My .02. I'm 64 and have been interested in guns since I was old enough to know what they were. My first one was a 20ga shotgun and then a Marlin/Glenfield model 60, both from JC Penney. I still have them both and will keep them till the end. I bought a few more then got into pistols for awhile, then life happened (like divorce, etc) and I got out of guns for quite awhile. In the last several months I have bought two Vanguard II synthetics, a Thompson T/CR22, a Ruger AR and have a JP Sauer 100XT. All of these are decent quality rifles at a good price point. None of them are blue and wood, although I obviously have nothing against them. The reality is that to get the same rifle in blue or stainless with wood stocks costs a lot more and they won't shoot any better.
I looked at a Thompson ICON that was blued and wood and it was, to me, a beautiful rifle that was well made. It was a new one still hanging around on display and the bottom price I got them to was $800 plus tax. I bought the Sauer, which is (to me) just as well made for $525. I REALLY liked that Thompson but the more I thought about it, the less appealing it became. I don't buy rifles to sit in the safe and look pretty when I take them out. I want to USE them. I suppose that if I could hunt on private land where I could drive up to within a short walking distance of my permanent stand, carefully take my prized wood stock rifle out of the case, carefully walk to said stand, take a gun cloth to keep it wiped off and then carefully place it back into it's case when I was done, it would be fine. That's not my situation. I would grieve if I damage the beautiful rifle as I'm a little OCD about my stuff.
I prefer a plastic stock rifle that I can take hunting or on the range and not worry about if if I happen to scratch it along the way. While I would still take great care of it and not just throw it around, I would not grieve if I did happen to damage it like I would the beautiful ICON. The only other option for me on wood stock guns would be to buy one that has already been used hard and shows it since I would then not worry about another scratch. Trouble is, many of the ones that are cosmetically damaged are also functionally questionable.
All rifles have a place. People fussing and cussing because they can't seem to find a rack of rifles in their preferred flavor seems like them forcing their choices on others like they are accusing the gun manufacturers of. If you don't like what's being offered these days, then don't buy any. Search the classifieds on the many places on the net, lthe ocal gun stores, pawn shops and gun shows to find what you like. For me, I can enjoy the past while embracing what the current offerings are. I think that I made good choices in my pickings and I can take them anywhere I want without spending as much time worrying about scratching them as i do focusing on the fun at hand. They all will or should (except perhaps the .22) shoot minute of angle at 100 yds, and I paid way less than their wood counterparts.
If you would really like to see more guns made in "the old fashioned" manor, then why not regularly write and/or call the manufacturers and ask them. Go to the large shows or find events where the mfrs' reps are in attendance and personally tell them what you would like to see them make. They may listen, they may not, but at least you tried. In the meantime, let's not throw rocks at each other....or the manufacturers. As others have said, if they ain't selling them, they won't keep making them, at least not for long. Companies will make what sells and what they can make a boat load of money on.
