Where has all the wood gone?

Status
Not open for further replies.
You and me both, brother...
While I've got a 590A1, 10-22 and a few ARs with plastic, I just favor something that displays how much it's been used and loved throughout the years. That's what I consider an heirloom, by the way. Pristine rifles in perfect condition don't show much of a history for me.
View attachment 1077907

The one on the left looks like a CZ. What are the two on the right? Winchesters?
 
Well we both got a great deal, mine was mint as well without a scratch. I bought it in 2020 for 700 from a guy that didnt know its value. Its is close to being unfired or fired very little. What i love about 45-70's is usually people are afraid to shoot them do they are usually in great condition. I will one up you, lol. In 2020 i also got a marlin 1895 GS SS 45-70 for free, lol. A large sporting goods store you all know screwed up my billing when i paid for it online, I tried to get them to recharge my card and after a year and dozens of phone calls to them, i gave up trying. Now its mine:) I now have a big loop lever on it as well as an XS rail.
View attachment 1078206
that 1985 is nice! I officially hate you!
 
Perhaps it's because my grandfather was a carpenter, but I just can't get interested in non-wood stocked rifles. There is two in the house, a TC Omega Black Powder Inline and my daughters .22 cricket and, both of which were gifts from my father.

On the other hand I have bought a rifle or two because I liked the look of the wood.
 
Less than half my collection has wood furniture on them. I like black, polymer, and metal. For the past 7 or so years I do most of my deer and varmint hunting with an AR of one variety or another. Nearly all my handguns are wood-less, even most of my revolvers have rubber grips, The only exceptions is most of my shotgun do have wood (a fair number of doubles of one type or another) but the one that gets hunted with most has polymer furniture. I got nothing against wood but for hard use and bad weather it's hard to beat polymers.

index.php
 
Last edited:
I take you haven't hunted waterfowl or spent time going from hot humid summers to below zero winter hunts. I had shotguns basically fall to pieces with loose stocks and cracks after a while. I've got a few which never see bad weather with nice wood stocks. All of the real hunting gear is synthetic.
I lived and hunted in NY, of course I’ve done both. Duck hunting on LI and the Hudson River. Deer hunting in freezing and sometimes sub zero weather in the Catskill Mts. Rain and snow didn’t hold me back.

My guns, all stocked in wood, are still in good condition, thanks. All were made before synthetic stocks were available, with the exception of Tenite, which proved to be a disaster.
 
I lived and hunted in NY, of course I’ve done both. Duck hunting on LI and the Hudson River. Deer hunting in freezing and sometimes sub zero weather in the Catskill Mts. Rain and snow didn’t hold me back.

My guns, all stocked in wood, are still in good condition, thanks. All were made before synthetic stocks were available, with the exception of Tenite, which proved to be a disaster.
as someone who works with wood, Hard Wood like Oak and Walnut will be fine outdoors, in the rain, snow, mud. Don’t baby your guns, it can take it
 
With a couple exceptions, wood is an absolute prerequisite. View attachment 1078204 View attachment 1078205
Oh my!
I take you haven't hunted waterfowl or spent time going from hot humid summers to below zero winter hunts. I had shotguns basically fall to pieces with loose stocks and cracks after a while. I've got a few which never see bad weather with nice wood stocks. All of the real hunting gear is synthetic.
Sorry, ah, but NO. Over the past 55 years, I've hunted waterfowl in the nastiest weather in the upper MidWest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan) as well as whitetail in Michigan's U.P. -- no colder or wetter weather; I've hunted in Mississippi, Arizona, California, all over Washington -- all in the widest variation of weather conditions possible, and -- always used blue steel, wood furniture rifles and shotguns. Guess what? All of these long guns still in my family are still serviceable, accurate, no loose stocks, no cracks. "All of the real hunting gear is synthetic?" As our feckless, er, fearless leader would say: "C'mon, man!"
 
I have wood on all my long guns. I have a spare Ruger factory black synthetic stock for my Mini-30 just to have, but it still wears the wood stock that it came in for now. Black guns are ok. I just don't feel pulled in that direction.
 
Once upon a time there was an archer who was bemoaning the young people weren't taking up archery anymore because they were enamored with the newfangled black powder matchlock guns. Then flintlocks came along and people began to switch over to the latest and greatest. The same thing happened again when the percussion cap was invented and yet again when repeating rifles and smokeless powder arrived on the store shelves.

Black powder was once cutting edge; now it's black rifles. There will always be those who appreciate the past but times change and technology moves forward and the latest and greatest will be what the masses want.
 
I don't own anything with a polymer frame and only one rifle, a Savage MKII, has a synthetic stock. It shoots well. As good as advertised, really. I only ordered it because my dad was talking about the rave reviews for this $200 rifle and that if he ran across one in stock he'd buy it. I ordered both of us one and they ended up being consecutive serial #'s.

That's the only reason I've kept it. I don't care about shooting it and rarely ever do. I've had shotguns and rifles out in snow and rain and handguns that have been underwater for several hours. Some have fallen down hills with me and at least one fell down a hill without without me. (Glad it wasn't synthetic camo or I might still be looking for it)
Haven't ruined a wood stock yet.

I do look for wood in shops and on gun show tables that are full of black plastic since they're usually not in the sellers wheelhouse. The ones that are out of place are often priced to sell.
 
