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

Do people actually hunt with a rifle or shotgun that has a high grade walnut or other type of wood stock? All of my top dollar rifles have McMillian. To me it would be like taking a fine piece of wood furniture out in the woods? Your thoughts?

A coat of Johnson's paste wax protects from the environment. A modicum of respect handles the rest.
Of course, some folks are just careless, and could screw up a ball bearing.

I've yet to own a rifle/stock that cost more than my truck, and I have zero problems take it out everyday. Hell, I don't own anything more valuable than me and I go out in the [bleep].

Still, I'd rather run a McMillan, not for fear of scratches/dent, but because they are a better mousetrap.

Did you fins a McMillan for that 99 of yours?

No such critter.

I hunt mine. That's what they were made for.

Terry

I have several friends with whole cabinets of guns with beautiful wood..can't knock em for their looks but that's where they stay..not my cup of tea.If I buy em with nice wood they go to the field that way.

Nothing Like Character Marks... Mine Has Several, But Like Most Their On Mcmillans..

All of my rifles wear MPI stocks except for my 17HMR(saving for a MPI thumbhole for that one) Yes, wood is "warmer" then fiberglass and the beauty of a fine walnut stock is unparallelled, but, you just have less to worry about with glass stocks. There have been long and detailed threads written about how to seal and care for a wood stock so that it won't warp or swell under inclamate weather conditions. I just don't see the reason to worry about that for myself. Different strokes for different folks.

Yes. I have.....That's what they were built for. They ain't Chipendale China....

We think nothing of taking a factory hunk of wood on a Ruger,Rem, or Winchester afield.....stocks don't get more fragile just because they are pretty.

And, in fact, most beautiful wood stocks made by good stockmakers will be much tougher than a factory wood stock: better finish, better sealant, and of much higher quality, denser, wood.

The stock is very easily fixed,it's the sleet on the blueing that causes concern.

Absolutely I hunt with my fine wood stocked rifles. As a friend of mine is fond of saying: "life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun". I put a lot of love and effort into my rifle projects - which makes it all the more rewarding to hunt with them. With my custom M70 below has taken an 8 1/2' brown bear, 30" aoudad, and a 185 whitetail - all last year. And it will be getting another hard season this year. My rifles are tools and get used and shot a LOT. I dont treat them any differently than i would a tupperware stocked gun and my rifles have the battle scars to show for it. Last season my M70 spent 2 days in torrential downpour in Alaska and 3 days in MO in solid rain the entire time. After the hunt all that is needed is a thorough wiping and oiling and it is as good as new.

There is a satisfaction and joy of hunting with a rifle that I have put the effort into from selecting the perfect blank to developing loads for the finished project that cant be matched with an off the shelf or tupperware stocked rifle.

I have a classy little full stocked Mauser in 7x57 project int he works and already have plans for it that will likely guarantee battle scars and I am really looking forward to it.

Thats a beauty!

How about all the time spent finding just the right 3 color swirl for a rifle, figuring out right barrel contour and twist and load work up?

Let the masturbatory fantasies fly.

Indeed I do. It adds a lot to the hunting experience for me. I have beautiful stocks by the Biesens and Jim Kobe. I try to be careful, but don't go to pieces if and when one picks up a character mark.

Pretty rifle. Looks brand new.

If I have it and it's functional, I'll hunt with it. That being said, those that perform best for me in the areas I deem most important get hunted the most.

All of these....









I killed with this:





But there are those that I hunt with more...

John

I have better than average wood on ALL of my hunting rifles, most of it custom. Hunt them, and hunt them hard. Attractive wood stocks add to the hunting experience for me. Dings are a good thing if honestly earned and when I need to or want to re-finishing ain't that big of a deal. My Walnut stocked rifles have been in the wet of SE ALaska, the cold of the Alskan pennisula in Oct, and drug through all kinds of thornbrush in Africa as well as atop horses, ATV's, up and down mountains here and I do not see myself changing from that M.0.

I love the look of a nicely done wood stocked rifle with deep rich bluing as much as the next guy. I think what I'm seeing here and probably else where are the photo's of these rifles taken after delivery cause I haven't seen a mark on them. The stock on my Husky (McMillan) looks like crap with all the chips and all and I can just imagine what it would look like if it wore a handsome stick of walnut. Like I said to BobinNH not long ago, a Porsche is meant to be driven hard and can take it as well, but they look like [bleep] with door dents.