Gunstocks

A lot of people, myself included, just like the look of a wood stock better. There were a few years that I went for the polymer stocks. I seem to be circling back to liking wood better. It comes down to, if it is what the purchaser likes, it is what they should get

No, actually wax, depending on the type, can make it more grippy (if that is a word) if not thoroughly buffed out. Quite a few people use furniture type waxes as a finish coat to natural oil finishes on stocks. It does wear off and require reapplying on a regular basis.

A well made synthetic stock can resist warping and other ill treatment better than a wood stock. A well maintained wood stock can stand up under surprisingly bad conditions if properly surface treated. But, I haven't seen a synthetic stock ever that was prettier than a well figured wood stock.

I agree. I just ordered a set of pre owned wood stocks from Numrich to replace the poly ones on my Mossberg 590.

I have hunted in all kinds of snowy and rainy weather with my wood guns. Keep them well oiled and sealed and they are not a problem. I always take my new guns out of the stock and seal the end grain of the stocks and oil them thoroughly before putting them back together.

For over 40 years I've hunted with this wood stocked rifle from Alaska to Africa, several timers over. Blizzards, rainstorms, jungle swamps, desert plains, high altitude and low, plus endless miles in saddle scabbards and it is always on target. Plus the pleasure of hunting with a pretty stick of wood.

Paste wax and others were used to seal stocks with oil finishes for years. Just about every hunter had a can or just used the paste wax his wife used to wax the floors.
When Poly became the norm for stock finishes coming from the factory, a good many people stopped waxing stocks.
A poly finish really does not need a wax top coat, unless the finish has some damage or the checkering was done after the finish was applied.
A wax top coat is needed on an oil finish to help protect it.
Paste wax can also be used for long term storage. All metal and wood can be waxed. The wax will not collect dust like oil.

I haven't hunted with a wood stocked bolt gun since 1983 when I bought a Brown Precision stock for my 30-06. I've seen too many issues. I've watched wood stocks develop a 1/4" long crack at sunup that was 3" long by noon. Even the wood stocked rifles in my safe would have the zero change by as much as 2" as seasons changed.

Before McMillan started supplying fiberglass stocks military snipers in Vietnam found their wood stocked rifles were useless beyond about 50 yards during the rainy season.

And any attempt to waterproof them is marginal at best. By weight any stock is 10-15% water that is left inside the wood when it leaves the kiln. Removing any more moisture results in a brittle piece of wood that will easily break. It is this moisture that is naturally trapped inside that expands and contracts as atmospheric conditions and altitude change. It is rare for a stock to actually crack or break. But the changes in the size and shape of the stock exert differing pressures on the action that will result in point of impact shifts. A wood stocked rifle can be just as accurate, but the zero will change as conditions change.

This effects all wood stocked rifles. Some to a greater extent than others and a lot depends on the conditions where you shoot and the accuracy you require. Some rifles aren't accurate enough, and the changes subtle enough that shooters never notice. Some pieces of wood are more or less likely to change due to different grain structure. Sometimes you get one that is very stable, sometimes not.

I made the decision 35 years ago that it was worth it to me to have the added strength, stability and to carry around about 1/2 lb less weight and go synthetic. Now I enjoy a nice stick of wood as much as anyone. I have a dozen Marlin and Winchester lever guns with walnut. But the truth is that I burn wood by the truckload every winter in my wood stove that looks as good or better than what is on 99 out of 100 rifles on the shelves today.

Life is too short to hunt with a synthetic gun.

I like wood...i REALLLYYY like nice wood (but i cant afford it). Im perhaps a little backwards from most of the guys here, i have mostly wood and blued rifles, but Ive also got one coated rifle in a synthetic stock, and im looking at adding a stainless in a synthetic stock for those days, or weeks where cleaning is gonna be lax. Out here missing a wipe down can have your gun completely coated in rust by the next morning, and forgetting it in a travel case for a week, or putting it away without wiping out the bore can leave you with a paper weight.

I only have one synthetic bolt gun a tikka t3 and I'm not looking to add any others. I've had my guns literally soaked. Some oil and an evening by the wood stove and they are fine.

My farmer father in law always said every $1 of grease saves $1,000 worth of equipment wear. Same goes for wood and steel guns, oil is your best friend.

LoonWulf said:

I like wood...i REALLLYYY like nice wood (but i cant afford it). Im perhaps a little backwards from most of the guys here, i have mostly wood and blued rifles, but Ive also got one coated rifle in a synthetic stock, and im looking at adding a stainless in a synthetic stock for those days, or weeks where cleaning is gonna be lax. Out here missing a wipe down can have your gun completely coated in rust by the next morning, and forgetting it in a travel case for a week, or putting it away without wiping out the bore can leave you with a paper weight.

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I remember when there were no synthetic stocks, at least in mainstream factory offerings. When the plastic stock craze hit, the manufacturers saw it as a way to increase their margins on wood stocks. It appears that will likely never change now. So now you pay the same price for a plastic stock rifle as what a wood stock rifle would cost 20-30 years ago. And to get a wood stock rifle, you get to pay significantly more.

Plastic stocks have no soul.

I have an FDE Magpul Hunter stock and detachable mag conversion on my Remington 700, and I like it. However, I like it because it looks fully synthetic and "tactical". The stock knows what it is (as much as a non-sentient hunk of thermoplastic can, I suppose). It doesn't try to imitate the shape and feel of traditional stocks.

I cannot stand traditionally-styled synthetic stocks, though. They just look too sterile and uninteresting. Instead of getting a piece of wood that you can stain, lacquer, and hone to perfection, you just get a monolithic chunk of plastic. Booooring.

