Synthetic stocks - I just can't do it!
 

Folks, I'm going to buy a new .243. I'm looking at bolt actions, beyond that I don't think the details are important.

It's primarily for coyotes and fox, although I want it to do double duty for open range whitetails. I'm not going on safari or "trip of a lifetime" pack-in hunts, so it won't be enduring extreme use. The gun won't be my primary gun for anything, although I'll probably run 500 rounds a year through it at yotes and pasture poodles. But as far as being out in bad conditions or the gun getting beaten like a rented mule, it won't happen.

So here's the thing. Everyone, it seems, is telling me to get the synthetic stock. And they all have their horror stories about broken stocks on the trip of a lifetime, grandpappy had his stock swell and he missed the whitetail of a lifetime, etc, etc.

But I can't freaking do it. I just cannot embrace all the perfectly logical points in favor of synthetic because I think they're freaking ugly. The only "pro" I can come up with for wood stocks is that in some rifles they are slightly lighter than the factory synthetic stock.

I don't have any other reason other than the fact that beyond the shooting characteristics of a rifle, I like to look at guns and synthetic stocks just don't look good to me.

Has anyone else had the same predicament when buying new?

Is this really a deal where I'm absolutely nuts for buying a wood stocked gun in this day an age?

If you think I'm nuts, give me the reasons beyond the fact that a horse can fall on your synthetic stock because this is for my needs per above, not yours.

Grouse

All my rifles and shotguns have wood stocks, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Never had a failure or an accuracy issue in 46 years of hunting. A beautiful stock is a thing to behold.

I don't think you are nuts at all. I much prefer walnut stocks over synthetic stocks.

i have had no problems with synthetic stocks and now prefer them over wood. i got tired of scratch all over my wood stocks ,when a synthetic get scratched i just paint a new camo pattern on it.

I like beautiful wood but most of my rifles are synthetic. I just don't want the stress of damaging a beautiful woods stock.

The higher end synthetics can be nice and feel good. The lower end stuff is junk.

Tom

I agree I just can't like synthetic stocks, even the better top of the line ones feel strange to me. Most of mine are nice confiquired walnut wood stocks, however I do have few nice laminated versions that work well for me in less than favorable weather/element conditions. They feel more like solid wood to me, you might look into one of those. The Ruger 77R's and Ruger #1's I have I like very well.
Just my 2 cents....

Guys, I appreciate the feedback.

I think one other thing feeding my Stock Anxiety Disorder is that just as a guess, I'd say about 75% of what I see on the racks in gunshops is now synthetic. Now that's not an exact figure, but it's way over half.

That kind of thing kind of got me thinking that maybe I was living in the past, but I just couldn't pull th trigger so to speak.

Grouse

I see a gun as a tool, I have wood, laminate and synthetic stocks. Don't really see much of difference besides weight but that's just me. That being said I have switched my primary hunting rifles over to laminate from synthetic. More of a recoil reduction measure than anything else. Look at it this way, if you can't find what your looking for with wood or laminate, buy the synthetic and get a replacement stock. I'm kind of partial to the Boyd's JRS Classic myself.

By the way I notice your user name " The Famous Grouse ", read much WEB Griffin?

I think your situation is a perfect one for a laminate stock.. A little more durable than wood, and a lot better to look at than synthetic. I have wood, syn and laminate and I like all of them for different reasons.... Climbing a tree or raining?? Synthetic, Big comfy box blind??? Wood...

there's a big difference from the junker cheapo synthetic stocks IMO than from a nice quality synthetic stock, the stock on my .340wby, the fibermark is 100x nicer than the standard synthetic stock wby uses....

keep an eye out for a nice synthetic, not just the plain cheap ones.