M1A Recoil: Wood Stock vs. Synthetic

[Hawksnest]

I searched the forums for a thread about M1A stocks before I bombarded you guys with a post, but couldn't find the answer I needed.

My question is this: I'm looking to buy an M1A, but can't decide what kind of stock to purchase. I know wood is more prone to cracking and warping, but is heavier so it reduces recoil, and looks beautiful. On the contrary, the glass stocks don't look as good, but they stand up to the weather, are lighter and thus do not offset recoil as much. I'd rather have a stock that lasts longer, but is the recoil going to be too much with a synthetic stock? I am 6'3" and 230 pounds, so I wouldn't imagine so with only a .308 WIN, but I haven't gotten a chance to play around with one of these babies.

So, anyone have an opinion?

PS - The walnut stocks look sooooo good. Someone talk me in/out of it

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

I'd would and will go for the walnut, yup, beautiful...if the time comes and we have to use them for the real deal...a synthetic stock wont do much to a persons skull and using a bayonet would be so much more effective with wood,

 

[Z-Michigan]

I'm actually not super impressed with the walnut stocks that SAI ships with. They look very plain and dull, too much like cheap birch stocks. (BTW I know that some M14s had birch stocks from the factory.)

My 2 cents? Buy a gun with the synthetic stock, then for $82 buy a walnut or laminate stock from Boyd's for when you want the gun to be pretty:

http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/Replacement-Stocks-for-Military-Rifles-s/120.htm

And use the synthetic for when you're hunting in bad conditions or otherwise want a tough beater stock.

Given your size (I'm in that range too) you are likely to find recoil quite mild. I have an M1A and find it mostly mild. You can get a bit of a bruise if you're wearing a t-shirt or polo because the rubber buttpad is firm and ridged (has ridges) that seem to exaggerate recoil a bit on your skin. Wear a thicker/stiffer shirt, or change out the pad, and you won't notice anything more than any other .308. Which is to say, plenty to knock the gun off target, but not painful for most people who have proper technique.

 

[kaferhaus]

My daughter shot NRA Highpower with a M1A from the age of 14 through finishing college at 22. She never weighed more than 105lbs. Wood stock with a metal butt plate.

She never suffered a bruise of any kind. However she did wear a shooting jacket.....

within a year of starting she was pretty much cleaning everyone's clock and made 3 trips to Perry.

 

[Rshooter]

Rubber buttpad?

I prefer the wood stocks myself, nothing like the feel of wood. Mine has the military metal buttpad.

 

[monk d]

The recoil on the M1A or M14 is mild, you will have no issues, even if you are a little recoil sensitive like I am. The gas system in those guns helps to dampen the felt recoil substantially, it was designed to accomodate all physical types. I have a wood stock and I love it, and even though the synthetics are ugly (to me) you can paint or camo them and make them look really nice. They are pricey, but once you get one, you will develop an addiction over time that will make you, yes make you go to the range and feed the rifle on a regular basis...beware

 

[madcratebuilder]

My question is this: I'm looking to buy an M1A, but can't decide what kind of stock to purchase.

I would buy one with a wood stock. My two are early rifles and have very nice grain, one is gi the other sa. With a good Tung oil finish they hold up to extreme weather very well. I also have gi glass stocks that i use some of the time. These have a bit of flex in the fore-end that I improved by cutting two narrow slots and glassing in two fiber carbon tubes. That really made the fore-ends stronger and eliminated most of the flex.

You can add a lead rod to the butt stock cleaning rod hole to add weight for reduced recoil. These gas guns don't have as much recoil as a bolt gun. I don't think you well have a problem with either stock.

 

[herkyguy]

FredsM14stocks.com. Buy the wood with the gun then buy synthetic surplus stocks from freds. I leave the brand new wood stock in the closet. It's pretty and i don't want to ding it. I shoot mostly with a synthetic beater stock. I also bought a worn down wooden stock with a GI sling for fun out in the woods.

 

[XD9GUY]

HERKYGUY has the right idea, however, Fred's is out of synthetic stocks and has been for a while.

