Thanks for your help on the Synthetic stocks posts.
I have a Remington 700 ADL 30-06 and am going on my Bear hunt on Vancouver Island for Black Bears, and will also use it for elk etc.
I cant decide what to do with the stock.
I keep going back and forth between keeping the Factory Wood Stock, and putting on a Sythetic stock that I would buy from Cabelas with my Points.
I dont mind getting the wood Beat up, as I think it adds character, and I like the look of it, but for some reason I think I need a Sythetic stock on it..
Please help me decide.
Keep the factory wood or buy a sythetic.
Thanks for your help,
W.

Wood always!

some of the synthetic stocks transfer too much vibration to your ear bone. Go with the wood.

Synthetic is practical, but has no soul.
WOOD! Go with what feels good, otherwise whats the point. Been down this road with the stocks, and I figure we do what we do cos it makes us happy. Practicality and what feels good need to work together otherwise we function rather than experience.
Sorry if that sounds too zen
boet

If it's wood leave it wood !. Re finish it after the hunt if you prefer or leave it .

If you were buying something new , well then maybe synthetic is OK to !.

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

knowing the wet environment of Vancouver Island, no question in my mind...you hunt a lot in rainy weather, you'll come to appreciate the grip of a Hogue Rubber stock like no tomorrow!

no disrespect to the gentlemen above, but having to hunt in heavy rain like we get here in the NW, in most other places, when it rains like we get, everyone is at home watching the football game....

quote:

Originally posted by boet:
Synthetic is practical, but has no soul.

Ditto...

Thanks Guys!!
If I do stick with wood, do you think I would have any problems with the wood in wet or humid conditions ie warping/POI, or is that not a concern for hunting purposes.
Thanks in advance,
W.

I see most of the people who advocate wood stocks don,t live and hunt in a rain forest ... ...If in the process of hunting your bear you slip on a wet slippery log and fall and land on your stock and it breaks in the grip or action area , your hunt is over ... Most synthetic stocks will just bounce right back ......
Personally I think the dings in a wood stock just make it look like worn out old junk .....
I have never noticed any difference in the noise level of a synthetic stock .........Sounds like paranoid hypochondriac ramblings to me .....Like some one asking me about the toxicity of molybdenum disulfide powder ...........

leave a walnut stocked rifle out doors in coastal Alaska or BC for a few years and the stock will rot off the steel ..... Hows that for soul .........

I think that synthetic would be the best way to go, especially after hunting SE Alaska on coastal waters for black bear myself. In fact I'd recommend a stainless synthetic rifle, if you were buying one just for this hunt.

There are things you can do to preserve your wood stock if you want to save money. The locals recommend waxing the stock and rifle with a paste wax when I was hunting AK. Johnson's paste wax was the one most recommended. You will need to remove the action from the stock and wax everything, wouldn't hurt to seal under the recoil pad as well.

I love wood stocks so don't get me wrong I know where you all are coming from. If I were to live or hunt these areas with high amounts of rain and salt water, I'd seriously consider changing all the stocks out on my rifles to a good synthetic stock. It took less than 24 hours for my rifle to start showing surface rust, so I imagine it will take about the same amount of time for the wood to start to warp if not properly sealed.

It's amazing how we ever made it before plastic. I'm suprised we aren't paying the indians a whiskey tax because of the old wood stocked rifles we had to use for what, maybe 300-400 years before plastic rifles were invented.

I think the "no soul" comment goes a little further than the rifle in some cases

Terry

compromise! Laminated Wood in natural tones! (Personally, I like laminated wood)

Just imagine all those GIs weeping during two world wars and Korea as the wood rotted off thier M1s.....I dont think so! Come to think of it though the krauts did find laminates to be more resilient when they started using it when wood became scarce towards the end of WW2
boet

Myself I perfir wood. I have some Synthetic, But I like wood. I really like Laminated Stocks There're water proof.

If your really that concerned about the wet weather affecting the wooden stock . Put a coat or 2 of carnuba wax on it , hell do the metal to .
No more worries good hunting .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Stock wax --

Minwax paste floor finish wax. It's the same consistency as shoe polish.

You can wax both the wood and the steel. It protects both. I've been refinishing stocks for years. 0000 steel wool, then linseed or tung oil. Then paste wax.

