BayouBuck985
Active member
I just picked up a mint condition used Browning X Bolt 2 Hunter with the wooden stock in .308. It was too good of a deal to pass up. I appreciate all the feedback and advice. I can’t wait to get to the range with her!
Walnut vs. Synthetic rifle stock
- Thread starter BayouBuck985
- Start date
huntnfisher
Active member
Great choice, congrats!
glass eye
Well-known member
And then there’s this
BayouBuck985
Active member
As long it’s operational, who cares about the condition.
The nice thing about a punky stock is that it really dampens recoil into more of a squish.
glass eye
Well-known member
Recoil was eating away at the walnut forend causing the barrel to creep forward and the firing pin not striking effectively.
So I replaced it with synthetic because it was stronger and cheaper.
glass eye
Well-known member
Haha
My gun only looks 100 years old.
I’ve always hunted out of a kayak or sneak boat so it’s always been abused laying on the floor of a wet boat.
Salt water and geothermal mud has really aged it.
My gun only looks 100 years old.
I’ve always hunted out of a kayak or sneak boat so it’s always been abused laying on the floor of a wet boat.
Salt water and geothermal mud has really aged it.
FairWeather
Well-known member
Looking into the B-14 timber as well. Finding a lefty walnut stocked gun is tougher than it should be, and seemingly impossible to find one to get hands on in person before buying.
redhaze
Member
Look at a Tikka T3, walnut and LH.
Mustangs Rule
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2021
- Messages
- 1,192
So incredibly well said, never heard anyone express the difference so succinctly.
I believe the most important skill-set a hunter needs is patience, now more than ever. Next comes deep a knowledge about Field Natural History, but to acquire that takes patience. The circle closes.
By my nature, I can be impatient, not just in hunting, but in anything. Discussing woodworking can make my point about rifles and hunting,
I like; I need really fine tools when working with wood. This goes not just for hand tools, but also for electric tools. They are noisier, but the electric woodworking tools made 50 years ago are just amazing in their quality. My hands smile when holding them. Looking at their workmanship is a delight to my eyes. I have a box of various planes and chisels which offer equal delight.
One chisel from Sweden has a birds eye maple handle with a cork top held in place by a decorated brass ring. Ahh!!!
It needs to be struck with a wood mallet not a steel hammer, but how care-full not care-empty I am when using it.
Baring the "salt-era" I have come to believe, that Browning Safari grade French Walnut stocks made in Belgium are the most beautiful to be had on rifles that are still are affordable used. I have owned one in 30-06 for 56 years. They came with an incredibly waterproof finish on them too.
I had the stock fully glass bedded, total barrel channel, and that took away movement from changing weather.
I have spent hours sitting in a blind, and when feeling impatient. I just again look at the wonderful complexity of the grain, and that resharpens my eyes for details around me.
Belgium made FN rifles have equally beautiful wood, but they really shine not just in the checkering but also in the incredible small details on the pistol grips, pure eye candy. Nothing modern can equal these old rifles.
For truly wet sloppy weather, I have a Sako Finnlight Carbine in 308 stainless and synthetic stock. A Tikka might shoot as well, but a Sako Finnlight it is not.
My Sako 75 finnlight has the palm swell in the pistol grip, tapered scope mounts are integral forged in the receiver, it has a post notch in the receiver to guarantee the optilock rings go back exactly where they were, and Sako Aperture sights can be put on in an instant. This rifle is mechanically beautiful.
Beauty counts, beauty mixed with function increases my sense of appreciation for details and patience when afield.
