Pillar bedded Walnut stocks

[Montbars]

There has been one question that I have been wondering.
Will a pillar-bedded bolt-action rifle with a walnut stock and a completely free floated barrel be free from weather effects? Its difficult to find an answer. I'm asking because I only have 1 rifle, a ruger m77 tang 30-06 that has been trued, bedded, and has a douglas slapped on it. Since it will probably be my only rifle I figured it would be good info to know.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I have never had point of impact change with my glass bedded, full floating walnut stocks. Just bed the first inch of barrel and provide plenty of clearance for the rest.

 

[Montbars]

There are some gunsmiths who have told me that the pillars will do wonders for the weather, with the wood changing yet the action moving very little because of the few points it is connected to. Other people say you need to bed the action with epoxy in order to make it weather proof.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I've had good luck with Johnson's paste wax, well rubbed into the stock channel in those areas where it isn't fiberglassed.

 

[dfariswheel]

Wood just isn't totally stable like synthetics.

While pillar bedding, glass work, and free-floating can certainly reduce problems, they can't prevent wood from moving.
Wood is a natural, once living substance and it was "designed" to absorb moisture, flex and warp.

That's why almost all accuracy rifles now use inert synthetics.
If you want the most consistent accuracy in any weather condition and over time, wood isn't the best choice.

 

[krs]

Second what dfaris said.

A lot depends of the piece of wood......a very dense straight grained chunk of American black Walnut, carefully seasoned and chosen for use as a riflestock can be very stable if the action is correctly bedded, straight in the stock with the barrel floated in any conditions - but it's not a guarantee of stability.

A well made glass stock, again correctly bedded with pillars will provide a more repeatable rifle in general, but the difference between a good wood stock and a good glass one won't be noticed by a lot of shooters.

there have een some very successful benchrest rifle shooters using wood laminates for stocks, but those are very densely glassed laminates not much different from a pure fiberglass McMillan (or other fine product).

 

[sixshooterfan]

I thought laminated wood was supposed to be very stable, just heavy as sin?

 

[jmr40]

Laminated wood can and does delaminate over time. Walnut can split in the rain. I've seen my rifles and my hunting partners rifles do so. It is rare, and wood stocks done right can still be plenty accurate.