Weatherproofing the inside of a wood stock

[idahohunter8]

Any tips/suggestions/ideas for weatherproofing the inside of a wood stock? I have 4" of barrel channel and the tang bedded, but I was thinking of a couple of coats of oil in the rest of the insides to help against weather.

Was reading a story about a guys ruger 77 changing multiple inches POA while in a wet hunt in Alaska - kind of got thinking a bit.

 

[truck driver]

Since it is the barrel channel and not the stock a couple coats of a good polyurethane should do the trick.

 

[muleman]

If you use/have an oil finish wax the entire stock. I use a Carnuba wax. It'll waterproof your stock.

Scott

 

[SJB358]

Or you could use bedding for the entire length. A couple strips of blue tape and it'll still float when you pull it off.

 

[Thebear_78]

I’m with truck driver on this one. I have also used a thinned epoxy to seal the inside of wood stocks.

 

[26NosFan]

As much as I love a good stick of wood on a rifle this is why a quality synthetic is the way to go in foul weather

 

[preacher]

Use Feed N Wax or car wax, works fine. Heat the wood with a hair dryer before applying, let it melt into the wood. I've used TC Bore Butter this way too.

 

[PJGunner]

I have a small collection of Ruger #1 rifles plus 5 or 6 M77s. There isn't a darn one of them that is sealed on the inside wood. Learned this the hard way on an elk hunt up on the John Day area in Oregon. Nasty storm came in and I'm on a mountain when it started to rain. Heaviest rain I ever saw and I worked in weather for 33 years. I couldn't see more that 20 to 30 feet at times. My rifle was a Ruger #1B in .300 Win. Mag. Never saw a legal elk the whole trip.
After the hunt we stopped off ay a ranch near King's River Nevada. One of my hunting partners was is charge of the game preserve there And the next morning he set out a few pheasants for us to hunt. AS we approached the area where the birds were set out we saw a coyote running off with a bird in it mouth. The only rifle in the truck was my Ruger and the butt cuff with ammo. I shot 3 times at that yote and never touched him. Nobody could see where my shots were going. Got a bit of a razzing about my lousy shooting. A couple of days after I got home I went to the range to see what might have gone wrong. I found my bullets were hitting 6' high. :shock: Not enough correction left in the scope too compensate so I went home and changed scopes. Bore sighted and hit the range again the next day. Still shot high even with the new scope. :?: Pulled all the wood and discovered none of it had any sealing whatsoever. :x Took that rifle over 5 years to dry out enough that I can take it out and shoot it. I have since checked our every one of my Ruger rifle and not a one has ever come from the factory with a sealed stock. :x
Now to be fair to Ruger, I haven't bought one of their rifles in years except for an M77 in .35 Whelen. That stock was not sealed so the barreled action now sits in a Ramline stock and it's used as a bad weather gun sometimes.
Remington M700s appear to be very well sealed as do the few Winchesters I own, along with a few rifles I have on Mauser actions. Does pay to check them out well before a serious hunt.
Paul B.

 

[Thebear_78]

I sometimes wonder if we would be better off with snorkels and spear guns than rifles here in alaska. It is nearly impossible to stay dry durring moose season. I watched a T/C contender start to swell and corrode right in front of my eyes in just a short three day hunt, Even with wiping it down the mud and constant moisture plays hell on wood and blued steel.

I only own a few wood stocked rifles anymore and most of those are laminates. It is crucial to seal the insides of any unbeded stock up here. The last one I did was with a thinned epoxy finish I got the recipe from off a fellow traditional bowhunter up here that he used on his arrows. It was basically 2 ton epoxy mixed up and added to acetone and wiped on with a brush or rag. I have used spray on bedliner on the outside of a few lever gun stocks when combined with sealing the insides well it holds up very well.

 

[Wis65x55]

As much as I love a good stick of wood on a rifle this is why a quality synthetic is the way to go in foul weather

+1
Keith

 

[truck driver]

The poly coating is a quick fix and last a long time with little work done.
I had my Ruger M77 fore arm warp during hunting season on opening day the first time I hunted with it in the rain and missed a nice buck the second day of the season. Had to beat the barreled action out of the stock with a rubber mallet. Hogged the barrel channel out to get the action back in the wood to finish hunting since I was a one rifle owner at the time and had the rifle fully bedded after the season with the barrel channel filled with glass to keep it from warping again. This was done in the 1980's and the rifle has never changed POI since.

 

[pre6422hornet]

I skim bed the entire action... rear tang, recoil lug, trigger shoe opening, magazine well... Everywhere there is bare wood epoxy covers it. I actually put a pretty good layer down then hand fit the action back into the stock. Yes it is time consuming. Yes probably overkill. But I love doing it.

 

[JD338]

Linseed oil and coat with Johnson's Paste Wax.

JD338

 

[elkeater2]

If you want wood and you don't want it affected by moisture at all, check out a product called Rot Doctor. Made for preserving antique wooden ships originally. I've used it on exterior door and window frames very successfully. If I was wanting a totally waterproof wood stock, I'd do the exterior before finishing as well. Since the stock forward of the grip is usually the accuracy killer and the wood is slimmer there, it would be very interesting to check the actual penetration of this stuff from the inside on a junk stock blank. It might just do it all from the inside out. EE2