Wet weather and wood stocks?

[HALL,AUSTIN]

I've always heard that they could warp in wet or humid climates but I've never ended up being in that spot. Has this happened to anyone? Is there a way to aboid it if the rifle is going to be subjected to rain or wet conditions?

[SIGSHR]

Best way to avoid problems is to use a rigid synthetic stock IMHO. A properly sealed wood stock is fairly water resistant. Good idea to check your zero.

[Pahoo]

Is there a way to aboid it if the rifle is going to be subjected to rain or wet conditions?

There is but as conditions change, so will the effect. I prefer the looks of Black Walnut or natural hardwoods. .....

A wooden stock, has many surfaces; some sealed and protected and many that have absolutely no protection. A common example, is the buttstock, under the buttplate Moisture and or water, will get into the stock at these open grain areas. On a new wooden "Hunting" stock, a friend of mine applies a "thin" coat of epoxy. That's a bit drastic but it makes the point. Again, on hunters, I apply coat/coats of Polyurethane and still not effect the fit. I also apply a good coating of carnauba wax and don't mind getting it into all fracks .....

I have found that "some Remingtons have absolutely no protection under the buttplates.

Be Safe !!!

[HALL,AUSTIN]

The particular rifle I'm looking at would look a lot better with a walnut stock but I know that the polymer stock would better suit wet conditions. Read an article in the archives and there were a lot of suggestions. Everything from epoxy to soaking it in boiled linseed oil in a hot space for a few months. If it is possible then I'd like to go with a wood stock, but not lose the nice look of it in the waterproofing process.

[FITASC]

If you completely seal all surfaces of a wood stock, then you should have no issues. Remember, wood can also warp in extremely dry conditions - think NV, AZ, NM, etc., especially if it wasn't perfectly dried to begin with.

[NHSHOOTER]

Think about it this way, how long is it going to be subjected to rain, I see you are from No. Carolina, personally its not something I worry about, I have been hunting since I was 14 and am now 61, I have never had my rifle get soaked enough to worry about it warping and I have been out hunting in the rain many times. My main hunting rifle is a model 7 with a wood stock and when I go hunting, it goes, rain or shine. Never had a issue.

[Jimro]

At normal hunting ranges wood stocks warping from water are not an issue.

For a Palma match, it is an issue. What is an inconsequential shift at 150 yards becomes the difference between an X and an 8 at 900 yards.

So don't worry about it for hunting rifles.

Jimro

[jmr40]

I've watched a 1/8" long crack in a wood stock at sunup grow to 3" long by lunch. That is not common, but it is also not the real problem.

I've seen enough issues that I gave up on wood and haven't used a wood stocked bolt gun since 1983. I still use wood on my lever actions where the 2 piece stocks are less of an issue. Now that decent synthetics are available I can't think of a single reason to use wood. It was less of a problem back in the days when a 2 MOA rifle was considered accurate.

Wood used to be a living organic substance. It has hollow fibers running the entire length of the wood that are like thousands of tiny straws that suck up moisture.

And not just in the rain. Even if you could completely seal a wood stock you'd not eliminate the problem. When wood is dried in a kiln they have to leave 10-20% of the wood blanks weight in water. Take any more water out and the stock will be brittle and break easily. Even with a stock perfectly sealed the moisture trapped inside expands and contracts as temperature, humidity, and altitude change.

It isn't unusual to zero a rifle in July and have the point of impact change 2-3" by September with the rifle sitting inside a safe in a home. It is common for wood stocked rifles have to be re-zeroed after arriving in Colorado from GA. When you gain 7000-8000' of elevation, drop 50 degrees and go from 80% humidity down to 40% humidity in 24 hours the stock changes shape.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

I'd rather tote a handsome wood stocked rifle in inclement weather than a homely look'in composite stocked.

I have experience a wood stocks shrinking over time. But not one swollen due to water saturation. I do believe Kiln drying time makes a big difference in any wood stocks longevity.

[JWT]

Weather would have to be quite extreme for me to worry about a wood stock. I just cannot get enamored with a plastic stock, but then I only like all metal hand guns too.

[T. O'Heir]

Unsealed wood can expand and push a barrel left or right then detract to normal. Seal the inside, especially the barrel channel with any wood sealing product find in a hardware store. Partial to pure Tung oil myself but any wood sealer will do.
Mostly has to be really wet, like the Pacific Northwest and maybe NC. Asheville just happens to be on the currentresults.com chart with an average of 90% humidity measured at 7:00AM. Calms down to 57% at 4:00PM. So you can have changes in your POI all in one day.
Not all synthetic stocks are ugly. Just most of 'em and they're way prettier than they used to be. Problem with 'em is the construction. Not all of 'em are solid or solid enough. Fibreglass works well. Foam filled synthetic something or other does not. Laminates are a reasonable compromise, but tend to be heavy.