Another point I will add is that I despise camouflage patterns on stocks or, even worse, the guns their selves.

I have wood stocked rifles that I've owned and shot for 50 years and they still perform perfectly. I clean them but haven't waxed them much. Love nice wood and willingly pay extra for extra good wood. But, I do own one synthetic stock which is my favorite prairie dog rifle. Bought it because they didn't offer the Remington VSF .223 in any other finish. It's a dandy and looks like it did the day I bought it. In contrast, I have another great p-dog rifle that is wood and has many small dings. Both are about the same age and used the same, both great shooters. I'm about to pay a guy $150 to refinish the wood stock. So there you go. By the way, the "plastic" stocks have very little in common with the carbon fiber stocks. I've seen some carbon fiber stocks that are really impressive. Then you have laminates. I have a couple of those too and they are quite functional and can look pretty good. I do hate the really cheap plastics...won't have one, but some friends have them and they shoot just as well as highly figured wood that cost 4x as much.

I have both highly figured wood stocked rifles and composite stocked rifles. I have never had any issues with the wood in any weather; my only issue with the wood stocks is my worry in the woods about dings and scratches - I tend to worry and watch my handling when hunting - can get annoying at times. With the composite stocks, I worry much less as they are just not as sensitive to damage as wood. I love the looks of a beautiful wood stock and I worry less carrying a composite stocked rifle.

I dinged up the stock, barrel, and scope of my 250AI, day before yesterday. The oil finished wood stock was the easiest thing to fix. Nother application of teak oil in the gouges and they arnt really noticeable. More teak oil and some polishing on the scratches pretty well got those out.

Steve S. said:

I have both highly figured wood stocked rifles and composite stocked rifles. I have never had any issues with the wood in any weather; my only issue with the wood stocks is my worry in the woods about dings and scratches - I tend to worry and watch my handling when hunting - can get annoying at times. With the composite stocks, I worry much less as they are just not as sensitive to damage as wood. I love the looks of a beautiful wood stock and I worry less carrying a composite stocked rifle.

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That's what I like about my Tikka. Dive in the brush head first and not worry about it. The scratches add character.

Another thought....My brother has several rifles and shotguns with great wood, some I would describe as magnificent. However, he takes them where the action is, Africa, Montana Wilderness, Arkansas flooded timber, Kansas squirrel woods; you name it. All of his guns show the wear proudly and always shoot great.

There's a GREAT wax for all kinds of things you need to protect - it's called Renaissance Wax. Museums use it, collectors use it, and you can put it on all kinds of things including blued steel. It's a hard paste wax and it protects very, very well without damaging anything. I put it on all of my wood stocks. I cannot tell it's even there. Granted, it doesn't make the surface sticky in the wet, but it doesn't cause any slipping either - and it protects against dampness. You can find it easily on Amazon last time I looked. One small container has been on top of my safe for about 10 years. A little goes a long, long way. Research it a bit and you may want to try it.

I just replaced a cheap plastic stock on my Remington 700 with a new stock from Remington. They had a great sale for Christmas last year that allowed my to get it.

I love walnut and blued steel rifles, but I really do understand the benefits of a GOOD composite stock. The stock I got rid of was cheap plastic an if I lived someplace that was humid like in the southeastern U.S. I may have kept it but I live in a dry region of the country. I have not had any issues with humidity affecting my stocks.
The lighter weight of a synthetic is something I find very attractive and I may at some point upgrade my stock to a McMillian. To each his own.

I use Turtle Wax liquid Car Polish on all my wood and metal parts. It causes water to bead, preventing moisture damage on all coated parts, inside and out. If it lasts a year on the outside of a vehicle, it will last on guns. Never had a spot of rust on any gun that had it on. It also doesn't finger-print.

DavidABQ said:

I love walnut and blued steel rifles, but I really do understand the benefits of a GOOD composite stock.

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The "GOOD" part right there is the key. I would rather have a really nice synthetic stock than a poor quality wood stock. When I bought my Tikka about 15 years ago a synthetic was $450 and the wood ones were $500. I looked at both and decided I would rather have there synthetic which is an excellent stock vs the cheap grainless birch with pressed grip surfaces that they used to put on there guns and I've never regretted that decision. The stocks on the new Tikka's are a lot nicer so I would have to think harder now.

I don't even own a synthetic stocked rifle. Not saying I won't in the future but it won't be one of cheapo stocks.

Choices, choices, choices. I never liked the gray laminated stock on my Stainless Rem 700 BDL, so bought a used Sendero stock for it and really like its functionality. A while later, I saw a Stocky's "Ultra Walnut" advertised that had a sandwich of beautiful walnut with two layers of carbon fiber running vertically through the whole stock, separated by about a quarter-inch of what may be mahongany. View attachment 777798

One day, I used the rifle with the pretty stock to go deer hunting with family members, after a 3" snowfall and, on the way out, tripped on a hidden root loop in the trail and the (unloaded) rifle, that was over my shoulder, went flying down the trail about 15 feet. The Sendero stock went back on and didn't come off again.

Then, last year, I bought a new Rem Stainless 700 CDL fluted but didn't care for the forend shape, so put the Stocky's on it and like it very much, shooting a moose with it last fall as the first kill. It will probably stay on that rifle forever, but when it's nasty out, will stay home and the older rifle with the Sendero synthetic will prevail.

Reading through this thread made me remember a quote. I believe a user over on CastBoolits originally said it:

"If God had wanted us to have plastic gun stocks, he would have planted plastic trees!"

While that's not quite my personal opinion, I thought it was relevant to the discussion.