African Hardwood for Gunstocks

[Muskox]

Colt Sauer was using Bubinga wood to stock their dangerous game rifles. I had a 458 Winchester in that rifle & stock. It was beautiful wood, dense. I shot loads that were, at that time, very hot and I managed to develop a small crack in the tang of the stock.

Every Sauer 90 that I have owned cracked through the tang of the stock. Not just the 458s.

 

[skydiver386]

Every Sauer 90 that I have owned cracked through the tang of the stock. Not just the 458s.

Do you think it was the type of wood, or possibly how the actions were bedded?

I've always though an additional recoil lug that some rifles have, is a big factor in how much recoil the stock could tolerate.

 

[Muskox]

I think it has to do with the way they are in-letted into the stock.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Bubinga, Website says gunstock use but I'd first check with Rick or Brian.

Bubinga Lumber

BUBINGA EXOTIC WOOD Bubinga is a gorgeous African hardwood. Due to its fine, tight grain and its reddish brown color, Bubinga is often referred to as “African Rosewood”. The trees can grow quite large and five foot diameter logs are not uncommon (making one piece table

www.hearnehardwoods.com

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Knysna Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) is a suitable timber for rifle stocks due to its strength, stability, and attractive appearance. It is a fast-growing, but potentially invasive species, native to Australia, that has naturalized in the southern Cape region of South Africa, including the indigenous forests of Knysna.

Properties that make it suitable for rifle stocks:

• Strength and Stability:
  Knysna Blackwood has high crushing and bending strengths, and is reasonably stable in service.
• 
  
• Workability:
  It can be easily worked, including turning, and takes a good polish.
  
  
• 
  
• Appearance:
  It is an attractive timber with a lustrous, fine to medium texture, and can have a beautiful brown color, though some sapwood and knots may be present, especially in lower grades.
  
  
• 
  
• Durability:
  While not ideal for in-ground applications, it has good durability for interior-based uses.

Considerations for Rifle Stocks:

• Sapwood and Knots:
  Be aware that standard grade material may contain sapwood and knots, which could affect the stock's appearance and structural integrity.
• 
  
• Invasive Species:
  As an invasive species, responsible sourcing and sustainable management are important.
  
  
• 
  
• Local Availability:
  Check with local timber merchants, like Tegs Timbers, for availability and grades.
  
  
• 
  
• Moisture Content:
  Ensure the timber is properly seasoned to minimize movement or warping after it's shaped into a stock.

Take a look at this thread:

Gun Stocks Archives - Rare Woods SA

www.rarewoods.co.za

 

[skydiver386]

Knysna Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) is a suitable timber for rifle stocks due to its strength, stability, and attractive appearance. It is a fast-growing, but potentially invasive species, native to Australia, that has naturalized in the southern Cape region of South Africa, including the indigenous forests of Knysna.

View attachment 705859

Properties that make it suitable for rifle stocks:

• Strength and Stability:
  Knysna Blackwood has high crushing and bending strengths, and is reasonably stable in service.
• 
  
• Workability:
  It can be easily worked, including turning, and takes a good polish.
  
  
• 
  
• Appearance:
  It is an attractive timber with a lustrous, fine to medium texture, and can have a beautiful brown color, though some sapwood and knots may be present, especially in lower grades.
  
  
• 
  
• Durability:
  While not ideal for in-ground applications, it has good durability for interior-based uses.

Considerations for Rifle Stocks:

• Sapwood and Knots:
  Be aware that standard grade material may contain sapwood and knots, which could affect the stock's appearance and structural integrity.
• 
  
• Invasive Species:
  As an invasive species, responsible sourcing and sustainable management are important.
  
  
• 
  
• Local Availability:
  Check with local timber merchants, like Tegs Timbers, for availability and grades.
  
  
• 
  
• Moisture Content:
  Ensure the timber is properly seasoned to minimize movement or warping after it's shaped into a stock.

Take a look at this thread:

Gun Stocks Archives - Rare Woods SA

www.rarewoods.co.za

This is what we're looking for.