Try this instead. Buy the M1A with Synthetic then buy a real M-14 stock from Fred's. he has any quality wooden stock you could want starting at about $25 up to over $100. Walnut or Birch.
Here's his website: http://www.fredsm14stocks.com/

You might want to go ahead and get the stock now rather than wait. Reason being according to his website, Fred's is going out of business in the near future.

I bought one of them for $35 and was not disappointed. The stock I got had two or three dings on it, but it came from a real M-14 and I have sanded it down and will finish it with Pure Tung Oil. It should really look great when I'm done. Oh yes, I bought it before I even got my M1A. Turns out the M1A I got had the synthetic stock which I plan on sending off the get Camo'd. Then I'll have 2 great looking stocks.

 

[mshootnit]

I bought two walnut stocks, mine came with synthetic. I have another extra Fulton Armory hand finished American walnut stock NIB that I would sell as well as a new synthetic Springfield Armory stock.

 

[longdayjake]

WOOD. You are paying way too much for a nice rifle to put plastic all over it. I love wood. I even got rid of that ugly plastic heat shield.

 

[Hawksnest]

It sounds to me like the majority of you are saying wood, even with or without a secondary glass stock.

My main choice for an M1A is just the standard model, nothing fancy. I believe the only wood it comes with is the walnut stock. Are there are woods that hold up better than the other? If worse comes to worse, I know I can buy an after-market stock made from different wood if the walnut is all that SA can offer.

It seems after some brief googling, that walnut is the strongest wood (compared to birch, beech, and others) and therefore the ideal choice. Can anyone confirm this? Also, and I know some of you might think this should be a new thread... but how can I weather treat the stock properly, or are there laminated M1A stocks available?

 

[monk d]

Not an expert but I have been told that some of the hardwoods are actually too hard and don't flex enough under the stress of firing and are prone to crack (in high power rifles). I am sure that is not the only reason, but it sounded right.
Sounds like one or two of the previous posters have it right. You might save a few shekels by getting a Standard in synthetic and then get a Boyd's or Fred's wood stock...of course you might consider bedding afterwards if the fit is not tight

 

[az_imuth]

I purchased my loaded model with a synthetic stock. This was several years ago and the synthetic stock turned out to be a reworked GI fiberglass stock. Later on I picked up a GI walnut stock with hardware and have been using it ever since. I've fired the rifle with both stocks and never noticed any difference in recoil between the two. I currently have the synthetic stock stripped down and ready to paint, after which I'll add a GI metal butt plate since I don't care for the rubber one that came with it. While the synthetic does feel quite a bit lighter than the walnut, the walnut doesn't seem too heavy to me. Besides, when you're shooting the M1A you'll be so amazed with the rifle that you won't even think about the stock.

 

[Z-Michigan]

that walnut is the strongest wood (compared to birch, beech, and others) and therefore the ideal choice.

Actually no, walnut is not stronger than those other woods, and it's softer too. But it's strong enough and somewhat lighter than those, and most people think it looks nicer.

All the wood M1A stocks I know of come prefinished, so it's hard to recommend any finishing steps for you. If you can find one that isn't finished, the gunsmithing forum here has a number of threads about good wood finishing methods. With a finished stock you could potentially apply certain varnishes over the existing finish, but the end result is unpredictable, could look awful and wouldn't necessarily hold up better. You could also sand to bare wood but that would be a lot of sanding for uncertain benefit.

Boyd's makes laminated M1A stocks, see link I posted above.

Not an expert but I have been told that some of the hardwoods are actually too hard and don't flex enough under the stress of firing and are prone to crack (in high power rifles)

Never heard of this before and I don't think it's true, but curious to hear what others might say. Birch and beech have long histories as woodstock material and seem to hold up just fine.

 

[herkyguy]

Every time I go shoot my M1a, I think after that I'll put her away for a while and give her some downtime. then someone goes and posts another photo of theirs and I can't wait to take her out again in the woods....

 

[longdayjake]

Okay, whats all this crap about wood stocks cracking? My m1 garand is 66 years old and it has fired thousands and thousands of rounds without any cracks in the stock. My m1 carbine is also 66 years old and it has the original stock and there are no cracks.

Okay, I admit that if you plan on throwing your rifle around or dropping it here and there that a wood stock will want to crack eventually. But shooting your rifle won't hurt your stock at all.

