Wood stocks or composite?

[blacksheep]

I have a pair of Thompson Center Encores for my elk hunt this fall. I can put light weight composite stocks on them or heavier laminated wood stocks. I'm leaning towards the composite stocks for the sheer weight difference plus they should not move too much with the change in temperature. Any opinions??

blacksheep

 

[WildWill]

Wood looks good but for a rifle you're going to hunt hard with drag through the brush and have out in the rain composite is the way to go.

 

[375H&H]

Synthetic. Impervious to the elements, cheap, less prone to cracking, and light.

 

[gotur6]

Composite.

 

[Big Fin]

I've been researching wood stocks made of thermally modified wood. Very interesting how it works and what properties it gives wood.

https://hot-woods.com/

 

[hank4elk]

Good stuff BF.
I'm a woodworker & love nice wood stocks.
That said I have used synthetics on my 2 main hunting guns for 20 yrs.
I sure would like a Weatherby 30-06 in that hotwoods dark maple...

 

[ccc23454]

I like the idea of a better wood. I love the look of wood but to me guns are tools and i am hard on them and to some extent it cant be avoided so almost all my bolt guns are synthetic.

 

[OhHeyThereBen]

What everyone else said. You can't beat synthetic for functionality. However, my hunting rifle is a Winchester Model 70 with a pretty decent looking walnut stock. I've been thinking about going synthetic, but you really just can't beat how a nice wood stock looks... especially if you look towards a super grade quality wood. I'd trade the functionality of a synthetic stock for one of those in a heartbeat.

 

[Ben Lamb]

In this situation, I would go with the synthetics. You'll enjoy the lighter weight in the field.

I'm not a fan of laminated wood, personally.

 

[Don Fischer]

In polite society's real men choose wood! Something you might remember!

 

[Millsworks]

The laminate wood stocks are extremely stable and as far as for weight, I am one who thinks a rifle needs a certain amount of weight per caliber to be more shootable and help keep recoil in moderation.
I enjoy a well made and beautiful Walnut stock more than anything else. So much so, I have made several myself.

Competition shooters have real need for supreme accuracy, and need to limit all deciding factors. But as a hunter and frequent shooter I can't see the problem with a well made wood stock.