Those listed in that thread might be our top 5.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Walnut is such an ideal gunstock wood... I would not use anything else. All my rifles except two are walnut. The two are CF sythetics. I agree with Rookhawk and would not spend the rather high dollars to make a stock with 'experimental' material.

 

[IvW]

Dombeya rotundifolia
Wild pear is one of the best woods to use

 

[Gert Odendaal]

Dombeya rotundifolia
Wild pear is one of the best woods to use

But is really not a nice looking wood to use...

 

[Denvir Tire]

Years ago I worked for a large importer of muzzle loaders from both Spain and Italy, containers of rifles and pistols. The workaday hunting guns had genuine "tree wood" stocks, sometimes painted black, prior to the plastic age.
The high end rifles however, the Hawkens and Pennsylvania and Kentucky's had beautiful hardwood stocks made from an African wood called Mongoy or Ovangkol. Years of warranty repairs taught me that this was/is a good choice for stocking rifles; it machined well, accepted the industrial glossy finish, and was well grained and attractive.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Recently purchased a .458 Lott from another member here and looking at ideas for a new stock. It's a Brno 602, so not all that difficult to find decent wood for it, or synthetic if I go that route.

In the latest issue of Safari Times there was an advertisement for exotic African hardwood and furniture. This set my mind in motion, which is not always a good thing, but made me wonder if any of these woods have been tried as Gunstock material?

The ad listed pink and black mahogany and several others that looked quite dense. After doing some Internet research and calling a few local exotic wood dealers, this is a list of possible candidates for a gunstock.

Acacia
African Walnut (Lovoa Trichilioides)
Utile
African Mahogany
Stinkwood
Kingwood
Ziricote
Imbuia
Bocote
Biore
Blackwood

Wangay and others were listed as possible candidates, but due to rough grain will not take checkering.

Several Internet searches turned up almost nothing in terms of anyone actually going through with such a project. From what little I've been able to gather, it falls into one of 3 potential problems. Strength to withstand heavy recoil, stability in various temperature and humidity environments, and the ability to take checkering. If it turned out that every attempt was met with failure, I could accept that, but so far, nobody has taken it past the idea stage. Nothing that I can find goes beyond the theoretical stage.

I'd like to hear from some of our residents of Africa to see if anyone has ever heard of African woods being used for such a project.

@skydiver386
The problem as I see it is there are some fantastic woods out there that could be used as gun stocks BUT some of them are extremely heavy compared to Walnut.
I looked at doing a stock out of a beautiful piece of Australian Redgum. It was unusual in that it had beautiful grain. Problem was that it was far heavier than a similar sized piece if walnut.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Here's the problem with wood in general:

Burl and figure is structurally weak. Straight grain (ugly) is strong. That is why the obsession for the last 400 years has been Walnut. French Walnut, English Walnut, Spanish Walnut, Turkish Walnut, Bastogne, Claro, Black, etc.

And what about that figure? That comes from 1:1000 pieces of walnut where that ugly, straight grain becomes a stunning burl, marbling, or tiger stripe as the trunk becomes the root. A master gun stocker selects for that perfect straight grain at the head and the wrist, then enjoying the option of a burl where it has no structural necessity in the paddle of the stock.

The exotic woods are through-and-through wacky grain structures for the most part. That is not necessarily a good thing.

Then we go to the economics: the labor to shape a stock, inlet, and checker now runs between $4000-$6500 without wood.

Do you want to use an experimental hardwood, or do you want to spend $1000-$2000 on known-commodity walnut considering the intensive labor is the majority of the cost regardless of the wood selected?

@rookhawk
4,000-6,000 to shape and inlet a stock seems a tad expensive ( read rip off price)
The 2 piece stock for my lowall was around $600 to have made.
That was a pistol grip stock and beaver tail friend. The barrel channel was for an octagonal barrel which is more time consuming than a round channel. If I want it checkered I can get that done for another $600 and that's for 22lpi.
Bob