Rifle stocks on a milling machine??

[Susquatch]

How many different kinds of walnut there are is a bit like how many different lathes there are. Some would add Turkish, English, Circassian, and a half dozen others to your list. Some are actually the same tree grown in a different climate or soil type. Then there is the figure level - plain, crotch, fiddle, tiger, etc etc. I think Walnut is beautiful in all its types and figures but my personal favorites are Claro Crotch and Claro Fiddle.

This is a stock I carved from Claro Walnut 50 years ago with both fiddle and crotch feather in it.

I don't personally think black (American) Walnut is in short supply, but that's probably because they are everywhere around here with hundreds of new ones popping up every year where ever there are squirrels.

FWIW, I don't think fiberglass and Tupperware showed up because Walnut was rare. I think they are just cheaper and more stable. Real wood of any kind has to be sawn, dried, milled, fitted, and finished.

Tupperware can be molded to fit a standard receiver with much less work at much lower cost. I personally hate them. Actually, hate isn't a strong enough word.

On the other hand, I do like fiberglass. Glass stocks are not as much work as wood, but way more than plastic. Fiberglass must be laid up in layers, filled, then coated, and finished. The biggest advantage of a glass stock is temperature and humidity stability. Glass is very popular in competition circles.

Another option is laminated wood. I like laminated because it has the warmth and appeal of wood yet is very stabile with temp and humidity changes.

I have handcarved Walnut stocks and laminated stocks myself but never milled one. However, I have inletted several to take aluminium bedding blocks using a mill. In fact, the stock I showed above actually has an aluminium bedding block in it that I installed about 10 years ago. A bedding block is a good way to get better temp/humidity stability while retaining the look and feel of real wood.

Did I mention I hate Tupperware? No? Well I hate Tupperware. However, I know a few folks who love it. Each to their own I guess.

 

[Downwindtracker2]

My rifle agrees with you on tupperware. I have a couple of Savage rifles so there is an interchangeability of parts like stocks. I bought a rifle and tried at the range. I was not impressed. Swapped it to a wood stock and I was very pleased..Only difference was the stock. Accustock my............

 

[Chicken lights]

How many different kinds of walnut there are is a bit like how many different lathes there are. Some would add Turkish, English, Circassian, and a half dozen others to your list. Some are actually the same tree grown in a different climate or soil type. Then there is the figure level - plain, crotch, fiddle, tiger, etc etc. I think Walnut is beautiful in all its types and figures but my personal favorites are Claro Crotch and Claro Fiddle.

This is a stock I carved from Claro Walnut 50 years ago with both fiddle and crotch feather in it.

View attachment 30601

I don't personally think black (American) Walnut is in short supply, but that's probably because they are everywhere around here with hundreds of new ones popping up every year where ever there are squirrels.

FWIW, I don't think fiberglass and Tupperware showed up because Walnut was rare. I think they are just cheaper and more stable. Real wood of any kind has to be sawn, dried, milled, fitted, and finished.

Tupperware can be molded to fit a standard receiver with much less work at much lower cost. I personally hate them. Actually, hate isn't a strong enough word.

On the other hand, I do like fiberglass. Glass stocks are not as much work as wood, but way more than plastic. Fiberglass must be laid up in layers, filled, then coated, and finished. The biggest advantage of a glass stock is temperature and humidity stability. Glass is very popular in competition circles.

Another option is laminated wood. I like laminated because it has the warmth and appeal of wood yet is very stabile with temp and humidity changes.

I have handcarved Walnut stocks and laminated stocks myself but never milled one. However, I have inletted several to take aluminium bedding blocks using a mill. In fact, the stock I showed above actually has an aluminium bedding block in it that I installed about 10 years ago. A bedding block is a good way to get better temp/humidity stability while retaining the look and feel of real wood.

Did I mention I hate Tupperware? No? Well I hate Tupperware. However, I know a few folks who love it. Each to their own I guess.

