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A hunting buddy made a shotgun buttstock and forend out of osage orange two years ago, essentially to fulfill a dare. For a first-timer he did a very credible job, but in the end it is a very, well, orangey-yellow stock. The gun only makes trips to and from the goose pits so the added weight isn't a factor. In fact the weight might be beneficial because the only thing he shoots is heavy magnum loads. So far, no sign of cracks, warpage, or any other bad things (which is kind of remarkable because he made it out of a big chunk of firewood that he had no clue as to how long it had cured).

The orange will go almost completely away over time and leave a warm brown. It has lots of luster and is not really "ugly" to my eye.

It is also strong enough that much of a butt stock could be hollowed out to lose some weight.

Around here they say a good hedge corner post will out last 3 holes.

Turns very nicely on the lathe, too.

What the natives made bows out of.... One of the hardest wood in the Midwest to my knowledge. What about shrinkage?

Osage cannot shrink much because of its density... there is more wood in the wood than most. But it air dries extremely well and remains true generally. The fact it is usually straight-grained has a lot to do with that, I am certain. And it has shock tolerance that will not quit.

I have not seen many trees personally and most were smallish, but there are reports of Osage 3' in diameter. That would be a pretty remarkable tree, IMO.

A friend of mine calls Osage Orange "the wood that lasts for a hundred years, then turns into a rock."