I recently picked up a Winchester Featherweight 6.5X55 with a real nice stock. I have been trying to find a way to tell what grade it might be but so far I have been striking out. Any help would be appreciated, Here are some pictures of my gun. Thanks for the help.

http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums...rweight%2065X55/PC080001_zpsbcad4b21.jpg

http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums...rweight%2065X55/PC080003_zps64baf4c2.jpg

http://i1029.photobucket.com/albums...weight%2065X55/PC080002a_zps20c54c23.jpg

Definitely not AAA or even AA grade wood......but definitely a better than average grade of wood for a factory stock. Probably would be called A grade if bought from a gunstock company.

Damn sure one I would be proud to own. Great buy!!

Very nice. I like the dark wood.

When judging wood you take into count the direction the grain is running and not just the color and figure. I like the color and the figure but would lower the grade to A because of the grain direction in the wrist of the stock. Take into account I am judging the wood based on the photos and having the wood in hand is always better.

Thanks for the comments. I see pictures of Featherweights that Winchester calls a grade III that look as plane as their grade I so I guess it has to do with the direction of the grain. I'm just a sucker for pretty wood ha.

That stock will probably fail if subjected to much recoil or any drop. The grain flow through the wrist is horrible for a stock.

Drilling a large hole from inside the action cutout down through the wrist and epoxying a large good-walnut dowel in the hole would probably prevent the possible failure.

I would also remove the grip cap and run a large dowel up from the bottom if it is easy.

Use a lot of glass fibers in the epoxy, too.

Or you can just send it to me.

I always thought the grain of the wood should pretty much be parallel with the wrist. That stock is way off.

I'd go with an A grade for the same reason 348srfun did. Other than the problem with the grain through the wrist, I would say that it would probably be a AA+.

It would be a real shame with a stock that good looking to not have that grip reinforced like Sitka suggested. It will definitely be easier and cheaper to fix before it breaks than it would be after it breaks and if you use it any , my money would be on it breaking.

I guess it's a good thing it is only a 6.5X55.

A 6.5X55 doesn't really have that much recoil.

Won't help a bit if it get strained by dropping or bumping it...

I have repaired some there were nothing like that bad...

It won't be recoil that breaks it. It will be pressure from the side and it likely won't be much. It will be from a fall or stumble or someone bumping it. It might last for years, but sooner or later it will happen. It is too easy for a gunsmith to put a dowel in it to give it some support and nobody will ever know that it has been done.

I had a gunsmith who is a real fan of the 6.5x55 and a custom gun maker fix a feed problem for me, I wonder why he didn't mention the problem.

Sitka Deer, how long have you been in Anchorage?

I guess you can't tell from the pictures but the grain does run lengthwise on the stock.

Just over 50 years.

The first picture of the starboard side of the stock clearly shows growth rings running out at about 45 degrees to the high side. The other photos are too dark, but there is enough information in that one picture to see the issue.

I guess I will take it back to my gunsmith and see what he suggests. He has been building custom guns here on the Western slope of Colorado for a bout 40 years so he probably has a solution.

You didn't say how long you have been in Anchorage.

Sorry I missed the over 50 years. I transferred up there with Montgomery Wards in January of 1974 and stayed until 2000. We probably ran into each other at a gun show or gun shop.

Thats a nice stock with good wood. Congrats.

Thanks, I like it

That is quite likely... Moved to Oceanview in 1985 and have been here since, but started in Muldoon.

Here's a link to an example of wood grading with pics. It's off Richards Microfit website which may draw boos from some but it's a show & tell about what they look at anyway. Not saying you always get what you ask for. This is just an example. Hope it helps.

LINK to stocks

I started in Bayshore and in 1980 moved to Muldoon. I lived on the last street before the mountains which was nice other than having to replace shrubs now and then because of the moose. That and being stuck in the house once while I waited for a bear to leave the front yard.

Thanks for the info shootem.