Weather changes to wood vs. synthetic vs. laminate

[yukiginger]

One main advantage proposed to synthetic, and to a lesser extent, laminated wood stocks, is the lack of changes due to, I assume, temperature and humidity changes.  My question is, how much of a change is there?  Is it enough to ruin hunting accuracy, or more appropriately, precision, due to barrel-scope alignment.  What are the main factors in this change - temperature, humidity, large swings in either, etc?

I really prefer the look of wood over synthetic, with laminate somewhere in between (or maybe on top) but all of these have different costs assigned, too.

Thanks.

Mark

[Zachary]

I have personal experience with all three so let me tell you what happened.

I have numerous synthetic stocked rifles.  With significant weather changes, I have never had any problems with point of impact.

I own just one laminate rifle, and I have never hunting with it (yet), so I can't tell you anything about its affect.

My father owns a Remington BDL in .30-06.  I was hunting with it several years ago and it shot grouped VERY WELL.  In fact, all three bullets would touch each other AT 200 YARDS!!!!! :eek:

One day it was about 80 degrees in Texas.  However, a severe cold front came down, and when I mean severe, I MEAN SEVERE - it dopped about 40 degrees within about an hour!!

I was hunting in a deep draw where there was very little wind.  So what happened?  I shot a doe within 100 yards in its neck.  Guess what?  I missed - which astounded me.  I went back to the range at the ranch and found out that my groups were about 3 or 4 inches NW of where it originally was.  I never bought a wooded stocked rifle after that.  (Well, actually I recently bought a Tikka Deluxe.)

Zachary

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

For a serious hunting tool---synthetic is the ONLY way to go.

Wood is ok if your out just popping a few squirrels with your .22. The other big problem I have with wood is if the gun has an exceptionally beautifull stock---I'm always afraid of dinging it up---my serious rifles are synthetic-----a couple safe queens I have are wood----and are rarely used.

Laminated stocks are good too---but very heavy----those extra pounds add up quick after a long day of hunting.

[His lordship.]

I have read numerous books on military sniping, such as Mcbride, Shore, and Hathcock, and they did not say that they had problems with their rifles in the accuracy department, and these people were in all kinds of bad weather using wooded stocked rifles.  :-)  

There have been numerous articles on this subject, and I have previously accepted the theory of wood being less stable.  I have not had any problems myself, but then again I prefer hunting in good weather too as I am supposed to be having fun?!  However, I do take my scoped rifles to the range year round here in Minnesota, and I remove the rifle from a nice dry warm safe into an outdoor temperatures range from 92 degrees with high humidity in July, to 17 degrees above and dry in January without any problems so far.

I guess it comes down to your needs, if I was in doubt make sure you are fairly close before pulling the trigger.  Expose the rifle to different temperature/humidity environments before a hunt, see if this changes things.

[JACKNZ]

I have hunted with wood stocked rifles most of my life.In NZ it ALWAYS rains.I seal all my stocks properly and have no troubles even on extended
trips.You can never trust the seal on a factory rifle and as much as I hate
to say it SAKO must be about the worst for swelling wood work.I had a
winchester M70 with a laminate stock and the thing split in the fore end after about three months use,I had it repaired and sold it.I have a glass
stock on a mauser an it is very noisy if bumped on something,but it shoots
very well and I never even think about water geting in.I way prefer wood
stocks for looks,but the synthetic really can,t be beat for the rough stuff.
I would,nt buy another laminate.I have mates who trusted the factory seal on wood stocks then after four days of constant rain their rifles would,nt shoot to save em, selfs.With wood it is really a matter of take care or pay the price.I use a marine sealer on my rifles.
CHEERS,,JACK.

[yukiginger]

Thanks to all that replied.  I guess there is no conclusive evidence on this.  Really this would be fairly easy to test, as a chamber could be used to lower or increase temperature and humidity applied to a rifle, then measurements could be taken to see if the stock had changed, and what effect that had on the rifle's accuracy or precision.  Does anyone know of such a test?  Completely sealing a wood stock, as one poster mentioned, might be a good answer.

Mark

[Mikey]

yukiginger:  I have to side with Chris D. on this one and support that with my own experiences and Jacknz findings.  

I can tell you from my own military and hunting experiences that a well sealed wood stock has never failed me.  Poorly sealed wood will abosrb water which will freeze and split the wood in the cold, and swell the wood in the heat.  My Winchester Model 70 was very poorly sealed and I had accuracy problems as a result until I relieved the high spots, bedded the action and sealed any raw wood.

During the upstate NY winters when I'm out for coyotes, I will take my rifles and ammo from a warm setting, subject them to sub-zero temperatures and blowing snow and as long as they are well sealed I have never had a problem with splitting or cracking.  

From my military experiences I have to tell you that I have never seen a wood military stock that had not already been soaked in bore cleaner, rifle oil and any other lubricant any GI would use, and I consider that to be a very good seal to keep moisture out.  On the other hand, I have had the raw wood on the inside of Browing Hi-Power pistol grips swell so badly in the humidity as to freeze up a magazine and limit the pistol to the one shot in the chamber but, those were more a commercial wood grip than a plastic military grip.  

If you like the look and feel of a wood stock, then get the one you like best, but seal the darn thing as well as you can.  A couple of years ago I was sporterizing a 6.5 Swede and waited for a nicely grained Richardson's stock that I finished only with a combination of linseed oil and beeswax.  The raw wood soaked this stuff right in and I repeat the process at least once each year long before hunting season, and make certain it is as water-proofed as a piece of wood can be.  I haven't had any problems with it at all.  I hope this helps.  Mikey.

[vmaxx]

For a serious hunting tool---synthetic is the ONLY way to go.

Wood is ok if your out just popping a few squirrels with your .22. The other big problem I have with wood is if the gun has an exceptionally beautifull stock---I'm always afraid of dinging it up---my serious rifles are synthetic-----a couple safe queens I have are wood----and are rarely used.

Laminated stocks are good too---but very heavy----those extra pounds add up quick after a long day of hunting.

 
omaha
 You are right about the laminates being heavy, even in a sporter stocks its noticable but some factory synthetic stocks are too flexy and will cause your rifle not to goup well off the bench.