Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Hunting with a beautiful wood stock

Oregon I think you got a point there....in any event,so long as you don't break them in two,with more or less normal use,they can be refinished, gouges filled, and checkering recut,etc....no doubt more expensive than a rattle can of high end Rustoleum.

But what the hell, they cost more to make in the first place..like RD's dented up Porsche

I mainly hunt the Texas hill country. Everything there either abrades, bites, scratches, sticks, stings. Rocks, boulders, juniper thickets, mesquite, briars, thorns, acacia cactus etc. Temps to 115 degrees F in late August. Black dirt mixed with rock particles that stains, clings like a bitch, and turns to emory cloth when wet. Ride atv's to get to our hunting areas cause cars/trucks can't go there. One trip out and back can see a number of character marks on a rifle. But none of mine are safe queens. I bought them to hunt them.
Don't mind stainless or synthetic, but there is something about a blue steel and wood rifle that speaks to me.
GWB



Mauser 98, 35 Whelen






[IMG]http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e129/glenn1221/DSC01149.jpg[/IMG
Remington 700 "C" grade, 270 Win


Some Sakos


Cooper Model 52, Jackson Game, 25-06


Cooper Model 22 Varmint Extreme, 308 Win.

Ya can't steam dents outta 911 Turbo doors..............

For the record - in the photos of my rifle there are several marks and dings on the stock - its just that by the nature of a wood stock and a quality oil finish they blend in very well.

That is the great thing about nice wood - a dent or ding in most cases is not really noticable and and can be easily repaired. And usually the seasons dents, dings, and scratches all but disappear when I rub in a very light coat of Sea Finn Teak Oil at the end of the hunting season each year.

The same dent, ding, or scratch on a painted tupperware stock will chip the paint and be very noticable and require a lot of work and a costly paint job to get it looking good again. I do like the the way a quality stock like a McMillan is impervious to the elements and can take a heck of a beating though.

Damn that's a nice bear. If you don't mind me asking, who did the scope mount base and ring work on that 70 ?

+1

I don't do anything like "exhibition grade" but have some nice wood and figure that is what they're made for!

Thanks for the compliment on the bear. It was made even better by the fact that my nephew was my guide.

The rings are Talley and the custom bases were made by Dean Zollinger. Dean does incredible work to say the least. You may not have heard much about Zollinger but you have probably seen his work on some very high dollar rifles. He does 100% of the metal work for John Bolliger.

http://www.mountainriflery.com/rifles.php#top

If you are looking for any custom work he is the guy to go to. His work is as good as it ggets and his prices are VERY reasonable.

Not as fancy as some here, but it'll have to do...

What's not to like, it's blue steel and wood. Appears to have functioned flawlessly. Also, nice prop.
+1

GWB

Tung oil and beeswax...and don't slip on the ice, and you're good to go!

And there lies the rub. I've done it to a pretty nice shotgun stock. It can be fixed, but it is a little frustrating....

You take your chances. If you are willing to pay the the man to fix it or perhaps start over, I all in for you.

I hunt a lot with nice walnut stocks, and aside from REALLY rough hunting (where the lightness of a synthetic is often appreciated anyway) I don't see what the big deal is.

In recent years I've been hunting with the laminated stocks from the company now called Kilimanjaro. They are fancy wood with a very thin slice taken out of the middle of the blank. This slice is then reversed (turned upside down) and glued in the middle of the outside slices. Most people don't even know they're laminated unless somebody points it out, from a few inches away.

They're pretty darn stable: My first rifle made with one, a 7x57 on a Montana 1999 action, stayed sighted-in for three years after I worked up the initial handload. I hunted with it in several places in North America and in Africa during that period, and the only reason it didn't stay sighted-in longer was that I switched scopes.

Beautiful rifle! Tell us a little about it if you don't mind.

Thanks,
Terry

I hunt with all mine...nothing near as nice as some here, but allmy stocks are wood, except the AR. Most have a couple dings and scratches. When they get too bad, I'll steam, sand and refinish. I like the look and feel of a wood and blue or matte black rifle, so that's what I hunt with. If I ever do end up able to afford one of those "exhibition grade" stocked rifles, I'll dang sure hunt with it.

A rifle with anything but nice wood is nothing more than these...



Of course good looking wood is suitable for hunting...











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Yes. Even the famous and most prestigeous British rifle brands were designed to take into the bush in some of the most harsh lands and climates on earth. They are just tools until we foolishly apply status to them.

John

Terry its a 7x57 built on a 1909 Argentine by Dennis Erhardt
Square bridged
one standing, one folding on quarter rib
English walnut
Neidner style butt
Some discreet engraving you cant see...
Belongs to a freind of mine...he wanted me to take it to Africa.....it would have been rude to say "no"....

Thanks, it's a fine looking rig.

Terry

Shrapnel.... Great point, made as well as could be made. NICE critters AND guns, amigo....really nice. Hope I get to meet you when I head out to MT next June.

Being a trim carpenter at heart I appreciate really nice wood. As such, I cringe at the thought of beating up a really nice wood rifle....but it's a purely personal preference.

I think of rifles as tools and enjoy not worrying about dents and rubs.