I'm borrowing this theme from a thread I spotted over at HA. Since I no longer participate there, I thought this same topic might be of interest here.

But to start things off, I'll admit it, I personally prefer to hunt with synthetic-stocked rifles instead of rifles with wood stocks. That's just where it's at for me....

AD

ME

Same here.

In pleasant weather, I enjoy using my wooden stocked rifles/guns, but, for serious hunting without having to worry about wrecking your stock, synthetic is my preference since 1985.



Hunting, to me, is mostly for fun and some meat, so, I am not as intense about it as I was when I was younger. Actually, I quite frequently turn down opportunities to shoot an animal so I can hang out in the bush longer, which is what I really like to do.

All my serious hunting rifles have synthetic stocks.
Paul B.

I really enjoy a beautiful wooden stocked rifle. In fact, I have quite a few. But most of them never get into the field, unless I'm hunting from a blind.

That being said: I do enjoy a synthetic stocked rifle as well and tend to keep them in the field as a work horse. I hunt alot in wet weather. But, I also hunt desert areas, mountains, and plenty of thick tangled junk. A synthetic stocked gun goes from one type terrain to another with no problems. I currently use a .300 Weatherby Accumark as my all round work animal. She's a bit heavy, but a real tack driver.


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Allen,

I prefer synthetic stocks and stainless steel actions and barrels for my hunting rifles.

I build my own rifle, and although they won't win any beauty contests, they are made to be working guns. And they seem to be good in this department.

I have my original 375/404, which is built on a Dakota 76 action. It has been to Africa 8 times so far, and I have never touched a thing on it. It has the same zero I set it on from the beginning.

Mind you, I have some Dakota and McMillan rifles that have absolutely gorgeous wood. They are a pleasure to look at.

I do, and depending on how you look at, unfortunately or fortunately, I really don't see myself hunting with a wood stocked rifle again. I'm not saying I won't own one, I just, most likely, won't ever seriously hunt with one. Sadly, a biproduct of my generation.

Chuck

Sorry, gotta disagree here fellas. I own both wood and synthetic and use both. Different rifles for different puposes. My view on a synthetic stocked rifle is that it is a tool. I have some that I only use when rough going or weather is involved. I have others used in other situations...does not make one better than the other, just different options for different situations.

You cant disagree a properly stocked rifle with a nice piece of wood is a thing of beauty.

My $.02

swede

I never really understood why people wouldn't get a wood or blued rifle wet or indeed begrudge the odd scratch or dent on it. I love to see 'old faithfull' covered in raindrops as the dawn lightens and the fallow start moving.

I can cope with this for a long weekend or 3 outings or so a week but find that in the height of the season it gets a bit of a pain so have bought a wood/blued sako which has an alloy scope, powder coated mounts, plain wood stock has been bedded and free floated and the underwood metal work well greased.

A wipe with a paper towel and oily rag for the outside, a slotted jag with an oily patch, dry patch and the drying of the chamber and inside of the mag box has to be done with astainless synthetic and will be no more onerous with my sako.

While I have got by just fine with wood stocks all of my life I can understand where some are coming from. To say I have never had a problem with rust or zero changing on wood is true but the conditions may not have been as severe as others have to put up with.

So I am quite positive that my wood stocked rifles and shotguns will perform in the conditions that I use them.

Now I have two plastic stocked rifles and one is SS as well, a third is in the works. I got them just for the fun of it.

What I want is a composite stock that looks like wood! Talk has it that MacMillian made such a stock once. The technology has to be there?

I to have sst- syn-stocked rifle's for most fo my hunting, for Horse back and weather can't beat them. I also have 2 fine wood's that I might take in fair weather when walking.

I agree that a fine walnut stock is a thing of great beauty. Wood stocks FEEL better, and it's easier to achieve a better balance to the rifle with a wood stock. Also, wood stocks don't get nearly so hot to the touch if you're hunting in hot environments. Eastern Oregon can get well over 80 degrees F during late September/early October mule deer season, as can Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico and of course, Africa, and I hunt in all of these places on a regular basis, and with synthetic-stocked rifles.

The biggest problem I've had with wood is a set of fundamental mechanical problems with individual stocks that causes a change to point-of-impact, as well as poor finish materials that don't stand up to the weather. Oil finishes (Linseed, tung/Velvet, etc.), in particular, haven't been worth a damn in my experience in wet weather. Good, tough finishes, such as Milliron's epoxy, Biesen's urethane, Flecto's Plastic Oil, etc. stand up to just about anything.

But despite all this, I prefer synthetics for all-around use.

AD

Where did SS appear in the question? 4bambam brings up a great point. Saddle scabbards are extremely hard on rifles, and so are the horses that carry them. My Dad and I were discussing this last night.

Chuck

to their synthetic stocked rifles as the day to day, work, hard weather..... choice.

