Wood or Synthetic Stock ?

[sm]

I personally prefer wood stocks.

-Less percieved recoil
-stock changes seem easier [fit]
-though I don't really get upset about 'character' marks [kinda like actually] repair and refinish...shoot and repeat
-seems to be more choices for youth stocks, put regular back on when youth "grows into it"
-Just always liked blue and wood, felt 'right' , balance, and not as cold or hot with temps.

You ?

 

[Dave McCracken]

Not any great advantage either way, IMO.

Wood's easier to modify, like shortening and adding better pad. Same with swivel studs.

Synthetic will last through the next Ice Age, and is inert,no warping. Synthetic stocks are my choice on rifles, due to no shift in POI and the possibility of tighter groups, but shotguns do not have that mission.

Whatever floats your boat....

 

[Kingcreek]

My dedicated duck/goose gun is a plastic SX2. Everything else wears wood and that is the way I prefer them.

 

[HSMITH]

For a range gun wood is great, for a gun to be used in the field I much prefer synthetic.

 

[Traveler]

My major complaint about synthetic stocks, other than cosmetic, is that they are colder and louder. They just won't retain body heat like wood does, and when breaking brush they make an awful racket.

 

[cratz2]

I guess I'm a old fuddy duddy even though I'm not old enough to be one.

I like wood stocks and I like a blue finish. I have the time to take reasonable care of my guns and they get cleaned when I get home. No rust, no pitting on any of my guns. And if the wood gets a bit dinged, it's just added character...

 

[Sisco]

I love the look of fine wood.
That said, when pushing through head high weeds looking for pheasant or crawling through the sticks & stones for turkey, I'm glad I've got synthetic.

 

[mnrivrat]

As a guy who has repaired countless wood stocks that have broken, split, cracked, soaked up gun oil, and shed their finish, I vote for composite materials and that's what my rifles and shotguns are appendaged with.
I don't care if they look plain, feel cold, or go off like a bell when slamed against the brush (how noisy can they be?) that I'm not going to walk through anyway. I just want durability and dependability !

 

[Guyon]

Synthetic for me. My guns are hunting guns with the exception of the HD gun. Still, I have synthetic on all of them.

 

[Nosferatu]

All but one is synthetic on mine. I don't own any "showpiece" shotguns. All mine get a healthy dose of range, Jeep and woods time.

 

[HS/LD]

Synthetic!

Black synthetic!!

TACTICAL black synthetic!!


HS/LD

 

[Kevinch]

Depends on the use, & either will work anywhere.

For rough field or PD use, synthetic gets the nod from me. Easier to maintain, doesn't suffer as much from abuse.

Aesthetically, I think wood gets the nod. It is also easier to modify & refinish. (I know a synthetic might be painted, but it is more difficult to get it looking "as new" than wood.) For a gun that will be used in kinder environments like clays or 'select" field use (dry, not in brush, etc.) I would go with wood because I like the way it looks.

 

[Erik]

I prefer wood, but like them both.

 

[ruger357]

I also vote for blue and wood.

 

[armabill]

I have both. Whatever comes with the gun is ok with me. But sometimes you do have a choice on a new gun. A used one you get what comes unless you buy another stock for it.

 

[JohnBT]

Whatever comes on the gun for me, too.

OTOH, I don't sit around looking at magazine pictures of shotguns with plastic stocks.

John

 

[Ledbetter]

My WalMart 1100

It's gone through some changes, the best of which was the purchase of a used wood stock set from a stock maker (Jack Crawford) shutting down his business. I had my gunsmith install a KickEeez pad and cut the stock to fit.

It's also been PARKERIZED, the receiver is green, the barrel is dark grey and the bolt and trigger group are still black. One-of-a-kind three tone 1100.

So I have two stocks, wood for the gun club and synthetic if I want to take it out in the woods. Changing the stock set just requires three screws and switching the forearm.

 

[sm]

Ledbetter! That's cheatin'
'have scewdriver...will travel'

I know, I know...

"It ain't cheatin' if it works--Ingenuity!"

 

[PJR]

Each have their place in the scheme of things but only 1 SG in my safe has synthetic. It's the hard usin' gun. The rest have wood. A couple of them have really nice wood. It's for those days when I'm not shooting well. At least I have something nice to look at.

Like the new place incidentally and congrats and thanks to Dave McC for stepping forward and moderating.

Paul

 

[Gewehr98]

I went synthetic on my "social" shotgun.

My Remington 11 and Browning Auto-5 are still nice pieces of walnut.

BTW, I still have a brand-new Remington 870 wood buttstock and forend if anybody's looking for same...

 

[Marshall]

:banghead: Wood, Wood, Wood :banghead: Wood, Wood, Wood I say:banghead:


Marshall

 

[Redlg155]

Wood on my deer hunting shotgun. It's much warmer and soaks up recoil better for me.

Good SHooting
RED

 

[Will Beararms]

I have a Beretta AL 390 in Camo with Polymer furniture. And at our camp there are two 1187's with plastic furniture. The Beretta has been babied but I can tell you plastic and painted on finishes still rust.

The deal is bluing jobs have really been less than acceptable over the past few years save most of the O/U's out there in the mid to high range. People have shyed away as a result from blue weapons.

I have a Beretta Blackwing for the Duck Blinds and easy upland shoots and a Remington Left handed 870 Express pump with wood furniture for the rough upland gigs and flooded timber hunts. Funny thing about the 870 is though it has a terrible finish on both wood and metal, the actual composition of the wood is beautiful and tiger striped. I could have it redone by a really good artisan and it would be a thing of awe but then it wouldn't be my knockabout shotgun! :banghead:

Soon I hope the 390 will be sold to some person who will get a great shotgun for a great price and then I will have only wood and steel in all long guns. As I get older, I have gravitated away from polymer and aluminum and gone to wood and steel on all my weapons. Each to his own.

 

[Jagermeister]

I noticed that there was no mention of "fitting" the stock. Having made, fit and finished stocks, (have also replace wood with the "plastic) I find that wood (as the others have mentioned) reduces recoil better than the hollow plastics, and additionally can be fit to the shooter. Additional hardware can also be mounted easier on wood. Changes in a plastic stock are more reaily seen and the texture of the finish cannot be replaced as with a wood stock.

I have found that the plastics seem larger at the wrist of the stock therefore not providing a good grip and finger placement on the trigger. This is the same on rifles as with shotguns.

Keep in mind, that a properly fit stock will make the shooter a better shot, and reduce the recoil even better.

JM

 

[5ptdeerhunter]

The way its looks matters to me too. I think the stock depends on the metal. If the barrel is blued I like a wood stock. If the barrel is stainless I like a synthetic stock. I have just recently started to like the look of a green laminate stock and a dull stainless barrel.