[uncle buck]

I have been lucky so far... All of my barrels for my woodstock Encore shoot real accurate..No adding gasgets to the forarm or shaving off material from the stock.

However is that what you have to do when you have a synthetic stock...use gasgets or shave off some material to get them to shoot more accurate?

While I do like the wood I hunt hard in the winter and wood just does not take a beating like a synthetic stock.. just carrying the wood Encore on a sling can cause them to get scratched from other equipment your carrying...Of course I make sure that the odds of this happening does not occur. However going to total synthetic I would not even worry about scratches on this type of material...

 

[flyfishr]

My 'excuse' for buying the encore was that i 'needed' a slug gun / 209x50 which i deemed to be utility in purpose, and wanted the durability of composite. Planned venue was some harsh country in OH. I am very happy with the composite.

i've got some purty laminated furniture on my contender handgun/contender carbine though.

 

[tcprohunter]

Buck, as I stated in your other post I have the Flex tech stock. I also have a laminate one from EABCO. The flex tech will scratch up. I take care of my guns, so aside from the occasional bump or ding, I think the wood would be better. A brand new laminate stock from EABCO was 125 bucks plus shipping. They have a thumbhole model as well for 150 or so. My opinion is to use wood. Looks better and not to expensive to replace. Plus, I might add, If you want to use a Bi-Pod, you CANNOT use the flex tech. It has a goofy forarm shape that doesnt allow for a bi-pod. This is one of the reasons I bought a Laminate. Also, I noticed, is the laminate stocks from EABCO are a bit longer, giving a more forward pivot point. Much easier to use woodchucking with the bi pod. As far as the sling dingin it up, Try a CLAW sling. I have one on mine and it doesnt seem to ding as hard. They call it the hush swivles or something. They are made of plastic, and yes, screwing them in takes forever and it does suck, but they dont seem to ding as much. I dont have to shim or shave anything on any of my stocks. I have a 5 shot group out of my .243 thats about .4 of an inch. My -06 has a group of about 1 inch. I havent handloaded any for my -06 yet, so im sure i can shrink that right up. I switch from stock to stock and barrel to barrel, never had an accuracy issue yet. Any other questions, you can pm me. Id be glad to help.

 

[HOGGHEAD]

TCPH-I agree with you wholeheartedly. I just do not like the "Tupperware" stocks. If you really want durability then go with a laminate. They are stronger and more durable IMO. I also like the laminated TH stocks. The TH stock also helps control recoil and muzzle flip. So at least take a look at them. Tom.

 

[hunt/fish365]

I can't see how stock types can make much of a change with that gun unless there is part of the forearm touching the barrel.

Me personally I'll take the scratches that sometimes comes with wood. Worste case sinerio I will have to refinish it. I hate plastic stocks. Just too cold and lifeless feeling.

 

[tcprohunter]

That is a beautiful gun you got there HOGGHEAD.

I totally agree hunt/fish365 Synthetic stocks are so lifeless. Durable? maybe. But I am old fashioned. I was brought up that way. My dad would have killed me if I ever came home with a plastic gun, as he called them. I also believe all gaming systems should be outlawed. I'm not even 30 yet, and all my friends say I grew up in the wrong generation. But, back to the subject, if I ever were to ding or scratch a stock, its just a battel scar. You should see the old 30/30 lever I got. Looks like it was tied to a car running in the baja 1000! and I wouldnt trade it for nothing, nor would I refinish it. Its got histroy with me. Thats what I like about wooden stocks. You cant get that with synthetic. I hope that we have changed uncle bucks mind. lol But hey man, its totally up to you. I hunt hard, I am just careful with my gun. I walk backwards if I have to. I have done well so far with my Pro Hunter. Only have two dings on it...so far...

 

[John Henry]

I always liked the greenish-gray laminate stock on the remington LSS, and may get a similar one for my ProHunter.

 

[John Henry]

I'm surprised no one has made a Mannlicher style stock/forend for an Encore ProHunter.

Might not be very functional, or accurate, but I bet it would look neat, and sure would be differant.

 

[Big Ken]

Me personally I'll take the scratches that sometimes comes with wood. Worste case sinerio I will have to refinish it. I hate plastic stocks. Just too cold and lifeless feeling.

I couldn't agree more, but to take a walnut stocked rifle out into a downpour is to ruin it...I did it to the best 270 I ever owned...Never again...I have a small selection of rifles that go out into the rain and they all have the yucky plastic stocks.

 

[tcprohunter]

If you clean and oil it properly, it will never ruin. If it snows or rains, I always disasemble and clean my gun. Then, I get some stock oil and re oil it. Yes, its time consuming, but I enjoy it. And if the stock is properly sealed, you shouldnt have to worry about it much.

 

[HOGGHEAD]

Me personally I'll take the scratches that sometimes comes with wood. Worste case sinerio I will have to refinish it. I hate plastic stocks. Just too cold and lifeless feeling.

I couldn't agree more, but to take a walnut stocked rifle out into a downpour is to ruin it...I did it to the best 270 I ever owned...Never again...I have a small selection of rifles that go out into the rain and they all have the yucky plastic stocks.

Not sure what happened to your walnut stocked rifle. But I have a couple that I have been taking out in the rain for 40 years with no problems?? So I do not understand what you mean?? Tom.

 

[John Henry]

I couldn't agree more, but to take a walnut stocked rifle out into a downpour is to ruin it...I did it to the best 270 I ever owned...Never again

How did we even hunt before the 1990's??

I've had plenty of guns in the rain, never had one ruined. But, I do have two Rem XCR's now. But even in the opening-day downpour this past year, I had to take my trust, wooden-stocked, 270!

 

[hunt/fish365]

If it's raining I take my mossberg 500 pump slug gun. With a wood? stock. If it's real bad I just take my revolver. No plastic for me thanks.

 

[uncle buck]

It's really not the weather I worry about...It's when I carry my wooden Encores on my back with a sling and they rub up against the rough edges of the batteries, metal belt hardware, that I use for my lights when hunting predators..

Of course I have learned to put a cover over all of this stuff so when it does come in contact with the edges it does not wear away the wood on the stock..

Composite under the same circumstances would still be scratched but at least it looks like from hard hunting not being abused by a hard surface..

Deer season I don't worry about any of my guns getting wet or even predator hunting if they get wet. I think I may have been spoiled a bit by owning one of those BPS Stalker composite shotguns..

To sum it up...for me it depends on what kind of hunting I am doing...I just have to be more careful when hunting at night with wood then composite...

 

[John Henry]

Yeah, my buddy's M99 Savage has a spot where a button on his coat rubbed it and really made an ugly spot on the stock just above the grip towards the receiver.

 

[Coureur De Bois]

If the original finish of the stock was oil, like my Win. pre 64 model 94 the last thing I do when cleaning is wipe the stock with linseed oil. All other wood stocks get a coating of Johnson's paste furniture polish, never had a moisture problem with any of my wood stocks.
Note: all my guns wear wood stocks, I detest the look and feel of anything else.