Anyone have a stock made of local wood?
What is it, and how do you like it?

I knew a big lad that extended the stock on a Lee Enfield by screwing a bit of 2X4 on the butt end.
Point is that you can use a lot of different woods to make a stock, but it may not be pretty.
Years back I made a stock for a '94 Winchester out of Elm. It's a very straight grain and porous wood. The results were very serviceable, heavy, and tough, but not very pretty.
I know another fellow that made a stock for a 92 Winchester out of an abnormally large chunk of Sumac. That stock is gorgeous light green tinted, with plenty of figure. But not a wood I would choose for durability.
I took down a walnut in the yard a couple of years back, and I have a few pieces of that to work with. I'm not very good at stock making (terrible) but I have succeeded in the past, and eventually, I'll workup the courage to have at it again. Walnut gives strength plus beauty, and I think you can find local examples that are very nice.

If you look around for eastern maple, you can build nice stuff from it. Bit tough to get in proper size lately, it seems. It is dense & hard enough and with patience it can be found. The western maple is softer, you need to find the eastern stuff, IE Quebec syrup trees.

I have a 303 British Lee Enfield rifle that a local man carved a stock for years ago. (Percy Anderson, Richard) He did good work, and used to cast on the stock so it fit better and pointed more naturally. Don't know if he used jackpine, or swamp cedar, but I doubt it. The wood is not remarkable, but the stock is, as was the magazine that he shortened from 10 rounds to 5. (Must have been in anticipation of the assault weapon ban. )

Dad's Savage 99 was restocked by Percy as well. It looks like walnut but is more open grained. I imagine there are a lot of old Dryden district that Percy had worked on.

I tried to work a rear stock out of black ash that was well seasoned. After wearing out a rasp and getting blisters I gave up the idea of a hand made contender stock. I wish I would have had a dremel tool.

I have always thought that western larch would make a strong a very pretty stock though I suspect the wood which is very strong for weight is a softwood and would dent fairly easily. Same thought with Sitka Spruce very strong for weight, they made fighter planes out of it, but again soft and not as pretty as western larch.

Percy was a real knowledgeable guy when it came to the rifled tube and other such stuf. He could fix a "bullnozer" pretty good, too.

Wow! I have one outside my front window that is getting large, and I was considering taking it out. I just might let it go a few more years.

I've never seen any that was finished either, but am interested in the color. Not one I'd put on a boomer Magnum though.

Do any of the fruit, or nut woods make a good stock? Walnut, of course, almond, or other?

I have a Sako with a Pecan stock.

How about a George Washington stock? Bet it would be pretty.

????????

I saw some juniper stocks at a table in Kimberly gun show this past summer.They looked really different,not sure how juniper would hold up though.

How you doing Rog?
I do have to wonder if some of the woods normaily discounted as not good woods,might work laminated?

I have a walnut/yellow birch stock on a bench rest rifle. I would think walnut plies would secure prettywell any wood.

George Washinton and the cherry tree??? O, right! He couldn't tell a lie.

Cherry wood stock?

Or is my American History all screwed up?

HELP!

Or, was it George, Sir John A.,and Orvlle Wright landing in the tree riding a hot air ballon?

There's some hot air going on alright, but not from the politicians this time.

You may have gotten extra credit on North American history.
That, or it was merely some flatulence of my keyboard. Not that it was the first time that sort of thing has happened around here.

Well Keith I think I saw a cherry wood stock once,but I can't remember where.I have seen maple as well and it makes a nice looking stock.

Where I live, there are no local woods that are suitable for gunstocks.

How about good old swamp tamerak? Harder'n flint.Dad used them for gate posts I bet they are still there.

You better work out on steroids if you get a tamarac stock. Them things is HEAVY!

Castandblast -- you're from Skach'wan -- you got no trees bigger'n Saskatoon bushes! You'd have to laminate a bushel of them together.

(I know you got trees in the north)

Walnut seems be be top of the line. The birch is of course used as a cheaper stock.
The notion of a stock converting to toothpicks when fired is only so appealing.

Here in Oregon, we see a fair number of custom stocks made out of myrtlewood. The color and grain can be absolutely spectacular.

Myrtlewood trees grow down on our coastline and I've been told that the only places that myrtlewood occurs is here and the Holy Land. I saw some mrytlwood trees on our recent looong pilgrimage to Israel. Whether it grows elsewhere, I cannot say.

Here is a photo of a decent piece of myrtlewood.

God Bless,

Steve

Wow dogzapper that is a swanky looking piece of wood!!!
Is this on one of your shotguns??

Keith when I was a kid my Pop tricked me into trying to saw down an old tamerac post with a swedesaw I did it but busted the blade when it toppled over I think it took me all day to get through it

Yep, and a feller doesn't want to put too much seasoned tamarac into the woodstove all at once if he doesn't want to have a warped stove, neither.

I have heard intresting things about tamarac over the years.
One being the wood made lighter, faster clipper ships than oak, but with a shorter life span.
Another being the wood is good for well pits, and such because it stands moisture well.
Yet another that it makes poor building lumber twisting with changes of season.
A sawmill man told me his grandfather used some tamarac studs in a kitchen wall that moved summer, to winter, causing the grandmother to complain vigorously. I then ask the sawmill man, "What do you do with it then?" he said, "It goes through with the rest of the pine".

We tried to mill some back in Sk but there was so much timberbind in it that it could'nt be sawed at the little mill I worked at

A larger proublem than finding a nice 2"x6" for a stock would be the inleting for me.

DZ that stock is amazing.

I dunno about the entire stock because it is so heavy, but ironwood forends and/or grip caps would be beautiful.