I skimmed some of the comments, and some Sitka thought he had "caught" me on what I said about trading red oak and yellow pine for maple and cherry. I guess he knows so little about woods and furniture that he thinks they are using oak for gun stocks, or he just doesn't bother to read before shooting off his keyboard.
Agains, Sitka, I make furniture, too, as well as fine paneling for my house. And I designed a line of woodworking CNC machines used for building fine yachts and pianos. That is how I come to work with lots of woods. You should maybe go to the International Woodworking Show in Atlanta; you might enjoy it, and learn something.
Actually, I do have a Yugo SKS with an oak stock, and another SKS with a mahogany stock, which is much lighter in weight.
On average, both Red Oak and White Oak are harder on the Janka scale than Turkish Walnut, but so-called Turkish Walnut mostly does not come from Turkey, so its figure, grain, hardness and other factors of quality vary widely. Woodworkers like it because it is easier to work by hand.
