Over the course of history stock design has been constantly evolving to match the equipment of the day. Modern hunting stocks are available in a number of formats. Stock design is always a tradeoff, balancing handling, shooting ergonomics, and weight. Traditional designs favour fast pointing, easy carrying, and light weight. New age stock designs focus on ergonomics, recoil management, and adjustability. Here are some aspects to consider when picking what hunting stock is right for you.
Forends
Traditional rifle stocks have trim, rounded forends. These designs have a number of benefits for fast shooting up close. Firstly, the light weight helps the rifle point quickly for quick shots. Another benefit is that the slimmer designs carry well for long days with the rifle in hand. Finally, they reduce the overall weight of the rifle system.
On the other hand, modern precision oriented stocks have wider, flattened forends. While heavier than their traditional brethren, they settle much better on a pack or a shooting bag. This is helpful for longer shots from supported positions. Additionally, for traditional Appleseed style offhand shooting the flatter forend provides a better rest for your palm. This style of offhand shooting is accurate, but not as fast as the snap shooting often done while timber hunting. Lastly, the wide forends can be uncomfortable to carry in the hand for a long period of time.
Comb Design
Another key difference between modern stock design and traditional offerings is the combs. Classic rifle stocks have positive angle combs where the butt of the rifle is below the centerline of the bore. This offers the benefit of naturally lining the eye up with iron sights on the rifle. Obviously, this is becoming less and less of a benefit as iron sights become increasingly rare on factory rifles.
Conversely, modern rifle stock designs feature negative combs where the comb slopes down towards the action of the rifle, such as on the MDT Field Stock. This offers a few key benefits. Most importantly, this raises the buttstock of the rifle closer to the centerline of the bore. By doing so, recoil tracks straight back into the shooters shoulder, helping the shooter to stay on target and spot their own shots. Another significant benefit is a reduction in felt recoil. When a negative comb stocked rifle recoils backwards it pulls the stock away from the cheek of the shooter instead of slapping the shooter in the cheek like a traditional design. Thirdly, negative comb rifles tend to put the shooters eye higher above the action, providing a comfortable cheek weld with the larger objective-lensed scopes that have become so popular.
Grips
The final major differentiator between the two schools of stock design is the grip. For years, rifle stocks were designed with sweeping grips. These grips help the stock to point like a shotgun, making them ideal for scenarios like driven hunts where swinging shots are common.
On the other hand, newer stock designs trend towards beefier, vertical grips. This is due in large part to the modern preference to shoot with the shooters thumb on the same side as the trigger finger. Also, the more vertical grip allows a straight back address to the trigger, making it easier to break the shot without disturbing the sight picture when shooting from supported positions. Once again, this style of grip is less comfortable to hand-carry in the field but is more comfortable in most shooting positions.
Toe
As a final note, classic stocks typically have an angled toe whereas modern stocks will have a toe that is closer to flat. Angled toes allow the shooter to fine tune their elevation by shifting their rear bag or support hand forward and aft. On the other hand, a flat toe line tracks better through recoil making spotting shots easier. Most stock designs will have some angle and the degree of the angle is a tradeoff.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, there are a number of key differences between traditional and new age stock design. Which style is best depends largely on your style of hunting and personal preference. For shooters who often take close range snap shots and prefer to hand-carry their rifle, classic designs are more comfortable. Likewise, shooters who prefer precision shots from supported shooting positions will prefer modern designs for their optimized trigger address and better tracking through recoil. Finally, there is something to be said for appreciating one look over the other. Life’s too short to hunt with an ugly rifle.