Keep in mind the oil finish used on rifle in Jack O'Connor day did not provide a 'seal'. Even though the outside of the walnut stock was finished, it wasn't 'sealed'. Them hand rubbed oil finished walnut stock, were pretty, but they were not 'sealed' from the weather.

I voted synthetic.

I love the beauty of a real wood stock, and have owned several examples of nature's ability to create beauty over the years.
I could be "politically correct" and say I'm voting synthetic to protect the destruction of the forest, but in fact I'm sometimes careless and have been known to put a cosmetic blemish (scratch or dent) on a beautiful piece of wood. When this happens it haunts me for days that I was so careless and I'm guilt ridden over it.

With synthetic the material itself looks so lifeless and bland it possesses no real beauty to my eyes, so how is a scratch or dent going to damage it? I can take the synthetic stock to the fields & woods and treat it as rough as I like and it still looks no worse.
It will never look "beautiful".

I voted for a good quality synthetic stock, preferably in one of Mossy Oak's patterns. Im more into durability and ruggedness when it comes to a stock on a ML. Where I hunt it could be snowing, raining, hot or cold, all these conditions ar'nt good for wood or laminantes. Plus I never know where I'll end up the day Im hunting, it coud be in some thick stuff with briars, down a steep ravine, ect and I put my ML through some tough goings. So I need a good synthetic stock to hold up to the elements and all the other stuff It's put through.
At the end of the day and hunt I just wipe her clean and she's as good as new.
(BP)

This is for all of you guys that need a synthetic stock to stand up to the elements.

Lol, that is great.

As long as a rifle doesn't have a cheap plastic bb gunstock.
My deer rifle wears a hs precision stock so its impervious to the elements, but you can't beat feel and warmth of wood, so i put a laminate stock in my 6br since it is a rifle i shoot the most.