I know the type of wood can matter but I don't know what type is best. This will be used on a Ruger No.1 that will end up as either a .425 WR or a .577 Nitro Express. Thank you all for your advice.

laminate is awfully tough to beat.

I like laminate, but not for this build. I really am leaning towards walnut but I don't know what type.

Define best. There can be many different definitions. Of domestic USA woods it would be hickory (without getting into specific hickories) if STRENGTH was your definition of best. Remember also that every single piece of wood is unique and can vary significantly even within the same board. We are not discussing steel which by comparison to wood is very very consistent.

If one defines best as strength to weight ratio, while being strong enough to handle big bore rifle recoil, which rules out balsa and such, a dense well laid out, quarter sawn piece of "bastogne" walnut, eastern black walnut, or turkish/english is hard to beat. When considering layout one must look at grain flow through the wrist and forearm, grain spacing (distance between the grain line ie grain lines per inch) and density for starters.

Several of the exotic hard woods are hell for strong also, and at the same time heavy though. Many also produce toxic dust (actually walnut dust is toxic believe it or not).

I see you didn't like laminate for this project, but you might want to check out Richards Micro Fit Stocks. They have a laminate called "Rosewood". This laminate looks almost like a really nice walnut when finished w/ BLO. I put pict's up a while ago ref it.......

In a 2-piece stock for a Ruger #1, especially in a large caliber, weight may not be a bad thing.

Weight is not a bad thing from my standpoint. My target weight will be 11 or 13+ lbs. depending on the caliber I decide on. I am looking for the strongest wood to try and avoid any cracks over time due to recoil. I will be installing mercury tubes in the stock.

Bastogne!-Good luck breaking a stock made from that stuff!-Rob

Although not very pretty, Beech is actually the best wood for a gunstock; it has the proper weight and stability. Walnut is not quite as good as Beech in these regards but looks a heck of a lot better.

Many European "utility" target rifles use Beech. These are not low end guns, just not fancy, i.e. Anschutz

can you define the question better?
quatersawn claro is better than a poorly laid our piece of 20 year old english.

for a ruger#1 that could become a bigbore? ahh, that's a tricky question .. rock maple, bastogne, turkish, english, all with proper layout ... STRONGEST is likely to be rock maple, or even a pecan or hickory .. i happpen to have had for about 5 years, and have posted it about it probably that long, a 2.75x10x24" CHUNK of hictory ... its funny how some people might have picked up on that being a gunstock wood..

so, if it was me, I would find a 1 piece stock blank of proper layout and use that, rather than MOST (under $300) blanks one sees for sale.

I would not want alot of figure (minerals/fiddleback) but would want STRONG grain. I call it "guitar strings", though if one goes with maple, figure is likely to be VERY high

blank would be at least 5 years old .. just a number, at least 2 before i touched it.

english, then turkish, then bastogne, MIGHT put OZ walnut with the english ..

non-conventtional woods
queensland walnut (its NOT english, but it looks good)

rock maple

cherry, perhaps

hickory/pecan (these might need color enhancement)

carbon fiber.

Notice I didn't say laminate in any of these ... I don't mind lams ... (and if I do, who cares, its YOUR gun) I just wouldn't use it on a gun I planned to put money into. I only use lams for my "go to hell" guns

on lams - they ARE heavy due to the glue, but they are actually BRITTLE due to the glue. yes, really. they dont checker well, more to the point, don't checker FINE, but will coarse checker.

j

Mr.Vardy has some of the hardest-densest well aged walnut youll ever find, if your concerned about reputation, know that H&H buys inventories of wood from him for their BIGBores....bilieve it or not, I have seen samples checkered at over 100 LPI, and it was still sharp & durable.
http://www.rogervardystockwood...ction&id=8&Itemid=51

No question about this at all: Turkish Walnut!

New Zealand walnut has an excellent reputation as a great option for a heavy recoil rifle stock.
I have used the Australian Walnut from R Vardy which is also great.

I'm with Rob on the bastogne because it tends to be easier to find a really dense piece. I agree with Jeffe that a good piece of dense maple would work, too. I don't think beech is dense enough to get the weight you want. A really good piece of mesquite or hard cherry would work too.

The real issue is density. There is soft english, maple and bastogne out there, too. You want a good reputable blank dealer who can help you pick out what you need.

I would say Laminate with two bolts is about as strong as it gets.

I would not use CHERRY for anything bigger than a 45 caliber black powder muzzle loader. Why, cherry is soft and weak.

Birch is another option. Birch is in general stronger than walnut, of about the same density, and rather plain in appearance (it beats beech also).

Another would be bubinga. You can find it too, if you look hard enough.

Then there's always synthetics. Several folks sell #1 stock sets.

What about the Serengeti laminated walnut stocks? That might be the best of both worlds. Strong and good looking.

I have seen laminates break. They do. They get whatever strength they have from the epoxy...the wood they use is crap.

beyond that your best bet is juglans regia...it does not matter what part of the damn world it comes from...california, turkey, new zealand, australia, yada yada yada. damn!

pick a dense blank from any one of those countries and your FINE!.

jeffeosso, your a nut. claro SUCKS!

Any opinions on Mrytle?

Myrtle makes descent fire wood.

BASTOGNE!

Myrtle, Waiting for a 280 M70 SS.