I have some beautiful wood stocked rifles, but they don't get dragged through the crap.

everything I do for serious, is synthetic stocked. Stronger, tougher, lighter.....impervious to everything.

Synthetic stocks are all business. Black ones look ninja.

They DEFINITELY have their place...

Ok Allen, I'll give you a "lawyer" answer. I prefer to hunt with Synthetic stocks but I prefer to own nice wooden ones. My first "real" hunt with a synthetic stock was that bear I took in Maine. I must say it was GREAT not having to worry about rain, dents or scratches. I like the feel of synthetics too. I guess from now on if there's doubt about the weather and if I have a suitable caliber, I'll go for the synthetic. I have just two right now, a 35 Wheelen Ruger and a 340 Weatherby Accumark. jorge

Allen,

I remember growing up an having to treat guns like fine china and having to thoroughly clean them everyday they were used. That isn't me at all.

Guns are tools and I love them for what they can do not what they are. When I bought my first synthetic stocked rifle about 20 years ago I went all the way and had Brown Precision build a 338. I've never looked back since. For serious hunting synthetic and stainless are the only way to go.

The synthetic stocked rifles I use the most look like rodents have been chewing on them but they function and shoot very well. That's all I need.

Regards,

Mark

Mark, pretty is as pretty does, alright!

I like to look at a good synthetic-stocked rifles, especially if they're had some wear, tear, missing paint, and a solid history of dependable use, good hunts, and a few good trophies behind them. More so than fancy rifles that have only a history of taking up cabinet space!

AD

AMEN!

Chuck

I have to agree with the earlier post about oil finishes as I have had really nice oil finishes destroyed in a single days hunting in the rain and brush. The worst one was a stock from Al Biesen's shop on a light .280 VZ-24; I missed a hell of a Muley after a brutal day in the Chilcoten and at about 35 yds! When I later checked the zero, it was over a foot out at 100 yds and this was a stock with quarter-sawn English that had been completely bedded and coated inside with Accraglas.

This is why I also am getting a couple of Serengeti or D&B obeche laminated stocks for rifles used in warn meather. I find that a gray synthetic stock becomes unpleasantly warm in early Sept., even here in B.C., black one is untouchable, just like the steering wheel on my old 4x4.

I still use wood stocks when the weather will be moderate, like my fall deer hunts or spring varmint hunts. For serious weather hunts like spring bear, fall elk, and other foul weather pursuits, I prefer to use synthetic stocks just to eliminate some of the worry's of taking care of my wood stocks.
Most of the wood stocks I use for serious hunts have an epoxy coating that is imprevious to moisture and very stable. It is also tough enough that it takes a lot to put a ding in them, but when I do it is usually a doozy! In fact, I have one in my shop being repaired as soon as I can mix up some epoxy for another wood stock I'm working on for a buddy- hopefully tomorrow.- Sheister

All of my rifles have McMillan Graphite stocks on them. All of my rifles have S/S barrels as well. All of my O/U shotguns have very nice wood stocks on them.

Don

My 'business' rifles wear McMillans, my fun rifles sport wood. Same goes for my handguns.

After having carried and used an aluminum structured H-S Precision stock for more than a few years on my favorite rifle, I have concluded that these stocks are both functional and beautiful. Every thing else is in second place. I have a couple of rifles with plastic molded stocks--relativey inexpensive over-the-counter rifles--and they work ok. And I have a .416Wby with a Bell and Carlson stock. H-S Precision is the best though.

My first pick has always been SS/Synthetic but I must admit that I really enjoyed hunting with a wood/blue rifle this past season.

I was short on time due to picking up a late doe tag with one day left in the season and the only rifle I had sighted in was my Marlin MR-7 in 270 Win (my step-father gave it to me as a gift). Since the rifle was a gift, I know I won't sell it so I made up my mind to use/enjoy it as opposed to babying it and that's what I did. The rifle saw it's share of snow/ice that day but performed flawlessly. It's not very fancy but it's an absolute joy to shoot and is now proudly sitting in the safe with a nice coat of Ezzox!!

Allen,
Good question. Actually I prefer to hunt with wood stock rifles, especially custom wood stocks that have fine checkering and nice contrast and grain. Most of my big bore African rifles are wood stocked. They each have a few marks on 'em. I try not to baby them, after all they are hunting rifles, not showpieces and it's neat to remember where each scratch came from but.......for most of my other hunting I find myself reaching for a lightweight synthetic! Lighter to carry and less to worry about. But I still enjoy my wooden stock guns the most.

I prefer my walnut stocked rifles to be honest,they just look better. I have one with a synthetic, a custom I had built in 7x57 with a Bell & Carlson grey and black stock. I hunt with it mostly when the weather is going to be bad or I know I'll be crawling through the brush. It works, but it sure doesn't look as good as the Gr. IV BAR stock. I also have one laminate, the other 12 are all walnut.

