Good point, LBK. A lot, if not all, cracks I see are ancient. It would indeed seem that they tend to crack initially, and the stay that way forever without getting much worse, unless some additional trauma takes place. I personally subscribe to the "tangs acting as wedges" theory, being driven back into the head of the stock through recoil and stock bolt over-tightening. Solution? Don't over torque the bolt, and reduce the gun's consumption of full throttle factory loads. (Low velocity handloads give the same amount of fun- if not more- and are cheaper and easier on the gun and shooter both.)
