Which Wood Is Nicer Looking??

F

firme67

New member
Hello all, I am looking to get a new bolt rifle in .243 Win and I want a relatively nice looking wood stock. The top 2 rifles I am considering right now are the Savage Model 14 American Classic or the Weatherby Vangaurd Sporter. My question is not about which one is better or more accurate as I currently own a Savage Model 11 in .22-250 with the Gray Laminate stock and also a Vanguard Synthetic in .223 Rem. And to be honest they are both super accurate, I love them both. However, no local dealers around here have any wood models in inventory so all I can do is look at them online.

So my question is: which one do you all think looks nicer, I really like the looks of the Weatherby, but then I look at the Savage and change my mind.....then I look back at the Weatherby and change my mind.....

Also have considered the Ruger M77 Hawkeye Sporter.

Thanks.
 
Different gals look nice, too - until you get one in hand, you just never know, both wood & gals being natural products. . :p



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I like wood too. My experience is it just depends what piece of wood you get. I've got one rifle that has the most beautiful tiger stripe pattern on one side. I know for a fact they were not all like that. Everyone who has looked at it says man that is a nice piece of wood. And I have a few that are not at all spectacular also. It really helps if you can look at it.
 
If the stocks in question are walnut check to see if the company uses American Black Walnut, or English Walnut, they can be very different in appearance. California (circassian) Walnut is a species of English Walnut IIRC. English Walnut is actually a species that grows all over Europe and parts of Asia.
 
I've seen both of those rifles with everything from a plain piece of wood, to something with good figure... You can't make generalizations with wood.... My father and I both have Ruger #1V's in 22-250, both are of a similar vintage... His wood is nice but lacks, a lot of figure, while mine looks like something that would come on a Weatherby Mark V Deluxe...
 
the nicest wood I have in my gun cabinet...

is on a Rem 870 Wingmaster, 20 gauge. BEEEyoootifulll!!!

My Win Model 70 Featherweight in 270 WSM is very nice, too. But I went to a Gander Mountain store and hand picked it from the 4 rifles (all Win M70 Fwt) they had in stock. In other words, 3 of the 4 in stock had less figure than the one I picked out.

So, what I am saying is: look at the inventory on hand, because no two wood stocks are the same. No matter what brand/model they are.
 
Ultimately, it seems to me, that only you can decide what "looks" best. How most things look is totally determinate on the subjective opinion of the individual viewer. Speaking for myself, whether I loved or hated the looks of, say, a stock, a thousand peoples' opposing opinions would have no impact on my opinion. All that said, I guess there's no harm in asking what other people prefer; I just wouldn't depend on anyone else's thinking to affect my choices or decisions when it comes to looks.
 
No way to know until you see the individual rifle. I've seen some butt ugly wood and beautiful wood on rifles next to each other on gunracks made by the same company.

FWIW, the more figure to the stock,and the better they look, the more likely they are to be effected by environmental conditions. The more plain stocks with straight grain tend to resist warping and breaking better.
 
I would say as a rule the Vanguard will have the better wood. If you really want some nice wood, spring for the Deluxe.
 
More likely to get better wood on the Weatherby, but you really neew to find a LGS who has several examples of both so you can pick the best wood. Obviously not all Weatherbys are going to have the same wood, same w/ savage.
 
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