Laminate is more stable than normal wood but the most stable is a quality synthetic like a mcmillan.

I only have 2 big game rifles now. Both are SS and both have an HS Precision stock on em'. I love the look of pretty wood, but prefer to hunt with synthetic.

I love the look of wood but I prefer to hunt with the synthetic.

WOOD plasitc is for toy guys hehe. Thats what i tell my day every hunting trip :} They all have there place I just like wood better

As long as a gun shoot good I really dont care what the stock is made of . I have all three actually four a couple of them even have metal stocks .

Laminated stocks.

Wood stocks- wood with good grain and character just isn't abundant anymore and is very expensive on guns, most of the wood stocks I see on hunting rifles these days are plain, sometimes with a little grain if you are lucky.

Synthetics- I would prefer a GOOD synthetic stock to anything else if rifle makers actually put good stocks on rifles from the factory. What I see on rifles from the factories is less than inspiring, and most likely a way for a company to tout having the advantages of a synthetic while putting a cheap stock on a gun to increase their bottom line.


I'll go with laminated stocks- they are pretty to look at, are solidly made, and the only shortcoming they really have is extra weight- but that is actually a good thing if you want to shoot your rifle accurately.

Wood! Just something about the feel of wood in my hands and on my cheek.

A nice piece of wood gives a rifle personality, but a nice piece of wood is getting harder to find on stock guns, and alot I've seen look like they were made from old 2x6s.

I have seen some pretty laminates.

I have never seen a pretty black plastic/synthetic stock but they seem to be the most common found on the racks these days.

I truly dislike synthetic stocks. They are noisy, cold to the touch and many of them are as unstable as wood stocks. I much prefer a laminated stock for all-around hunting, and of course, a nice English walnut stock and rust-blued steel for the traditional look.

I would like to try an Acra-Bond stock. These are laminated stocks made from a single blank of walnut. They are sawn lengthwise several times, with each section reversed and bonded together, with the outer sections running in the same direction as they were before the saw cuts were made. They are durable, as if one section starts to warp one way, the others want to go the other way, so in effect they do not warp. Therefore you get the stability of a laminated stock and the beauty of walnut. I would like to restock my Ruger M-77R .338 Win Mag in one.

They are now produced by Serengeti Stockworks (link provided)

[link]http://www.serengetistockworks.com/[/link]

Brian

I have to agree with ktscontender. A nice wood stock gives a firearm it's personality but, the values of a good synthetic is hard to argue against. I remember ordering a rifle 12-14 years ago. It came in with a synthetic stock and the retailer said it was the ugliest rifle he had ever seen. Here's a dealer that stocked 200-250 rifles. I told him in 10 years ALL his rifles would look like mine and he laughed. I made a point of reminding him of that several years ago when all but of few of his rifles were 'all black'. Let's face it, nice wood is expensive and synthetics are cheaper to make, and all the companies are in business to make money.