Wooden Stocks versus Polymer stocks - any benefits?

[Sanch]

I missed the era of wooden stocks growing up, my first gun was black and plastic, my second gun was black and plastic, and I've only had one gun that had wood on it, an AK that I replaced for Magpul furniture when that came out.

I do like the looks of wooden stocks on some older guns, there is a cool vibe to it, but it seems to me wood is heavier, less durable, more prone to weathering issues. Maybe it's easier to repair than a polymer stock? And if so maybe its something to think about in a very long term survivalist scenario, although I've had a heck of a time with just 6 weeks of this pandemic, I don't think I want to fantacize about end of world scenarios anymore! I'm miserable now locked indoors with perfect AC, mostly high speed internet, and mostly all the food I want.

Other than aesthetics is there any reason to use wood these days? One reason I have in mind is to get a wooden lever action 357 and wooden 12ga pump for travel through liberal states. But given they would be travel / trunk guns, I worry about durability of the material if left in the trunk, vibrations, possibly banging into things, I am rough on my stuff by personality, bad habit I know, moisture, etc.

I also wonder if I can fortify the wood with epoxy of some kind to make it stronger so it keeps the same look but becomes more plasticy. There's some knife makers I have seen that take wood and impregate it with resin or something to make it hard and plastic like.

Another idea is strengthening the wood stock. I saw a youtube video of a guy who drilled a hole through his stock wrist rest and epoxied a metal bolt about 8" long in the middle to add strength.

[hiro]

I missed the era of wooden stocks growing up

Can you provide any evidence of this "growing up" you speak of?

[wvincent]

Why wood? Prettier, denser. Denser counts as it helps avoid flexing. Downside is if it left wet for a duration there may be some swelling, which can impact accuracy if the stock touches the barrel.

Polymer? Ugly as sin, about as much soul as a Glock. Upside is weather proof and usually a lot lighter.

[Sanch]

Can you provide any evidence of this "growing up" you speak of?

Haha good one my friend! I should replace the phrase "growing up" with "in my youth"

[Lester Polfus]

I missed the era of wooden stocks growing up, my first gun was black and plastic, my second gun was black and plastic, and I've only had one gun that had wood on it, an AK that I replaced for Magpul furniture when that came out.

I do like the looks of wooden stocks on some older guns, there is a cool vibe to it, but it seems to me wood is heavier, less durable, more prone to weathering issues. Maybe it's easier to repair than a polymer stock? And if so maybe its something to think about in a very long term survivalist scenario, although I've had a heck of a time with just 6 weeks of this pandemic, I don't think I want to fantacize about end of world scenarios anymore! I'm miserable now locked indoors with perfect AC, mostly high speed internet, and mostly all the food I want.

Other than aesthetics is there any reason to use wood these days? One reason I have in mind is to get a wooden lever action 357 and wooden 12ga pump for travel through liberal states. But given they would be travel / trunk guns, I worry about durability of the material if left in the trunk, vibrations, possibly banging into things, I am rough on my stuff by personality, bad habit I know, moisture, etc.

I also wonder if I can fortify the wood with epoxy of some kind to make it stronger so it keeps the same look but becomes more plasticy. There's some knife makers I have seen that take wood and impregate it with resin or something to make it hard and plastic like.

Another idea is strengthening the wood stock. I saw a youtube video of a guy who drilled a hole through his stock wrist rest and epoxied a metal bolt about 8" long in the middle to add strength.

Back before people started equating "not having an AR15" with "being unarmed" folks used all sorts of guns with wood on them. They rode in saddle scabbards, wagons, stage coaches, Dodge Power wagons, C47 Skytrains on the way to parachute and kill Nazis, pickup trucks, motorcycles and etc.

You are wasting your time with minutia.

[Sanch]

Back before people started equating "not having an AR15" with "being unarmed" folks used all sorts of guns with wood on them. They rode in saddle scabbards, wagons, stage coaches, Dodge Power wagons, C47 Skytrains on the way to parachute and kill Nazis, pickup trucks, motorcycles and etc.

You are wasting your time with minutia.

That’s a great point! I do wonder how often they broke since I wasn’t around back then. It’s like just because the only cars that existed back in the early 1900s were model Ts and everyone that drove used them, doesn’t mean they were anywhere near reliable today’s cars. But definitely I wasn’t thinking about all of the wild stuff from the 1500s until the 1960s that wooden stocked guns have done. Probably some people did things far more grueling then we do today.

So that was part of my wondering, maybe wooden stocks are actually stronger than polymer? Maybe we switched because soldiers needed lighter guns due to heavier ancillary gear and also maybe harder for a young female soldier to hold a heavier gun for long periods? And wood is probably more expensive to make. That’s why I’m wondering maybe plastic is a downgrade from wood? I never really used it so I can’t speak about it but I’m open to buying a wooden stock shotgun and lever gun To find out!

[sparkyv]

Other than aesthetics is there any reason to use wood these days?

Nope.

[Rick R]

I’m wondering maybe plastic is a downgrade from wood? I never really used it so I can’t speak about it but I’m open to buying a wooden stock shotgun and lever gun To find out!

For a large percentage of production guns injected polymer is a way to make a serviceable stock with a lot less hand labor and cost. A nice wood stock is both warm to the touch and beautiful to behold but finding trees to make them out of has gotten harder and more expensive. The synthetic stocks made out of hand laid fiberglass are as expensive as wood to make but they paved the way. The first injection molded stocks were flimsy however they’ve gotten better over the years and become common place replacing the cheap non-walnut stocks that were being used by manufacturers. Wood has worked quite well for hundreds of years by hunters, adventurers, military and law enforcement riding in environments much worse than your trunk.

My 12ga Winchester Model 12, .44 Marlin 1894 and .44 S&W Mountain Gun combo is my Fudd territory travel set. The only plastic involved is the Hogue grips on the S&W.

[OlongJohnson]

You are wasting your time with minutia.

[rd62]

I also wonder if I can fortify the wood with epoxy of some kind to make it stronger so it keeps the same look but becomes more plasticy. There's some knife makers I have seen that take wood and impregate it with resin or something to make it hard and plastic like.
.

Maybe look at a wood laminate stock set?