Where are you on using an aluminum chassis? In theory, that should be weather/temp/humidity stable, plus there’s tons of stocks and grips you can add to them

 

[Downwindtracker2]

Rifle repeatability is what it's really about. If you sight in your rifle an a warm summer day and you are hunting on cold sleety day , you want to hit where you are aiming. Rifles are basically barrels, action and trigger group held in place by a stock. . The barrel screws into the action . If the action is stressed out of alignment, the bullet will enter the rifling kitty-wonky. This will show up on targets. The aluminum block makes for a more solid base for the action. Competition shooters go to expensive lengths to avoid the Kitty-Wonky.

 

[Susquatch]

Where are you on using an aluminum chassis? In theory, that should be weather/temp/humidity stable, plus there’s tons of stocks and grips you can add to them

In general, I think it's a step in the right direction. Even better would be steel on steel (because the temperature expansion rate is the same for all parts) but a steel chassis would get heavy fast. In general, I agree with Downwindtracker. For competition everything is about consistency. But hunting adds another dimension because precision is no longer enough. Now you need accuracy too. It doesn't do any good to have a 1/4 inch 10 shot group 6" away from the vital zone.

Also, when hunting, holding an aluminium chassis all day long might get quite cold or uncomfortable. Wood (especially laminated) or glass is better.

 

[Chicken lights]

In general, I think it's a step in the right direction. Even better would be steel on steel (because the temperature expansion rate is the same for all parts) but a steel chassis would get heavy fast. In general, I agree with Downwindtracker. For competition everything is about consistency. But hunting adds another dimension because precision is no longer enough. Now you need accuracy too. It doesn't do any good to have a 1/4 inch 10 shot group 6" away from the vital zone.

Also, when hunting, holding an aluminium chassis all day long might get quite cold or uncomfortable. Wood (especially laminated) or glass is better.

You can’t change the parameters of the argument mid-argument, the post I replied to you specifically said “glass is popular in competition circles”. Then you agreed with Downwind who mentioned competition shooting needing repeatability

So for competition shooting a chassis or glass is best-er, for hunting glass or wood is best-er, and avoid Tupperware unless you like Tupperware for some odd reason for ok-er results

Got it

 

[Susquatch]

You can’t change the parameters of the argument mid-argument, the post I replied to you specifically said “glass is popular in competition circles”.

LMAO! I'm not changing the parameters. Glass is popular, because it is stable, repeatably consistent AND...... because it helps keep weight under the limits.

Then you agreed with Downwind who mentioned competition shooting needing repeatability

There is nothing inconsistent (LOL) between my initial answer and what downwindtracker said. He is absolutely right. If everything is exactly the same for each shot then each will go where the one before it did. But everything means EVERYTHING. No exceptions. The stock is just one part of a very complex system.

So for competition shooting a chassis or glass is best-er,

Not really. There are different competition disciplines. That may be true for some but not for others. In Benchrest (my game), I've never seen anyone use a chassis. Not saying it never happened, just that I've never seen it. Glass is better because it's BOTH light and consistent. It's not uncommon to include an aluminium bedding block though. Other disciplines may well be different.

for hunting glass or wood is best-er,

Yes. But wood includes Laminated Wood. Also, chassis is becoming popular for hunting too. Just not for me.

and avoid Tupperware unless you like Tupperware for some odd reason for ok-er results

I bet there are a million hunters out there with Tupperware stocks. The vast majority of big game in Canada (deer and moose) are shot at distances that don't require a scope let alone a consistent stock. I've shot well over 50 deer in my life. I don't remember one over 150 yards, and most were under 50. Tupperware would have worked just fine for every single one I ever taken. Doesn't stop me from hating tupperware.

 

[Downwindtracker2]

A quote: "Life is too short to hunt with an ugly rifle."

Accuracy is a much misunderstood concept for hunting rifles . Group size, which is a product consistency , is often referenced. It's only really useful for aligning the point of impact and the scope cross hairs. That single shot from a cold barrel is all that is needed. To get a true 5 shot group, it takes 5 days. chuckle. It's a deep rabbit hole .