Good point. Walnut is a naturally dark word. When covered with a clear finish, it becomes darker and the grain is more pronounced. I believe that Remington used a urethane finish. I don't know if they still do.puma guy wrote:Back in the 60's and 70's when I was selling guns Remington had some of the nicest wood. Even on the ADL 700's. They were never stained, just clear finish. The walnut varied in color but I never saw one that I'd call light. Back then there were a lot of high end guns that had fancy light colored stocks, i.e. birds-eye maple and other exotic wood, contrasting forends and grip caps with accentuated lines. I was always a wood and blue steel guy, still am to some degree. When we got a Colt franchise and received a load of AR's I thought they were the ugliest thing ever designed to shoot. Now I think they're BEEEE U Ti ful, too!fishman wrote:I've seen them, just not in a store lately.WildBill wrote:Good luck. I have never seen a factory Remington 700 with a light colored stock.fishman wrote:Dings on the wood will be character, although I won't put notches on the stock for kills. The only ones I've seen so far have a dark stained wood, I really want a lighter stain. Just need to keep looking.What ever rifle and caliber you pick just be sure to spend the money to mount good optics on it. It important on a hunting rifle to spend as much you can afford to put a good scope on it. You will be glad you did, especially In low light situations. Good Luck! Hope you find the rifle you want. Keep us posted
I have a FWB 124 Pellet Rifle which has a beech stock with a walnut stain finish. Beech is a very strong and dense wood with a light color. The stained beech is dark, but the wood is fine grained so it has none of the patterns like a true walnut stock. It still looks nice.
I own three Remington 700s and they are great rifles - they are all 60-70s vintage. My most accurate rifle is a .222Rem with a "varmint barrel". It has a gorgeous vintage walnut stock which has cracked, obviously not from excess recoil. I agree with Sidro that a synthetic stock is a wise choice.