I dont subscribe to the "this one's for hunting and this one's for pleasure" point of view. My 22 LR sports a synthetic stock and the single thing I like about it is that I will never be aggravated by dinging or scratchinig it. All my others are wood. At the end of the day, I will have taken only one rifle at a time into the field and any of my guns are subject to said task. I guess its just a good thing for me that I enjoy tinkering on them.



If a gun is a tool, then it is much more like a pick up truck than a hammer or a screwdriver.



Mostly I am in agreement with Chic, life is too short to hunt with an ugly rifle, (or to drive an ugly truck). But I suppose that for the purpose of tossing a gun behind the truck seat or perhaps for an ultralight/hiking in rifle, synthetic is pretty tough to beat. No pun intended.



I will also add that in about 35 years of hunting I have NEVER had a wood stock crumble to sawdust in a rainstorm, that is a most perculiar phenomena and ranks right up there with bigfoot and ET sightings.



I guess Im just kind of old fashioned, I feel that mindfull use of a gun in the field and cleaning and care are just part of owning a firearm, and a great looking piece is part of the reward for such care. In my way of thinking, synthetic somehow takes away from that, and synthetic stocks just have that "fast food" feel about them. Ill take Ma's pot roast every time.

I use either synthetic or laminate. No regular wood here. Except on the rare occasion i bring my honey home some real pretty flowers!!

All of my serious rifles have free floated barrels and synthetic stocks. None of them have ever changed zero. I do have one with with a very narrow forend that will shift impact with a shooting sling, but the other three will not.
That's much better than I did with almost all of my wood stocked guns. None of the bedded guns would hold their zero for more than two years. They wouldn't be off by much, but even an inch or two can be too much.
I did have one 7X57 Ruger that never shifted impact in the 28 yrs I used it. It would also put everything from a 115 gr. HP to a 175 gr. SP into 3 inches at 100 yds. All but one of my synthetics do that. And the other shoots similar loads within 1 inch.
All that and the fact that they are lighter in the butt. That shifts the rifle's balance point forward which helps my shooting. E

Now, that was a good one!

I like S/S...Almost all my rifles are S/S or at least have a synthetic stock on them.

I have O/U shotguns that have nice wood on them, but they only go to the range or grouse hunting...

I like the looks of S/S more than most wood, too. I think that there is beauty in a precisely designed and made tool, which is why I think Snap On tools look nice, too.

In prefer Walnut stocks and Rust blued metal for sunny days sitting in a stand where I can appreciate woods warmth and glow in the sunlight. I prefer S/S synthetic for when I going to be crawling through nasty stuff and/or in the rain.

I figure this is why they make 2-gun cases..........DJ

Another advantage of wood that I haven't seen mentioned here is that it's easier to make a wood stock fit you. I enjoy whittlin on a little wood here and there in addition to sniffing a little fiberglass and have found that it's a whole lot easier to adjust fit with wood. With fiberglass you can mess with the length of pull and maybe the angle of the pad and that's about it. With wood you can change the openness of the grip, drop, cast, pull length, trigger arc releif etc.. Laminate stocks would be a better comprimise for me if they weren't such a bitch to checker.

dj,



Get a blank from Serengeti Rifles. They leave about 3/4" on each side and that's plenty to checker on one slab.



The cost was $90 to laminate this blank.

Now the synthetic stocked rifles get the most work, but this was made a much easier decision after obtaining the first Legend stock. I'm real particular about stock shape and I could not find one that suited me untill I wrapped my hands and face into D'Arcy's design. The only other one I like is Mel Forbes's.

I have had very special wood stocks broke in horse wrecks, They can't be replaced. The others can be with just a phone call.

Many Thanks
HBH

Thanks Savage99, that looks like a nice stick. Might have to try that........DJ

I'd almost buy one just to have it. It seems as if most of the synthetic stocks available are right handed, being made by machines that never make mistakes. Wood stocks grow on trees, and the odd one that comes out left handed occasionally makes its way to market. My only two synthetic stocked rifles are a single shot and a muzzle loader.

H. C.

Though I love the beauty of wood, my serious hunting rifles wear synthetic stocks. I am currently having a custom 7X57 built on a G33/40 action. My gunsmith tried to talk me into stocking it with an absolutely beautiful blank that he had; but as this is going to be a high usage hunting rifle as opposed to being a "looker", I am going to have it fitted with a Borden Rimrock.

Me. I like synthetic stocked rifles. Some people like wood and thinks synthetic is "ugly". I say a pretty rifle is one that shoots tiny groups and it doesn't really matter what the rifle looks like as long as it performs like you want.....synthetic will ensure that it can get soaking wet and still shoot good, tiny groups.