How about a laminated stock - kind of a compromise. A nice rosewood laminate is in the ballpark of "walnuty". McMillan has all sorts of synthetic options - I like there battleship gray. They also have many options for mixing various colors. Top-notch stocks and generally good people to deal with. Pricey ($400+), but you didn't mention your budget. Also tend to be lighter than laminated stocks, and a great warranty.

Anyway, good luck.

Sevens,

I have painted a few wood stocks in the past but, I am not sure how it would work on syn. stocks. I believe it would be just fine.

Supplies Needed:

-1 can of quality Olive spray paint or what ever color base you want.
-1 can of quality brown, kacky, or grey spray paint.
-1 can of satin clear coat.
-Sand paper, not too fine, not too rough (Palm sander works great)
-30-40 small leaves (about 2-3" green leaves) I like oak but, whatever works for you.

First, After removeing the action, plate, and trigger gaurd, I sand the stock down a little to give it a dull scuffed looking surface.

Second, I spray a coat of high quality spray paint on for my base coat (Usually Olive). I let dry then, spray another coat until I have about 3-4 good coats.

Third, After the stock has dried I lay the stock on its side and cover it w/ the leaves. From about 20 inches away I mist another color paint (light brown, kacky, or grey) until I have the desired amount on the stock. Let dry for a few seconds and pull the leaves off. Then, let it dry completly on that side. Flip the stock and repeat the third step.(The reason I hold the can around 20" is to avoid blowing the leaves off of the stock.)

Last, After the stock has dried and the design is satisfactory, I spray on several coats of satin clear coat.

The olive base coat makes the leaves look green and the brown or grey makes for nice camo. You can also use colored pencils or paint pens before the clear coat to spruce up the leaves.

It makes a nice looking stock that is different from others and perfectly suitable for hunting.

It doesn't take very long and you will have a unique looking stock.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck!

Reloader

Here's a couple of pics of different options.

The first is a 458 Win on a Charles Daly Mauser action with a Boyds JRS laminate stock.


This is a VZ-24 Mauser action with a Bell and Carlson stock, color is tan with black spiderweb.

Both are done with Gunkote black finish which seems to be holding up pretty well and actually looks pretty nice to my eyes. They are not as pretty as some of my blued/walnut guns but they at least aren't really ugly.

Good luck deciding,