Wax on.

Let dry about 15 min.

Wax off. Buff with a soft cotton cloth. I have a power car wax buffer that I set up in a wood vice -- buff with that.

I have wood stocks, laminates and synthetic stocks on my rifles. I just had a custom rifle built with a wood stock and it is beautiful and will be used in wet weather without much concern - as has been done for centuries. Good care before, during and after the trip is all that is needed to keep it safe for future hunts.

However, the stability and beauty (in my opinion) of laminates are tough to beat and I really like the one on my Rem 673 in 350Rem Mag.

Finally, I have to add that I have a Remington 700 Classic in 8mm Remington Magnum. I am going to re-stock it with a synthetic stock - if I can get one of those Hogue's with the rubber inserts in the grip areas, that's what it will be. What am I going to do with the original wood stock? Keep it and switch it back when I get the urge to go back to the "Classic" look.

If I were in your shoes, I would use the Cabelas points and get the synthetic stock. Practice with it and if after using it a while you don't like it, go back to your wood stock and sell the synthetic on Ebay or somewhere else. Little to lose going this route.

Good luck.

Like some of the others, you could always split the diff. & go laminated.

no where near an expert, but I like the heft, balance and feel of walnut over synthetic. I do not live in a humid area though.

quote:

Originally posted by seafire2:
knowing the wet environment of Vancouver Island, no question in my mind...you hunt a lot in rainy weather, you'll come to appreciate the grip of a Hogue Rubber stock like no tomorrow!

no disrespect to the gentlemen above, but having to hunt in heavy rain like we get here in the NW, in most other places, when it rains like we get, everyone is at home watching the football game....

I couldn't agree more, this is one improvement in rifles in the last few years (along with stainless steel) that really shines in the climate you're going to. I look at rifles as tools, and as such, I want the best tool for the job.

This is Southeast Alaska , any ? as to why synthetic or Laminate ? [

[

quote:

Just imagine all those GIs weeping during two world wars and Korea as the wood rotted off thier M1s.....I dont think so! Come to think of it though the krauts did find laminates to be more resilient when they started using it when wood became scarce towards the end of WW2
boet

I think boet has a good point. If you are going on hunts that are more demanding on your gun then what the soldiers of ww1, ww2 and Korea experienced - you should consider fibreglass/kevlar (cheap plastic stocks are out of the question as they are softer then wood).

Laminate stocks are stiffer then most synthetics and will hold your rifle`s zero no matter what.

Gumboot:

What's with the left eye on that deer????

Head shot? Freaky looking....

If you don't mind your wood stock getting a few character dings then spend your points on something else. Lou

quote:

Originally posted by seafire2:
Gumboot:

What's with the left eye on that deer????

Head shot? Freaky looking....

.

Thats what happend when a 350 gr TSX .416 bullet passes thru the base of the skull/ first vertibra @ about 2400 fps .... .
I didn,t want to break the skull plate ...., it did .

quote:

Originally posted by gumboot458:
This is Southeast Alaska , any ? as to why synthetic or Laminate ?[
[

.

What rifle is this and what kind of boat ,,,
This has to be in southern southeast or Canada because those are red cedars in the back ground ,,,,Where at ??

i have wood and synthetic, but prefer wood and am slowly getting ride of the synthetic rifles. i also lived and hunted in alaska for several years, using only a wood/blue ruger tang 77. never had a problem. i guess if you are going to live in alaska or washington/oregon coast a synthetic might be a consideration, but anywhere else in the us i'd say you would do just fine with a wood stock. after all, everything has been hunted and killed with wood-stocked guns for many, many years before we had plastic. get the rifle that feels good in your hands, that you can shoot well. take reasonable care while in the field and you won't have a problem. good luck.........

As people get older they tend to hunt less aggressively they arn,t out in as much foul weather....They start getting used to the synth , stock on their rifle and want to change for change sake , then attempt to rationalize it ........
If youi like wood get wood ,,, don,t fall and land on your rifle , don,t flip a 4 wheeler on your rifle ............Alot of hunts have been ruined because a wood stock mysteriously threw the shot 2 feet off @ 100,, ect.........I,ve seen it a few times and I used to hunt with wood stocked rifles ...