Last edited:
I love the look of a wood shotgun or wood rifle but they get beat up too bad. If you haven't noticed the wood is also not real wood anymore. Most is a laminate type or MDF with a wood sticker overlay. I always awed at the older Rem 700 deer rifles with the nice wood stocks and shiny finish or an older Rem 870 with a nice wood stock. I own 2 wood stocks and they are scratched and dinged up. One is a rabbit gun and the other a deer gun so they don't get treated nicely.
 
....There will always be those who appreciate the past but times change and technology moves forward and the latest and greatest will be what the masses want.
I think most of us here that appreciate the past also embrace the "latest and greatest" given us by changing times and advances in firearms technology. There's no reason to be one or other, if personal resources allow.
 
Same here and I am 68 yo. I just about will not buy any gun that is not synthetic/laminate and stainless steel. I prefer it for both looks and use. And apparently so do most others.

3C
Yep, at 53 yo, I've had to buy "serious" firearms for my 2 adult sons. The price of firearms has risen to the point where if I hadn't bought them, I would be very concerned that my boys wouldn't have them.

I buy synthetic so there's no swelling of wood, cracking, gouging, etc. If I had bought "heirloom" quality I would always be worried about them getting damaged.
 
Somehow wood was considered sufficient as a gunstock for hundreds of years. My thought is that it's the gun manufacturers trying to cut costs who push the agenda that synthetic stocks are superior.

Some people here are parroting the makers who talk about warping, splitting, etc. and how synthetic is superior. I've been shooting for over 60 years and have yet to have any of these supposed problems with any of my wood stocked guns.

I see synthetic stocks as being totally devoid of any soul or warmth. if that makes me a Fudd, then so be it.
Quoted for truth.
 
Because for various reasons the new culture of gun buyers are obsessed with killing, war, tactical, combat and not much else. Black plastic and alloy sells. Blued steel and walnut stays on the shelf, it’s not edgy enough.
I was going to argue, but you're correct. Looking at myself, I generally like milsurp stuff... and wood has fallen out of use in those. I want wood on things that came with wood, but for something like an AR, stay accurate to the original item.
 
Somehow wood was considered sufficient as a gunstock for hundreds of years. My thought is that it's the gun manufacturers trying to cut costs who push the agenda that synthetic stocks are superior.

Some people here are parroting the makers who talk about warping, splitting, etc. and how synthetic is superior. I've been shooting for over 60 years and have yet to have any of these supposed problems with any of my wood stocked guns.

I see synthetic stocks as being totally devoid of any soul or warmth. if that makes me a Fudd, then so be it.

Going to ramble...

Could disagree more. What gives a gun "soul" to me is what I have done with them not what they are made of. My Browning BPS was used to take my first two deer as a teenager and all the Turkey I have ever taken in my life. The gun has the wear and tear to match nearly 30+ years of hunting with it. It has soul, that wear and tear reminds me of memories of good times in the woods, alone and with friends and family. And none of that soul is lost (or made better) because its a BPS Stalker with the flat black finish and black polymer furniture and not polished blue steel and walnut. I could write a similar story about a polished blued steel and walnut Winchester Model 70 (pre-64) and it would not be better or worst because of that rifle's construction.

Yes wood was sufficient for a long time, it was the best most cost effective material at hand. But If you don't see how the non-wood stocks hold up better to harsh weather I would suggest you have not seen guns exposed, long term, to harsh weather. Go take a survey of saltwater water-foul hunters and see how many of them prefer wood and blued steel on their shotguns verse polymer furniture and PVD, Cerekote and similar tougher finishes. Wood can be beautiful and for most application it works well but polymer furniture brings capabilities (and cost savings) to the table that wood simply cannot compete with.

I love GPS units for backwoods navigations and yet I still know how to navigate using map and compass.

I have a very advance graphing calculator and yet I still know how to use a slide rule to do calculations.

I do nearly all my design and drafting using modern 3D parametric CAD software on a computer and yet I can still make a three view and iso drawings on paper with a T-square and triangles.

I have a forge and anvil in my shop that ,when not is use, sits near my CNC milling machine.

You do not have to give up the old to embrace the new or vice-versa.
 
Last edited:
I have a couple of long guns that don't have any wood or blued steel on them, but I tend to see them more as the proverbial "tool," as opposed to a piece of human craftsmanship that I admire and connect with on a level that appeals more to me.

All four of the guns below are probably capable of very similar groups, probably less than half-MOA at reasonable distances, but I only own the wood-and-blue-steel ones because the others don't appeal to me enough for me to buy one. However, I highly encourage everyone else to go for the metal and plastic guns cranked out by automated machinery. That'll leave more of the old-school guns for me to acquire at bargain prices. :)

rY4bI8b.jpg
xbhplXT.jpg


I find it very satisfying to shoot guns like these, made 65-85 years ago, into quarter-MOA groups. The people who built these guns did much more than stand and watch a CNC machine do its thing, then move the component over to the next station. I like that. :)
yid1jfI.jpg
2ADTbBj.jpg
CyRd3NJ.jpg
 
Last edited:
Not a fan of Super Lacquer 80’s stock with that huge cheek piece. Big fan of bent wood stocks that bring the stock to the shooter.

anybody remember this old timers? He could bend a wood stock like no other.

upload_2022-5-13_13-1-7.jpeg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top