 

[JNewell]

What I did: buy synthetic, get walnut from Fred's. The synthetic has some benefits. I personally find recoil a little lighter. It won't compress under the pressure of the trigger guard, unlike wood stocks. On the other hand, walnut is...walnut. But I would get genuine USGI walnut from Fred's, not a commercial walnut from SAI or Boyd's or another vendor.

 

[Welding Rod]

Wood for sure. The M1A is a pussy cat to shoot anyhow.

 

[henschman]

The GI fiberglass stocks fit tighter and give you a little bit better accuracy. They are just a tad lighter, so you won't notice much difference in recoil. They are weatherproof, and do not expand/contract with weather and change your POI. Plus you can rattle can it to match any season. It is easy to modify them with fiberglass work.

Wood stocks look cool.

So I guess it depends on whether you care more about looks or utility. Is the rifle going to be a display piece or a tool?

I am definitely a synthetic guy, myself.

One word of caution... the new Springfield Armory Inc. M1As with black synthetic stocks do not come with GI fiberglass stocks anymore... they now come with SAI's own PLASTIC stock. If you want real GI fiberglass, you can buy the camo model, which I believe still comes with a surplus GI stock painted with Mossy Oak pattern. That or if you want to have both a wood and a fiberglass stock, do like one person said and buy the M1A with the wood stock, and then buy a GI fiberglass stock from LRB: http://www.lrbarms.com/stocks.html

 

[Hawksnest]

The GI fiberglass stocks fit tighter and give you a little bit better accuracy. They are just a tad lighter, so you won't notice much difference in recoil. They are weatherproof, and do not expand/contract with weather and change your POI. Plus you can rattle can it to match any season. It is easy to modify them with fiberglass work.

Wood stocks look cool.

So I guess it depends on whether you care more about looks or utility. Is the rifle going to be a display piece or a tool?

I am definitely a synthetic guy, myself.

One word of caution... the new Springfield Armory Inc. M1As with black synthetic stocks do not come with GI fiberglass stocks anymore... they now come with SAI's own PLASTIC stock. If you want real GI fiberglass, you can buy the camo model, which I believe still comes with a surplus GI stock painted with Mossy Oak pattern. That or if you want to have both a wood and a fiberglass stock, do like one person said and buy the M1A with the wood stock, and then buy a GI fiberglass stock from LRB: http://www.lrbarms.com/stocks.html

Henschman, it says on SA's web site that the synthetic stocks are "composite" stocks. I'm guessing that means they are made up of 2 or more materials.

 

[jeepguy]

i bought a used ss loaded with a synthetic stock, but i wanted a wood stock. so one day i found a glass bedded usgi walnut at a gunshow for $40, as i was getting to leave he said what about $25? so i took it home, put the rifle in it and never looked back. the synthetic stocks have some advantages but m14's just look good in wood. i wouldn't worry about the recoil it isn't bad at all, i would worry about ammo becuase these rifle's tend to be very hungry.lol either way you are getting a great rifle, and i hope you injoy it.

 

[Z-Michigan]

it says on SA's web site that the synthetic stocks are "composite" stocks. I'm guessing that means they are made up of 2 or more materials.

Yes, but nearly all plastics used in anything firearms-related have glass or other fillers, so both composite and plastic are accurate terms.

I currently have both painted fiberglass and the newer glass-filled nylon SAI stocks. The fiberglass is noticeably heavier. The nylon probably feels like a toy to some people, but it seems well made and I can't find any issues with it. It also has molded in checkering which I like.

 

[henschman]

The only issues with the SAI plastic stocks is that some people say the mag wells are kinda tight and need to be relieved or just worn in... mine was that way. Other than that, they are tight-fitting, weatherproof, and work just fine. You just can't do any fiberglass work on them though, like you can with a GI. If you want a GI metal flip-up buttplate, it will attach to the SAI stock, as well. And they do come with storage tubes... they are a little plastic insert that screws inside the stock, but hey, they are there.

 

[Redlg155]

I've had both types, the synthetic and the USGI fiberglas. Both have advantages and disadvantages and I'd rate them about equal. In thed I ended up with the troy stock.

Why don't you buy two? Have a "workingmans" rilfle and a beauty queen!