Go to some gun shops and there are barrels of broke wood stocks ,, ,., There is the , as some people say the [soul] of a rifle , in a garbage can ,,, I have never seen a Ruger Canoe paddle stock in one of those garbage cans ...

Woodsie, considering you are going to be hunting in, if I am not mistaken, a temperate rain forest, you and your rifle are going to more likely than not, get wet, and quite possably very wet. Add in on top of that you are planing on elk huntig with the rifle, I would at least consider a good after market laminated wood stock. I firmly beleive that a good synthetic stock beats the h*ll out of ANY factory, non-laminated wooden stock all day long. Also you should consider that the average synthetic stock is usually a full pound lighter in weight than a wood stock. A pound may not sound like much weight, and is not to those who have spent most of their lives a mile or more above see level, but to us flatlanders comming out west to hunt, you will live and die by weight.

The wood VS synthetic stock debate is realy a foolish one at best. I will be the first to admit a well done wood stock is far more pleasing to the eye than any synthetic stock, but your trying to argue functional superiority of a synthetic stock VS usless for hunting cosmetic superiority of a wood stock. I will add that for a rifle used for hunting in the flatlands east of the mississippi, a wood stocked gun will be just fine. But I am sure not going to let the success or failure of my near once in a lifetime, limited entry elk permits rest on the potential failings of a factory wood stock when there are so meny good after market synthetic stocks to be had, add to that I would NEVER buy a wood stocked gun considering almost every rifle now comes in available in eithor a synthetic, or laminated stock model. It to me borders on foolishness to tempt fate for the sake of clinging to a purely romatic, nonsence notion, based only on emotion not function, that you should not buy a synthetic stock and ignore all of their inherent advantages over wood because they "have no sole?" Please spair me the theatrics. We are talking about one of the most if the most important hunting tools, your rifle. Why hadicap yourself with plain wood?

I know the world is full of stories based on the experences of a friend or a friend of a friend, but when I set out to buy my first high power rifle for elk hunting I was lucky enough to talk to a guy who was a guide for Fiegus(sp?) Outfitters of Alaska. As fate would have it i was buying my rifle just when synthetic stocks were being offered on all the rifles i was looking at to buy. I asked him for his opinion. The short version of what he said was buy the rifle that gives you the least chance for becomming a victim of Murphies Law.

I will conceed it is purely a matter of personal choice. And Woodsie if your wood stocked M700 is shooting awesome groups I would think hard first about changing anything, without making sure you have a compitent gunsmith who knows how to re-stock M700s and solve any problems assosiated with same.

My advice:
If weight is a primary concern like in high elevation hunting or wet conditions:Synthetic stock 100%
If all things are equal, or lower elevations and you must have wood:Laminated wood stock
I would not use a plain non-laminated wood stock unless i had no choice, and for two of my rifles i have just that, no choice as there are no after market stocks for me, and i cant afford custom.

Hope this was helpfull.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy P Coaltrain:
some of the synthetic stocks transfer too much vibration to your ear bone. Go with the wood.

Not if you fill it with spray foam.
Spray foam only adds an ounce or two to the weight and takes all the “hollowness†out of the stock. Done this on a couple of cheapo stocks, quiets them right down.

quote:

Originally posted by seafire2:
knowing the wet environment of Vancouver Island, no question in my mind...you hunt a lot in rainy weather, you'll come to appreciate the grip of a Hogue Rubber stock like no tomorrow!

no disrespect to the gentlemen above, but having to hunt in heavy rain like we get here in the NW, in most other places, when it rains like we get, everyone is at home watching the football game....

Seafire is absolutely correct on this. Seen three or four of these Hogue Overmoulded Rubber stocks, amazing stuff! Really well made, not very expensive (check out McMillan, Choate, etc.) and with the aluminum pillar bedding, actually can make the rifle shoot better. Seen it happen…

Link:
Hogue Rifle Stocks

quote:

Originally posted by woodsie:
Thanks Guys!!
If I do stick with wood, do you think I would have any problems with the wood in wet or humid conditions ie warping/POI, or is that not a concern for hunting purposes.
Thanks in advance,
W.

