Stocks: Walnut vs Laminated vs Polymer

[MRadd]

Hello everyone,
What are the pros and cons of Walnut, Laminated, and Polymer stocks?
I'm after a 6.5CM rifle for target shooting and want to know your opinion of which stock is better for that.
TIA

[Larry]

When you say target shooting do you have a particular discipline in mind? Are you going to be competing? Each discipline of target shooting has its own particular equipment setups that are best suited to it.

[MRadd]

Hi Larry,
No official competition disciplines, just hitting a piece of steel at 400-600 meters distance for own interest.

[Larry]

So my opinion is Pro of Walnut is it just looks beautiful it will dampen any recoil harmonics quickly. cons are some people believe that they change shape or size significantly due to weather and are not the strongest not in my opinion even just an oiled unsealed with any polymers can be dropped in water with no ill effects.

Laminates have all the properties of a solid wood but due to the grain structure of the wood layers being in different directions hopefully will be stronger and less likely to break. From my experience however the quality of the wood layers can be very poor the layers are also sometimes stabilized with resin or at least the glue they use to get them to stick together.

Alloys well they are typically the strongest and unlikely to ever break however they can ring like a bell they will have a resonance frequency. They are normally much heavier depending on design and construction. Pros are they can normally be adjusted and modified with accessories easily.

Any of them can do the job the shape is the most important its all about balance and fit to the person the gun should recoil in a perfect rearwards direction If the rifle is on target before the shot and on target after the shot where else can the bullet go.

[MRadd]

Thanks a lot, Larry,
As I understood there will be no difference for me to do a dozen or two shoots fortnightly.
BTW What do you think about the weight difference, is it significant?

[bladeracer]

Hi Larry,
No official competition disciplines, just hitting a piece of steel at 400-600 meters distance for own interest.

I prefer aluminium followed by polymer. Timber has one small advantage, it can be less shocking in freezing weather when you lay your cheek against it.
An aluminium chassis is significantly heavier than a polymer stock though, enough to be noticeable if you're walking a few kilometers in and out of your shooting spot. Not a fan of lami stocks as they look and feel like plastic anyway without the weight saving. One of my Rugers came in a very pretty lami stock but quickly went into an MDT chassis.

[in2anity]

To shoot with the utmost perfection one requires ... adjustment. Choose the option that best facilitates this. In2.

[bigrich]

Hello everyone,
What are the pros and cons of Walnut, Laminated, and Polymer stocks?
I'm after a 6.5CM rifle for target shooting and want to know your opinion of which stock is better for that.
TIA

my favorite stocks these days for hunting are bell&carlson . my tikkas are repeatably consistant and accurate . out off the box i've found they need a little clean up with the inletting . i've bought sako/tikka laminate rifles within the last few years and inside the inletting they had the consistancy of tissue paper. easily gouged with a finger nail . natural wood is stronger IMHO . they don't seem to be putting much resin in laminated stocks these days . i was talking to a renowned stock maker west of brisbane and he says he repairs a LOT of laminate stocks these days . a mate has a early t3 laminate and it's much denser/heavier than current production . i had a old ruger scout that had a nice solid laminate stock too
for the target shooting you want to do a ally chassis rifle stock or a qaulity synthetic macmillian or b&c is what i would get

[in2anity]

for the target shooting you want to do a ally chassis rifle stock or a qaulity synthetic macmillian or b&c is what i would get

Yes and no. There are plenty of lovely walnut TR stocks still on the mound; with bedded actions of course... and they will shoot 1/2moa as long as the ammo and shooter is up to it. Maybe you might squeeze a little more out of a chassis, all things equal.

[JohnV]

You could write a book to answer this question . There is so many variables and personal needs that have to be considered . Just shooting at a steel plate is fairly vague . Do you want to hit the steel plate ? I think yes so accuracy is the main goal . My choice is an alloy rail stock that has one piece construction from the bi-pod mount to behind the rear action screw . An Atlas or Harris bi-pod , a picatinny rail on the action and rigid tactical type scope rings . Quality scope with approx. 6 to 25 power nothing under $ 1500 .

