Wood stock V Laminate stock V Synthetic stock V Metal stock

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Vana2 said:
Well, I think it is a "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" thing as arguments can be made for metal, wood (natural or laminated) or synthetic stocks.

Being a old guy I have a strong preference for traditional walnut stocks but in recent years I grudgingly admitted that the low maintenance of a synthetic has its benefits. Metal and laminated stocks are more stable so in high precision, competitive environments they do have their good points.

So which is more beautiful, organic or technical, a horse or a motorcycle, wood or not?

I make my own wood stocks so I can explore all kinds of things. Made a fancy and functional stock for my AR20. My Impact and Panthera have wood parts because I feel that an all metal gun is missing "something". 🤔

Hard question with no real answer. Everyone will have their own preferences.
Cheers!

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That top one is the craziest stock I have ever seen. I am not sure wether itsvartistic or xrated. But it sure isbeye catchimg. Nice work and craftsmen.ship
 
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All but one of my 6 PCPs came with plastic stocks. The one exception is a Caiman in a laminated stock. I made wood stocks for 4 of the other 5, however. I'll include a picture of the cherry stock on my P35-22. Plastic is more dense than wood so if the plastic stocks were solid they would be heavier. But they are hollow so they can be lighter or heavier than a solid wood stock. The thin stock on my Avenger is probably lighter. The thicker plastic stocks on my 3 P35s are definitely heavier than my wood stocks. But if I want to take a P35 somewhere that I am worried about damage to the stock I would put on a plastic stock. But normally they wear their wood stocks that fit me better and I think look better. I need more length of pull than I have ever seen on a stock rifle and I also prefer the hand grip be further from the trigger so the last joint of my trigger finger is the one I pull with. My hands are XL so what I want would not work for many others. But I can get what I want when I make myself a wood stock.

My laminated stock is, I am pretty sure, birch. Birch is a hardwood but it is a fairly soft hardwood. Rarely interesting in grain and that would not get used in a laminated stock anyway. The glue in the laminated stock make them heavier than solid wood stocks. But they will be more stable. I don't think that matters much in an air rifle because the stock doesn't bear directly on the barrel. But it doesn't hurt anything either. I prefer the look of solid wood but I like laminated stocks appearance more than plastic stocks.

P35 cherry stock.jpg
 
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Vana2 said:
Well, I think it is a "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" thing as arguments can be made for metal, wood (natural or laminated) or synthetic stocks.

Being a old guy I have a strong preference for traditional walnut stocks but in recent years I grudgingly admitted that the low maintenance of a synthetic has its benefits. Metal and laminated stocks are more stable so in high precision, competitive environments they do have their good points.

So which is more beautiful, organic or technical, a horse or a motorcycle, wood or not?

I make my own wood stocks so I can explore all kinds of things. Made a fancy and functional stock for my AR20. My Impact and Panthera have wood parts because I feel that an all metal gun is missing "something". 🤔

Hard question with no real answer. Everyone will have their own preferences.
Cheers!

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I really like the grip on your third Pic, beautiful work.
 
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cavedweller said:
The USFT is pure functionality!
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cavedweller said:
In thinking your all about that tactical thing
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I cringe when I hear "tactical," it makes me think of militias and wannabe "operators," and that's not me. I own zero molle and don't have anything in military camo.

As for functionality, that IS me. Ending up with the three metal guns as my favorites wasn't intentional, it just worked out that way cuz those three are such high performers.
 
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cavedweller said:
Okay all you wizards of air - looks set aside, which material is the best for our air rifles?

Before you start peeing on each other’s legs with emotional drivel, which is amusing, can you back up your claim?

I’ve heard that the metal chassis stocks “have no soul”. I’ve heard that “plastic stocks will never make serious shooters”. I’ve heard that “wood stocks are just too heavy”.
Me personally - I drool over natures wild wood grain patterns even though I’ve never won the cool wood stock lottery. But I also enjoy a light weight rifle that a little marring doesn’t hurt. It would seem to me that a high degree of adjustability would really improve ANY stock.
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WOAH what are those humongo elevation wheels? Is the point to change the degrees of rotation per mark based on the setting or something?
 
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I prefer a stock that makes a gun look like what I think a gun for that purpose is supposed to look like. Is that convoluted enough? I have two target rifles that are comp only guns, an Anschutz and a 2078A. The Anschutz is synthetic every thing. It looks like a comp gun and would suck for a lot of other uses. The 2078A has a wood stock that looks very good to my eye and I could easily use it for other purposes. The best looking stocks in my opinion are the laminates like the one on my 10/22. THATS a good looking gun. Beyond that whatever does the job and isn’t bowling shoe ugly is fine.

Rick H.
 
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jg21 said:
WOAH what are those humongo elevation wheels? Is the point to change the degrees of rotation per mark based on the setting or something?
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In field target we use parallax to determine distance to target to determine holdovers. A bigger wheel helps spread out the distance markings.
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In my eyes also the the beauty of wood/can can't be beat.
But the functionality doesn't reach to my games.
I don't wrap my thumb around the "grip" but keeping it trigger finger side,
I prefer to have my thumb resting slightly above maybe 45-60 degree and a shelf rest for the pinky below.
So these my preferences pretty much brings the vertical grip to the game, and the LOP is changing, the scope eye box/FOV is changing...
And here is how I got to adjustable chassis...

Just saying for me if looks beautiful - I frame it and hang it on the wall behind a glass box. I want functionality and how the entire gun fits into my style of shooting.
 
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bigHUN said:
In my eyes also the the beauty of wood/can can't be beat.
But the functionality doesn't reach to my games.
I don't wrap my thumb around the "grip" but keeping it trigger finger side,
I prefer to have my thumb resting slightly above maybe 45-60 degree and a shelf rest for the pinky below.
So these my preferences pretty much brings the vertical grip to the game, and the LOP is changing, the scope eye box/FOV is changing...
And here I got to adjustable chassis...

Just saying for me if looks beautiful - I frame it and hang it on the wall behind a glass box. I want functionality and how the entire gun fits into my style of shooting.
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Makes perfect sense
 
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I prefer the "tactical" synthetic style. I too like Cole above don't own anything military. Don't pretend to be. I'm a farmer. I need functionality and durable. However I do have a laminate gun also, but I'm not going to stress when it gets banged up as it's a gun that is going to be used as a tool.
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GasStationSunglasses said:
I only have 1 air gun I shoot regularly and enjoy, and it has a metal stock that I highly prefer.

Wood is too fragile. Plastic is just mediocre. Metal stocks reign supreme.
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What I’ve learned after owning pretty much all varieties of guns and variants of the same guns is “optimal form” must work both ergonomically for a shooter and for the task at hand. While beauty is an eye of the beholder thing, the right platform in a truly competitive shooters hands results in stellar accuracy…. A truck gun needs to be just that, a survivable tool that can take a beating and remain functional.
 
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