stock at the same price. I might make the synthetic decision. The money saved on not going with upgraded wood could go into better optics.

I love wood and blues steel but I have to admit the wood and blues steel of today isn’t the same as it once was. At least in my eyes.

 

[CJW]

When it comes to younger folks and firearms, traditional wood/blue construction is usually a low priority. Cost and goes BOOM are usually all that matter. I have always appreciated fine wood in firearms, furniture, homes, etc., BUT when I was younger, the fact that I had my own gun and could shoot and hunt with it was really all that mattered. Simple things like looking through a Cabela's catalog and dreaming about all the cool apparel, gear and accessories was cool too and was a priority in itself.

When it comes to adults and firearms, with some the hunt might rightfuly dictate the material, some think the always HAVE TO HAVE a wood stock but would think otherwise depending on geographical location of the hunt, some think that scratching a wood stock is harmful, some just don't care one way or the other about the style of anything and some have been convinced by the "weatherproof" advertising. For the most part it's probably always been that way.

Also important to note that the price of walnut has gone up significantly as worldwide popularity in dark woods for home interiors has driven up demand. We ship A LOT of walnut out of the country.

 

[SaintPanzer]

Well, some people like water cooled Porsches, too... and will go to great lengths to explain why they are better. These explanations will be based on Science (TM).

... and then you will hear one of the older ones go by...


It's like that.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I wonder how much "greener" it is for the environment to make gun stocks synthetically vs cutting down shady old growth oxygen producers? Hmmm. Don't think anyone has brought it up before. Or I guess we can just pretend climate change is fiction. How deep can we shove our heads into the kitty litter?

 

[cwpayton]

Climate change is fiction...........at least in the way it is being sold. weather is cyclical. there use to be tropical species in montana, but enough of that....