Hi Gentlemen

I am sure this topic has been covered many times before, but for my sake as a newcomer some advise on the correct way of treating and careing for one's rifle stock. I have had a .338 winmag with a turkish walnut stock built. what do you members recommend to use and the procedures of proper care?

looking forward to your help.

Cheers Greg

"opie-knoppe"

Just don't leave your gun out in the rain.

Your stock doesn't mind a little gun oil getting on it every now and then, but by no means should you treat it with any type of oil.

I would also keep degreasers away from it as they can sort of dull the finish.

-Spencer

quote:

Just don't leave your gun out in the rain.

Funny you should say that I was just talking with my gunsmith friend last night about this very subject. Basically my last two elk hunts have been 5-7 days of rain, when it was wasn't raining it was very humid with fog ( or maybe I was inside a cloud ).

Bottom line is it isn't the best conditions for wood stocked rifles, which is what I like and hunt with.

I feel that good bedding like accu-glass definately helps, and I have a couple of my rifles done that way, problem is the whole inner surface of the stock can't be bedded. My smith friendds suggestion was the next time I take my rifle apart, was to thin down spar varnish or similar by @ least 50% and coat the inside of the action. Thinned down it will absorb into the wood not sit on top and cause problems. This is for the mag well area and the trigger cutout which isn't visable from the outside on a completed rifle.

I am thinking on trying this on a project rifle first, a I have a old stock off the 52 Winchester I stripped the action out of and I think I will give it a whirl to see how it works out.

I use Butcher’s bowling alley wax on just about all my wood products, including rifle stocks. Makes water bead up and roll off slicker than snot on a door knob! Works okay on metal also.

Schmidie

If your talking of the outside surface of the stock and it is of a Turkish walnut with an existing oil finish, then all that is needed is the occassional coat of stock oil.

The English trade tend to create their own proprietary oils, basically consisting of an ecclectic mix of linseed oil, hardener and alkanet root oil, the latter giving the reddish/brown colouring to enhance the figuring.

A small amount of the oil should be placed in the palm of one's hand and then rubbed onto the stock surface ( avoiding build up or running into the checkering panels as this will clog the diamond pattern). The build up of the finish takes place just below the surface of the wood so as to show the figuring to its best.

For the inside of the barel channel and magazine well a coating of Shellac or "button polish" bought from a fine furniture refinisher will provide a good seal and keep water from ingressing the wood (do not however apply this finish to the external surface of the stock as it is a lacquer not an oil, so will not soak into the surface).

You may wish to check out the Brownells catalogue for oil finishing kits, I think I have seen a popular English make offered for sale in the U.S, the brand is CCL Fine Stock Products ( by Clive C. Lemon) they offer a full kit of oils which provides sufficient material for a couple if fine finishes to rifles or shotguns.

Hope this helps

Flitz Rifle & Gun Wax is a good product for metal and wood. It is made from white carnauba and Beeswax. Water beads off the metal and stock like nothing you have ever seen.