It is really not IF but WHEN. Like Seafire, I hunt in some really wet conditions, and all of my wood stocks, even with several coats of sealer on them, have some amount of water damage. Grit (dirt) gets on your wet hands and works like sandpaper to take the finish off the stock. Depending on the weather, it is necessary to reseal my rifle stocks just about every year I hunt with them, with either a good paste wax or stock finish. Pain in the butt!

This guy hit the nail on the head:

quote:

Originally posted by shagunse:
I see most of the people who advocate wood stocks don,t live and hunt in a rain forest ...
...If in the process of hunting your bear you slip on a wet slippery log and fall and land on your stock and it breaks in the grip or action area , your hunt is over
... Most synthetic stocks will just bounce right back ......

Personally I think the dings in a wood stock just make it look like worn out old junk….

I have never noticed any difference in the noise level of a synthetic stock .........Sounds like paranoid hypochondriac ramblings to me .....Like some one asking me about the toxicity of molybdenum disulfide powder ...........

leave a walnut stocked rifle out doors in coastal Alaska or BC for a few years and the stock will rot off the steel ..... Hows that for soul .........

I like this:

quote:

Originally posted by boet:
Just imagine all those GIs weeping during two world wars and Korea as the wood rotted off thier M1s.....I dont think so! Come to think of it though the krauts did find laminates to be more resilient when they started using it when wood became scarce towards the end of WW2
boet

Most military rifles have enough wood on them to build a small cabin in the woods. Besides they were OILED.
Have you removed the military oil finish from a stock? Not an easy or fun thing to do.
Apples and oranges. If you advocate carrying a 10LB military rifle on a hunt, go ahead.
I believe I will pass, thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by shagunse:
Personally I think the dings in a wood stock just make it look like worn out old junk….

Woodsie, take your factory wood off, put on a quality synthetic stock and have many a good hunt.
Twenty years from now, you can put the old wood stock back on and have a “new†old rifle with a pristine factory stock. How cool will that be?


PS the rifle in the picture is a Ruger 77 with the skeleton synthetic stock, I believe.

My Model 70 Featherweight 6.5x55mm is my only wood gun I own now. It's my "keeper", my "sweetheart". It'll pretty much never leave.

My other guns are just tools for a specific job, synthetic is fine for them.

How did we ever make it before plastic? Just lucky I guess. People will make every excuse in the world why a wood stocked rifle can't be used where you are going to hunt. No matter where in this entire world you hunt, a hunter with a wood stocked rifle was there 100 years before you ever showed up.

quote:

Originally posted by shagunse:
Personally I think the dings in a wood stock just make it look like worn out old junk….

Maybe so but to me a plastic rifle looks like junk before it ever goes into the woods.

Terry

quote:

Originally posted by TC1:
How did we ever make it before plastic? Just lucky I guess. People will make every excuse in the world why a wood stocked rifle can't be used where you are going to hunt. No matter where in this entire world you hunt, a hunter with a wood stocked rifle was there 100 years before you ever showed up.
Terry

True. And a guy with a rock, a spear or a longbow was there long before that.

Why aren't we using a rock or a spear?
It worked a thousand years ago...

People are not making excuses why a wood stocked rifle cannot be used, rather I see them pointing out reasons to use a better "tool."

When it all boils down, a wood stocked rifle is just another choice. If I was going 2000 miles to go on a hunt that I paid alot of money for, I would take the best "tool" I could afford. That's it. Synthetic is the most durable way to stock a "tool" you can get.
Period.

I have seen a few expensive wood stocks broken during hunting.
I "wood" hate for that to ruin my hunt.

And why arent we stil using:
Patched round balls
iron sights
black powder
animal skins
flint knives istead of steel
copper jacketed instead of 100% lead bullets
Spitzers in stead of flat nosed
paper hulls instead of plastic
primers instead of flints

The list is almost endless. Yep all worked great 100-300 years ago but now, not so much.

There is just something about a woody that us oldsters hate to give up!!

