Walnut vs. beech

[kamagong]

I just bought my first rifle, a CZ 452 Trainer. This model has a beech stock as opposed to the walnut stocks found on the more expensive 452s.

I also placed an order recently for a service grade Garand from the CMP. Service grade models are good weapons, but per the CMP website the stocks can be either walnut, birch, or beech. I'm hoping for walnut, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Is there any advantage to walnut except its beauty? The 452 Trainer I bought is a good loking gun, and I didn't think the use of walnut was enough to justify a premium of $100 for the Lux model. The only reason I want walnut for the M1 is that walnut is traditional for this rifle.

 

[MCgunner]

Walnut is popular because of the grain, it's pretty. Pretty much it. I'd rather have plastic/laminate or laminated wood for actual use. Some of the laminated wood stocks can be quite pretty even if cheap.

On an M1, I wouldn't care, frankly.

 

[elmerfudd]

I'm don't know a whole lot about wood, but generally walnut is lighter and prettier and beech is cheaper and tougher. Personally, I don't have any problem with a beech stock, but I'd rather go with walnut or some sort of composite instead. If it's going to be wood it ought to at least look really nice and if it's going to be a field gun it ought to be tough as nails. Beech is somewhere in between.

 

[macFarlaine]

I am not a rifle buff but love shotguns.Apart from one shotgun all of my guns have walnut stocks.I have always been lead to believe they are a tougher wood,and there beauty speaks for it's self.
I am not a great fan of Turkish walnut and there dealings in flooding the market.The finest quality walnut is French,long used on fine English shotguns.

 

[wrench]

Here's a few of mine, the light colored one is a Greek beech stock that I refinished. I think it looks great. The others are walnut, natch'


You need some of each!

 

[Eyesac]

Those are some nice looking guns!