When a big bore recoils the magazine box gaps open and in time or immediately it can split the recoil lug or the rear portion behind the magazine box..The Cross Bolts can and do prevent this and they have been effective for many years with big bore English rifles and modern custom rifles..
Today with the advent of glass bedding and cross bolts combined it is easy to build a custom big bore that will probably never split.
Any stockmaker that uses the old addage that if a gun is properly bedded it won't need pins it full of bull and salesmanship or just hasn't used his rifles much..In time any wood stock that is shot often can and will pound out a gap in the recoil lug area and eventually split the stock or the wood may shrink or swell and cause the same problem and this is because of poor drying and laying out of the wood.
I have seen some high dollar guns made by well known gunsmiths split out on safari, and I have seen some very nice stocks shear off at the pistol grip. They were pretty but not layed out properly..I personally believe marble cake can be overdone in a big bore and prefer to keep the grain running in a single direction from the tow to the forend with a bit of upward travel. Lots of streaking color is fine.
This isn't a advertisement for composite or laminated wood as I have seen them fail about as often for various reasons, after all anything made by man can fail.
Bottom line is I would not own a big bore beginning with the 458 Win without crossbolts and I also would prefer some glass in certain areas or fully bedded is fine as long as it doesn't show.
