I just picked up a Remington 700 CDL in 270 Winchester. I was lucky and found one with a vey nice piece of wood. Does anything need to be done to this stock to protect it from the elements when deer hunting? I don't remember my Dad doing anything to his rifle stocks back in the 70's and they still look good to this day.

If you can take the recoil pad off easily, you need to seal the butt. They are usually left raw. If its not sealed, you can get "bubbles" around the edge of the pad. I also slather Tru-oil in the mag box and trigger areas. Make sure you wipe off any oil that gets on the outside of the stock.

RH

In addition to the above, I put a coating of something waterproof in the barrel channel and use a good wax on the wood before a long hunt in the rain.

Raw butts, bubbles, slather and wipe off oil. You been surfing to much porn.............grin

Should I do a google on those terms?

Depends if you are alone or not..........

I run a layer of glass down the entire barrel channel. Also seal around the pad as noted.

Problem with sealing up the barrel channel tighter than the outside of the stock is the stesses induced when the outside gets wet.

The barrel channel is NOT taking in water and expanding... But the outside IS. If it has time to expand on your hunt it will have the ability to apply force to the bottom of the barrel...

I like both sides equally coated...

I wax the wood and metal everywhere with Johnson's paste wax.
art

sometimes it is a tough financial decision but if you really like the gun you might consider ordeing a synthetic maybe a McMillan from Rick or even a cheap Bell/Carlson. K

+1

Nothing wrong with wood properly done... And the sig says it all...

Best way to protect a wooden stock is to put it in the safe,and replace it with a synthetic......that said, I hunt with wood sometimes and like it a lot.Problems have occured but they've been few if the stock is well-sealed.

I am certain that far more game has been successfully harvested with wood stocks than will ever be harvested with a synthetic stock. Follow the common sense advice given above, and enjoy.

Obviously. I assumed that folks wouldn't paint one side of a fence and not the other. Wasn't even INTERESTED in going into the 84 billion methods of sealing the outside.

Steelie
But I see all sorts of references to sealing JUST the channel here. Many have posted that... And the huge problem with "sealing" a finished stock is getting the "sealer" to stick to the layer underneath without a) tremendous effort b) Tremendous changes in the finish c) lots of time...
art

Hence my use of McMillans for go. Don't have the time nor desire to spent 438 hours on each stock to get it ready for a day in the rainforest.

I have several rifles that I bought because they had a gorgeous piece of wood for a stock....then I promptly bought a Hogue Rubber Stock, or a Boyd's Laminate stock to put on the rifle when it goes out in the field...

The good stock is the rifle's tuxedo... the Hogue stock is its pair of overalls...its $100.00 well spent..

My cousin works in a body shop and has clearcoated many rifles. The clearcoat really brings out the colors in the wood and protects the wood. The only drawback is the shine, when stalking varmints the sun can really glare off the stalk, hopefully by that time its to late.

Buffing out a clearcoated stock is not that difficult. A little rubbing compound and elbow grease will do it.