[bigrich]

You could write a book to answer this question . There is so many variables and personal needs that have to be considered . Just shooting at a steel plate is fairly vague . Do you want to hit the steel plate ? I think yes so accuracy is the main goal . My choice is an alloy rail stock that has one piece construction from the bi-pod mount to behind the rear action screw . An Atlas or Harris bi-pod , a picatinny rail on the action and rigid tactical type scope rings . Quality scope with approx. 6 to 25 power nothing under $ 1500 .

if i was serious about LR target type stuff that's what i'd be looking at . seen some real stupidly good accuracy out of 6.5 T3's of various cals .1/2" @200 out of a bog stock t3 dropped in a chassis shooting 6.5 man-bun . think it was hornady factory ammo even got my attention

[JohnV]

You could write a book to answer this question . There is so many variables and personal needs that have to be considered . Just shooting at a steel plate is fairly vague . Do you want to hit the steel plate ? I think yes so accuracy is the main goal . My choice is an alloy rail stock that has one piece construction from the bi-pod mount to behind the rear action screw . An Atlas or Harris bi-pod , a picatinny rail on the action and rigid tactical type scope rings . Quality scope with approx. 6 to 25 power nothing under $ 1500 .

if i was serious about LR target type stuff that's what i'd be looking at . seen some real stupidly good accuracy out of 6.5 T3's of various cals .1/2" @200 out of a bog stock t3 dropped in a chassis shooting 6.5 man-bun . think it was hornady factory ammo even got my attention

Does make us realize how much accuracy and zero holding is in a good rigid stock material that does not shrink , expand or warp due to weather conditions . I still like a nice grained walnut stock but If I am chasing fine accuracy then rigid and heavy is a good start .

[bigrich]

You could write a book to answer this question . There is so many variables and personal needs that have to be considered . Just shooting at a steel plate is fairly vague . Do you want to hit the steel plate ? I think yes so accuracy is the main goal . My choice is an alloy rail stock that has one piece construction from the bi-pod mount to behind the rear action screw . An Atlas or Harris bi-pod , a picatinny rail on the action and rigid tactical type scope rings . Quality scope with approx. 6 to 25 power nothing under $ 1500 .

if i was serious about LR target type stuff that's what i'd be looking at . seen some real stupidly good accuracy out of 6.5 T3's of various cals .1/2" @200 out of a bog stock t3 dropped in a chassis shooting 6.5 man-bun . think it was hornady factory ammo even got my attention

Does make us realize how much accuracy and zero holding is in a good rigid stock material that does not shrink , expand or warp due to weather conditions . I still like a nice grained walnut stock but If I am chasing fine accuracy then rigid and heavy is a good start .

Rigid doesn’t necessarily mean heavy

[JohnV]

You can get quite rigid stocks that are not that heavy but the most rigid stock will be heavier rather than lighter and heavy absorbs recoil which also aids group accuracy . Some disciplines are restricted by weight class so they go for the most rigid they can but light enough for the gun to be legal and usually shooting light recoiling cartridges anyway . When you are using a longer range cartridge that kicks a bit in a gun your not going to carry around the mountains more weight is better for accuracy and makes multiple shots more enjoyable .

[SCJ429]

I bought a Tikka and it shot in the .200s with the Tupperware stock. I popped it into a heavy Walnut bench rest stock and it still shot in the .200s. nothing wrong with cheap plastic stocks. I have a Phil Mastin laminated stock and it is really great stock, worth the money. The best 3P stock I have used is the Anschutz Precise stock which is Aluminium. Depends on how you shoot and what you like.

[in2anity]

I bought a Tikka and it shot in the .200s with the Tupperware stock. I popped it into a heavy Walnut bench rest stock and it still shot in the .200s. nothing wrong with cheap plastic stocks. I have a Phil Mastin laminated stock and it is really great stock, worth the money. The best 3P stock I have used is the Anschutz Precise stock which is Aluminium. Depends on how you shoot and what you like.

Same. I shot SH possibles all the way out to 700m, with the factory Tikka t3 CTR tupperware. The limiting factory on that rifle was rather the short 20" barrel and simply lack of velocity (under a questionable wind), nothing much else. I feel generally people are under the illusion that a chassis will "solve their accuracy woes", where in fact it's probably more about providing the best shape for your requirements. For example even the slightest change in the shape of a TR stock, away from what you are used to, will have a profound affect on your precision. The gun has to be re-learned again basically.

[JohnV]

As recoil increases the need for a more rigid stock material and good bedding increases . If cheap plastic stocks were just as good as more expensive rigid BR stocks then target shooters would all be using the cheap plastic stocks and they don't .
A stock should be suited to it's intended use and what fits and suits one person may not be suited to another for a particular use .
I would like to see those .2 groups from a factory stock rifle .

[Larry]

Very few of the Target shooters use a Alloy Chassis stock nearly all use a wooden stock of various designs. The reason is not because of weight as it largely doesnt matter as the rifles are never carried. It is because of the harmonics that Alloy stocks can transmit.
The myth that a chassis can produce better accuracy on any rifle is just that a myth.