Idaho-Proofing a rifle

filmjunkie4ever

Handloader
May 4, 2011
1,977
1,410
Yes I want to make a rifle Idaho-proof haha. No typos there.

My 30-06 has a beautiful walnut stock and shoots straighter than the road to hell. What I am worried about is warping it in the Idaho hunting season this fall. I really dont want to buy a fiberglass for it as its got a wonderful Winchester factory walnut stock.

My question is this, would getting it glass bedded and or pillar bedded make it impervious to the weather? It has a stainless matte finish already. If not, rather than getting this work done I may just have to break down and buy a McMillan for it or another rifle altogether. What does the quorum have to say?
 
I'm not sure if they make bedding blocks for Winchesters like they do for Remingtons but that would be the only way to semi-weather proof a wood stock. Otherwise you can do a wood dip on a fiberglass stock so it looks like wood. :)
 
IdahoCTD":1c9svtvg said:
I'm not sure if they make bedding blocks for Winchesters like they do for Remingtons but that would be the only way to semi-weather proof a wood stock. Otherwise you can do a wood dip on a fiberglass stock so it looks like wood. :)
LOL... My preference is for wood stocks.... I've thought about going that route on more than one gun!
 
If the rifle shoots well free floated then yes. If not glass bed it but preserve or build up a new pressure ponit
 
Yeah its not a free floating barrel Pop. I am am bit confused as I am from the school of "don't fix it if it ain't broke" you know!?! Want to just leave it alone and take my chances. What Im thinking I may do is just buy something thats all-weather configured (as in a new rifle) or maybe get a McMillan for the new 8mm Rem Mag I just traded Too Tall out of and go for broke.

Plus then I would feel a bit better armed if I ever get to go to Alaska!

I am a huge fan of wooden stocks and this one has me Hoodwinked so I think I will leave it alone!

Thanks y'all for the advice!
 
FJM, I don't think you would have many issues. My old Alaskangot soaked this Fall in Idaho and seemed to shoot just fine. I shot it before I tore it down to clean it and it was still on point. I think leaving it in the conditions is better for the gun than taking it in and out of a hot truck/tent/etc..

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Just wiped it down daily with a silicone rag and it was good. Mine is screwed tight to the stock with plenty of pressure on it. I think if the stock is sealed well, you would be fine..
 
What SJB358 said.
pull the rifle apart and make sure all the wood is sealed, under the recoil pad also.
I prefer wood stocks and seal the stocks with Birchwood/casey truoil and never had a problem with moisture and wood.
 
My Model 70s accompany me under all conditions. I do take care to wipe them down after they get soaked. While I know they could be warped out of zero, it has never happened to date.
 
We see lots of products mentioned by name on our forum, so I'm going to post this link:
http://www.rotdoctor.com/products/cpes.html
This stuff penetrates wood and seals against moisture like no other. I use it on all non bedded inletting like barrel channels. Have been tempted to try it for exterior finish too, but no need with a decent finish already applied. Originally developed to seal rotten wood on antique ships. It is stinky volatile and they aren't kidding.
 
I have hunted with Model 70's a lot in Washington, Utah and Wyoming (in the rain and snow). I have used both new Model 70 Sporters and older Pre 64, Model 70's without issue. I just made sure that I sealed the stock inside with truoil and a paint brush. Put Barricade on the metal and went off to hunt. When I was out in a week long below freezing snowstorm in the mountains of Utah, I just used a .280 Rem Browning Matte, composite stock rifle. I put a piece of electrician's tape over the barrel and good to go. I carry the rifle slung upside down in the rain and snow. I can get it up to shoot much faster that way anyhow.

Another hunt, I was 10 days guided, 1 on 1, on horseback in the Big Horn mountains in Wyoming at 10,000 feet in 3 feet of snow. I carried a .300 H&H Pre 64 Alaskan and had no issues despite snow everyday and freezing conditions. The biggest problem was keeping my feet warm as my Pac liner split. The deer were smarter than me, they migrated down to another license area in the heavy snow. Never fired a shot.
 
elkeater2":ail3eoc7 said:
We see lots of products mentioned by name on our forum, so I'm going to post this link:
http://www.rotdoctor.com/products/cpes.html
This stuff penetrates wood and seals against moisture like no other. I use it on all non bedded inletting like barrel channels. Have been tempted to try it for exterior finish too, but no need with a decent finish already applied. Originally developed to seal rotten wood on antique ships. It is stinky volatile and they aren't kidding.

Looks interesting.
 
Well, Doc, if nothing else the testing they did looks impressive, and the web page is a fun read. I used it on some window and garage door frames that had started getting moisture damage - six years ago. In the rifle/shotgun dept., I did use it on the cracked pistol grip on an older shotgun and it worked.
 
If I can find some up here, I may give it a try. I do agree, that it was a good read.
 
Personally I use lots of birchwood caseys stock wax. I too like a wood stock, and I rather enjoy rubbing it down from time to time. IF you remove the rifle from the stock (which I do at least annually and wax the barrel channel etc), obviously check the zero before you go hunting, I am not out in the elements like some of you but I have never had a stock go so far out that I could tell it by POI. Just my .02 CL
 
The Birchwood Casey stock wax works well also. I put it on the outside of all my rifle's stocks at least once a year. Some people put it on the metal as well. I prefer Barricade for the metal.
 
Man...I've never had a warping issue and I've hunted in some pure wet hell. Anybody here "honest to God" had one?

It's something you read about and hear talked about often but people seldom seem to encounter it. Just wondering out loud that if the crew here hasn't seen it, it probably isn't happening. I still seal wood stocks and try to keep them dry but haven't had a problem yet.

I've got some nice synthetic rifles, but the older I get I realize I'm not opening a museum- so I hunt the walnut more often than I used to.
 
My dad miss a big bull elk about 20 years ago with a push feed Model 70 feather weight. The stock warped so bad the thing was shooting over a foot off. The bull is still one of the biggest I've seen to this day and it was only 100yds away. He shot over his back.
 
I had a Ruger Model 77 (early model) that had the stock severly warp and was more than a foot off at 100 yards. The stock turned almost white from a week of Washington Olympic Peninsula hunting in driving rain. This was back in the late 1960's
 
Oldtrader3":31mmsq94 said:
The Birchwood Casey stock wax works well also. I put it on the outside of all my rifle's stocks at least once a year. Some people put it on the metal as well. I prefer Barricade for the metal.

Yup, forgot about that as well. I will use a good paste wax in the barrel channel as well, especially in my Pre64. Serves two purposes, as the wax will create a decent barrier so water cannot penetrate into the barrel channel and rust unseen metal or penetrate the stock.

I have been tempted a few times to bed the recoil lug on my Alaskan, but I don't have the heart to do it yet. It seems to hold POI from range session to range session, so until it is broke, I will leave it alone.

I thought of putting a McMillan on it, but I am glad I kept the wood.. It is a great hunting partner as is.
 
I only have a couple of wooden stocks left. Started switching years ago. I have poured water out of rifles, especially in Western Wa.
 
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