if anyone would know, you Alaska boys would. How well does a laminate rifle stock hold up in the rain and snow?

I have only used them a few times and discovered that they do absorb moisture - which makes them even heavier.

Well, that don't sound very good. I guess plastic it is. On that Borden 06 rifle you've got, does it have a Rimrock stock? How do you like it?

Thanks Phil.

mark,

I sure dont have anywhere close to Phil's time in Alaska but I have hunted there a couple of seasons. I actually thought about this type of thing the first day of Moose season this past September. At the time I was standing in the middle of about the tenth willow thicket I had crawled through that day.
Needing both my gloved hands to seperate the willows just to take the next step. My rifle hung on my pack the stock took plenty of abuse, and I am glad the bears were on the creeks fishing. That morning was a blue bird day for the peninsula, but the night before we had a good frost and everything was dripping wet just after the sun came up.

Walking in Alaska is just an adventure in its self, and you will weigh out the value of every ounce you carry, especially if you end up doing all that walking in hip boots.

Bottom line is plastic weighs less, and is just a rattle can away from refinish. I love wood but be prepared to see it take a beating in Alaska.

HBH

Mark,
Phil has much more experience than I do with laminated stocks, I'm sure. But, I've had a Serengeti laminate on my 300 for 3 years now (I know that isn't very long), and I do a lot of my hunting along the coast in terrible weather, similar to Phil's location, and it still looks like that day I received it (with a few more dings and scratches).

I'm a wood junkie, instead of laminate I think it makes more sense to go synthetic, but I just couldn't go synthetic on this particular rifle. The Serengeti 5 layer laminate is the best compromise for the wood junkie.

If you use any stock for long they eventually start feeling comfortable. they are sort of like knives in that respect. But some well designed stocks are better than others. I really like the Borden stocks for medium bores (up to the 375 H&H) as they are thin and light but I personally have become used to something more substancial on really big bores.
Laminated stocks are heavy but on big bores that is not always a bad thing. Since they are made of wood they do absord some moisture and I would be afraid to leave a wet one out in the cold during the winter as freezing water might de-laminate them. What I do like about them though is the ability to fit them exactly to your desires with a wood rasp. There is nothing like a good rifle that fits you.