Yep, maple makes an attractive and (usually) lightweight stock. I've had a few maple-stocked rifles over the years, including one stock I made myself. It's a little more of a pain to work with than walnut, though not much more than Claro walnut.
Apparently there are maples in Portugal, though I suspect the M70 wood is coming from the U.S. I've seen quite a few maples in other parts of Europe, in fact my first European hunt took place in the Czech Republic when the fall foliage was peaking in color, and maple trees were a big part of the pretty scenery.