I have used wood stocks for 65 years, and most of them were glassed, but some are not..I have never experienced the problems that I hear about..I think the use of good quality wood properly laid out with straight running grain, properly cured and finished is as good as any plastic stock, but takes just a bit more care. In most hunting camps I have plenty of time to clean and wax my guns..I have not touched the dials on my 300 H&H for 20 years and every time I go sight it in, it shoots the first group 2.5" high at 100..Same thing with my 6x45, both custom stocks of the right kind..I have hunted all over the world with the 300 H&H...

If I was an Eskimo and lived my whole life in the Artic then I'd probably opt for a plastic stock and a ss gun..but all the eskimo guns I have seen were wood stocked and blued, but thats been many years ago..

With all due repect, with a good synthetic stock I need not worry about weather or not good quality wood properly laid out with the grain running stait, properly cured and finished was used. And you are compairing a custom stock to a factory stock, where we are disgussing non-custom aftermarket and factory stocks. Kinda apples amd oranges. I too would love a custom made of laminated wood or synthetic stock, but both are more or less out of my price range. I too would place and deservidly so, full confidence in a custom made non-factory made stock.

Again I say people are compairing functional superiority to cosmetic superiority. One actually matters in real world hunting, one does not.

Wood LOOKS better than synthetic, it does NOTHING better than synthetic. It may help dampen recoil, but IMHO this is offset by its additional weight.

Shagunse;; The rifle is a custom barreled Stainless Ruger in 458 Win mag I painted it green ,,,,, The boat is a Caulkin,s BarTender ,,It,s a wood boat , fairly quiet, fairly warm , An excellent sea boat in a nice little runabout size ... Quite alot of maintainance .....

The bay is the middle bay of YAH Bay ,or Yes Bay ,

Flippy, I'll address all those points you mentioned if we ever get into a discussion about them. Right now the subject is wood or plastic stocked rifles. I prefer wood.

You say that your rifle is just a tool. To a point I would agree, but to me a rifle is far more a part of a completed hunt than a hammer is part of a completed house. Here is what I mean by that, take Ray Atkinson for example. He has been using his wood stocked M70 .300 H&H for the better part of his hunting career. It works flawlessly and never gives him a bit of trouble which happens to reflect my experience with wood stocked rifles as well. I've never seen it but I'm sure it's well worn and full of nicks and dings. I would imagine a lot of the finish is gone but it doesn't matter because the wood is now seasoned so weather doesn't affect the way it shoots anymore. I would imagine it's darker in the grip and forearm area were the oil from his hands has entered the wood. One day if the man ever stops hunting which is doubtful, he can look at that rifle and will remember the different hunts by looking at some of the wear and scars the rifle bares. Sort of a rich piece of personal history and a family heirloom. For me a plastic stocked rifle will never be able to achieve that sort of status. Sure, a wood stocked rifle requires a little more care but I've never had a problem taking care of my stuff.

Sorry about my last post. Didn't mean to be so confrontational.

Terry

quote:

Originally posted by TC1:
...Right now the subject is wood or plastic stocked rifles. I prefer wood...
Terry

Terry, the last time I looked through MY rifle inventory (40+) the only eight that wear a synthetic stock are either a military clone (AR15), fun rifles (Hi-Point carbines), (1) H&R .223 or Remington Nylon 66s (3).

All of the rest wear wood. I love the look and feel of wood. However, if I had doubts about taking my Model 70 out and beating it up and possibly ruining the stock, I would change it. I can put the original one back on any time I feel like it.

If I was going 2000 miles away for a really special hunt, I would opt for a synthetic stock.

No hurt feelings here. I like it when people tell it like it is.


---Mike

I almost forgot, the "plastic" ATI stock on my MAK90!
MUCH, MUCH better than the original, clumsy, ugly, Chinese plywood thumbhole POS that it came with.

....I think it must just be inexperience is and lack of use is why some people say synthetic stocked rifles don,t yield themselves to memories of past events ......Not to put too much of a point on it because I,m not a pagan but the wear on the above 458 , the paint is gone from the barrel, most of it is chipped off the action, the scope that was usually on it is now at Leupold bring rebuilt ... when I look at that rifle I can remember so much of the things I,ve been thru with it ......and I will be able to for the rest of my life ,, I will have many more experiences with it ......

The one experience I don,t plan on having with it is having the stock break and leave me stranded with out a rifle ...... Nor having the stock swell up and crack or break or cause a miss .....