I personally like my Walnut furniture. Granted I do have a few bolts that I bedded down into some synthetic but they are special purpose rifles for hunting in really sour weather places such as Washington state or British Columbia where you can pretty much bet you are going to get rained on. They are a good bit lighter to carry as well.

Granted, good walnut is beautiful. I find myself being overly careful with my wooden stocked guns. Some I won't take to the woods at all. I do not want to dent or scratch the wood. Most wood stocks are in trouble if they get wet, really wet. The barrel channel and the receiver area are usually without any sealer. So I prefer synthetic stocks and stainless hardware on hunting guns. They are not as pretty as a good blue job and nicely figured wood but they are more durable.

The beauty of America is our freedom of choice. Personally, I do not like stainless and plastic rifles, I like wooden stocks and blued barrels and actions. Yep they get wet but if you take care of your guns after they get wet you won't have a problem. I have had my oldest rifle, mod 88 Win since 1970 and it has seen some very wet and crappy weather and I never had a problem with impact changing because of it getting wet. Wooden stocks have been around for hundreds of years and I suspect they will be around for a while yet, I hope. I have one plastic gun, a 935 Mosberg turkey gun. I only take it out a few times a yead and I try not to look at it except over the sights.:D

Agreed, Oldtimr. Good wood and bluing is far better to look at. I just don't want to damage a thing of beauty. Having said that, I do use a Mark X Mauser that has very good bluing and indifferent wood. I am careful with it, keep a plastic poncho in my pocket in case I get caught in rain with it. It is glass bedded so hopefully the zero would not change if it did get wet. I do use stainless & plastic inlines while the good wood and bluing side hammer stays home, but the weight of the Hawken also is a consideration. I do not "carry", but if I did I would insist on a stainless handgun. Ugly? Yes, but rust on a blue S&W is uglier to me. Hot humid weather in the south is not kind to blued handguns. It is a give and take thing, giving up beauty for more durability. But I am getting way off topic.

I remember as a boy my dad getting a new shot gun a break action single shot. I can still smell the hopps when he opened the bottle to wipe all the grease and oil off the shot gun. I also remember him removing the forearm and butt stock and applying shellac to all the areas that had no finish on them.

Wood is a thing of beauty and plastic isn't.

:D Al

Always Try to Remember;"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". :poke:


I love gear that is indestructible and imperious to weather ! :barmy:


Admittedly wood is beautiful to look at, but I look at "hunting" guns as a tool.


....................and I love them even MORE when they looked USED !!!

I love a beautiful wood finish and bluing and would never sell those guns with it. However, lately, I have been acquiring laminated wood stocked rifles. I have seen some decent looking composite (plastic) stocks but those are usually much higher price than the entry level plastic looking stocks. Oh well, that's why they make bigger gun safes. :wink: