Welcome IAWhitetail,I have the walnut stock version in 50 cal. and I love it,This will be my third year with it and it shoots very well,I can' t say if its better than synthetic I just like the feel of wood ,I will be buying a neww barrel next year in 30.06 or 300 win short mag not sure yet but its nice to be able to swap barrels on it for whatever you' re hunting and it fits together real nice,The only thing I did to mine was get the trigger adjusted down to around 3lbs and it shoots 1 to 1 1/2 inch groups,Its well worth the money for a gun you could hunt with a lifetime!!