[ShootistPRS]

Having done 90%+ of my hunting in the very wet mountains of Western Washington I never had a problem with moisture affecting the point of impact. I did experience a problem at a shooting range. It was a slightly misty day but the humidity is almost always high in the Seattle area. I had a prolonged shoot at the range where I noticed the point of impact was climbing almost perfectly vertical. I found that the free-float at the tip of the stock had gone away. I reasoned that the warm barrel had dried the top of the stock causing it to curve up. By the time I got home to fix it there was no interference at all. My fix for this "non-existent" problem was to increase the depth of the barrel channel and then I sealed it using boiled linseed oil which is what my dad had finished the stock with when finished the semi-finished stock. I had free floated the stock after I inherited it but never bothered to seal it. Because it was a hunting gun I rarely fired more than a few rounds through it. That day at the range I had fired four boxes of ammo through it and I wasn't particular enough to allow the barrel to cool. Under normal conditions I may never had experienced the issue. I firmly believe it was more the drying of the top of the stock than the moisture and humidity. First make sure you have adequate space between the stock and the barrel and then seal it to prevent uneven drying or moisture absorption.

[Slamfire]

I don't think laminated wood is bothered by anything. It is very stable. However, I have shot in the rain with my M1a and Garand wooden stocks, from hot to cold, never noticed a zero change due to warping. I also put spar varnish on the interior surfaces.

I did have zero changes due to temperature, with wooden, laminated stocks, and fiberglass. And it was all due to me, either dying from heat stroke, or freezing to death. I am far more temperature sensitive than any of my rifles.

[Wyosmith]

I also just never could enjoy guns without wood on them. Is plastic better for wet conditions?
Probably.
But not to a point it ever mattered to me.
I have had to re-finish my 270 and my 375 H&H because I used them both in all conditions and I found that living with them outdoors for many weeks at a time (sometimes a few months at a time) over 10-15 year periods, the finish would wear off in patches. So I have re-finished them. Some men would object to that. For them, plastic is probably going to be more to their liking. But I don't mind a re-finish now and then. Keep in mind that I felt a need to re-finish 2 rifles in my life from honest wear. All my others have not been worn that much.
As to change on Point of Impact.....nope. Never had a a problem with it.
I glass bed all my bolt action rifles. I free float and spine the barrel channels. When the finish was about 30% missing from my 375 I showed my old hunting partner Ken how I could still slip a dollar bill along the barrel and the stock was not touching. No problem.

The 2 rifles that have by far the most miles under them and the more rounds through them are the 2 above, a Mauser in 270 Winchester which is now on it's 3rd barrel, and my 375, which is not on it's 2nd barrel.
The distant 3 place winner is a Browning M95 lever action in 30-06. That one probably has about 2500 rounds through it total, and is well used, but even with many hunts and pack trips behind it, it's still ok with about 95% of the wood finish on it and probably 90% of the bluing. I enjoy shooting it a lot, and it's a rifle I have loaned 2 times when hunters had problems with what they brought out. Funny how they seem to fall in love with it after they kill game, but when you give an old fashioned lever action to some own who is used to a scope sighted bolt action they seem to be taken aback, but give them 2 days and suddenly they seem to think "hey, this thing is really cool".

But that's a rabbit trail. Most people on this thread are probably thinking about bolt rifles.

Cool thing about the M95 is that I only need to keep it clean and oiled and it works in the hot of southern Nevada, the snow of Wyoming and Montana, the rain and constant wet of northern Idaho and eastern Oregon and the high grass of Nebraska. It just seems to not care where you take it, and it puts 165 grain bullets right what the sights are.

[Don Fischer]

I think that people that switch to plastic stock's do so because they just like them better. I'm 71 and been hunting with wood stock's all by life, never the first problem. If I hunt in the rain, I pull the barreled action at night and make sure there's no water laying around, haven't found any yet. It was mentioned to seal under the butt plate. Lot of people don't even know about that. A spot that was forgot is if your rifle has a grip cap, take it off and seal. When I get a new rifle home, I pull it apart and look at the bedding inside. If I'm not sure if it's sealed, I seal it with spray finish. Years ago I bedded a few rifle's full length and they shot well and the bedding material sealed up the inside fine! If you like wood stock's, use them but take care of them also.

[hooligan1]

Every wood stock I have finished or refinished, I have taken time and seal action inletting and barrel channel thoroughly, and I never had any weather problems with them, ever.
I check them every season to make sure were good to go..