I have read a couple reviews on a couple different rifles that had synthetic stocks on them. Each review stated that because of the synthetic stock the rifle was very front heavy and unbalanced. What are your thoughts on synthetic and wood? Personally I enjoy the look of black synthetic, but at what cost? I am looking into buying my first rifle and have a budget around $230 or so. I was looking specifically at the Marlin 925R, but I am turned away from it after hearing about the weak synthetic stock.

Synthetics have their place and use. A properly produced synthetic, such as Macmillan, Bell & Carlson, and HS Precision, are truly stable, well made stocks.

Remington uses HS Precision as a supplier, and while the rifles are a bit heavier, they tend to end up on their tactical rifles and varmint rifles.

Savage produces a line with synthetic stocks, and while they are pillar bedded, if you remove the stock from the barrelled action you can twist the end of it. Sitll however, the stocks once attached to the barrelled action are secure and Savage guns ARE accurate.

I personally owned one of the Savage LE10 series rifles in .223. The synthetic stock surely did not effect the operation of the rifle, nor effect the accuracy.
Balance on one of remington's Tactical or Varmint rifles is something that is effected by the weight and length of the barrel, and not neccessarily the stock. With 26 inches of HEAVY barrel attached to an action, and fastened to a HS stock, the 700 VS I owned was very front heavy....but the gun was intended to fe fired from a bench or bipod.

Do a search throughout the forum on gun stocks, as well as the MFG's sites, you'll find all the info you need.

Also, I am going to move this to the General forum, where you may get more reads and posts.

thats one thing i have to allow for on my 110 savage 30 06.. i think the accurracy can be affected if you grip to tight on my syn stock ..
i just assumed i was pulling the thing out of alighnment just a tad . never bothered me much but i think i noticed it throwing my accuracy of a tad..

I'm not a synthetic stock fan, but do like laminated stocks which are basically synthetic stocks with a sliced wood binder and work very well, but heavy. Like Chris said good synthetic stocks like Macmillan, Bell & Carlson, and HS Precision, are truly stable, well made stocks and work exceptionally well and are on the whole lighter than wood and to my feel very well balanced.

When you get into the injection molded stocks on many lower ended rifles it's somewhat of a different story, these can be heavy and flexible and unlike the top of the line layed up synthetics are near impossible to glasbed.

Some of these stocks however do shoot well and I wouldn't reject a rifle I liked simply because it has a less expensive stock on it. None of the synthetic stocks I've looked at could be described as weak, but I've ran across several that had really flexible forearms including my Remington 700 Muzzle loader.

One thing I would do however is try to shoot an example of it before I buy one. For good info on rimfire rifles you might go over here and ask, lots of good info here.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/

Thanks for the information guys. I was able a good deal of information on rimfirecentral as well. It seems that no one really has any issues with their synthetic stocks on any rifle including the Savage I was looking at. The MarkII FV with it's heavy target barrel and synthetic stock didn't seem to bother anyone that did have it and were talking about their first thoughts and what not.

This may be slightly off topic, but I was comparing the MarkII F and the MarkII FV by Savage and the FV has the heavy target barrel. I am guessing the added weight causes less flex and more stability when it is fired, but I would like to know exactly why.

From what I have read overall, the Savage MarkII G and MarkII FV have been acclaimed as very accurate and very effective rifles.

Thanks.

Well, the biggest issue with syn stocks is that they perform better under extreme heat and cold than wooden stocks do. Wooden stocks tend to shrink and expand with changes in temp. But with a 925r I doubt you will be shooting at ranges long enough to see any real effects on your accuracy. So unless you are going to be hunting in adverse weather sometimes, I recommend the wooden stock. I just think theyre more appealing;) Good luck with your purchase

I have decided to steer away from the Marlin 925R. The couple reviews on it stated it was flimsy, had a weak mag catch and the weight was off balance which made it bad for stand up shooting. I have been looking into the Savage MKII G and the Savage MKII F. I do like the wooden Monte Carlo stock on the MKII G though.

Go with the marlin 60....

tried and true.

Marlin 60 does seem nice and all, but I do prefer bolt-actions over semi-autos any day.

Have to say if your looking for a quality 22 rifle that is extremely accurate you might take a look at the CZ 452's and the 453's with CZ's set trigger. I'm shooting a 452 Lux with Erick Brooks 14 buck trigger kit in it and it breaks at 1.5 pounds just like breaking ice.

This 22 is as accurate as my old Winchester model 52 22lr. four position target gun or is or darned near it. I've yet to shoot a more accurate 22 in my 45 plus years of shooting. Check over at Rimfire central what the folks are saying about the CZ's. Here's a place also to check. Scroll down to CZ FAQ's and read about them.

http://cz452.com/

Here's a look at mine. It has a 25 inch barrel on it and right now has a 2 by 10 Weaver Classic on it. It shoots like a house afire and is a real pleasure to take to the woods or the target range. They make a synthetic stocked model of this also.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Preditor%20masters/CZ.jpg

Here is where to look at the CZ 22's.

http://www.cz-usa.com/products_rimfire_rifles.php

Here's a place with good prices on them.

http://www.whittakerguns.com/

That is impressive, very impressive. Very persuasive in it's own being. A bit out of my price range but perhaps I can scrounge up another $60 or so for the CZ 513 or the CZ 452 Lux. Do you know of any websites that have in depth reviews on these? I would like to compare the Savage MKIIG to the high quality and very impressive CZ 452. I still have heard good things about Savage, and am still a little tight on the MKIIG since it is on the cheaper side of the market.

My choice is always wood. I build wood cabinets, wood gun cases, wood houses. Wood is the only choice for a gun. The other stuff is like grabbing a plastic coke bottle... cold.Q

Gotta agree with "Q". The new mattel stock on my 700SPS Varmint is a joke. I should have went for the VLS laminated. The new SPS stock is cheezy and flimsy. Had to remove almost 3/16" of plastic to get it to stop rubbing the barrel on the right side of the fore end. Not just touching, RUBBING. The fore end is very "twisty" and I'm thinking about a laminated wood stock to replace it.

Now thw HS Precision stock on the Sendero SFII is a whole nuther ball game. Gratned it's some sort of plasic, but it does have a "warm" feel about it.

RJ

I'm a fan of laminates too.

My 700 BDL has a Fajen stock on her, that puts the original walnut to shame...

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1600/682422/18176814/315985088.jpg

Hay Chris somebody put the bolt on the wrong side of your gun!

Recoil here's my 700 VLS in 243. had it out today just to do some plinking and rolled one coyote out of two on the run at a little better than 300 yards. I'm shooting 55 grain Nosler ballistic tips at 3950 and boy do they get there quick.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Preditor%20masters/700VLS243.jpg

I've had two rifles with synthetic stocks over the last few years, Both Ruger 77's with the boat paddle stocks. One a 300 Win mag that would consistently put three in a cloverleaf hole at a hundred and a 22-250 that 2 1/2 inches was the best I could ever get out of it. Both are long gone, but I do miss that accurate 300 once in a while.

Bob, I do beleave our .243's are twins.:D I've got a 6-24X50 BSA Contender on it. Mine shoots 58 grain VMAX's at around 3750-3800 fps, I'd have to go look at my data to make sure. I found that slower was better in this case. I've been gonna try those 55 grain Noslers in it though. I had mine out a couple weekends ago warming up the gophers.

RJ

RJ that's sure a 6 by 24 BSA mil dot scope with the illuminated reticle on it. Bought it a a local gun store for a hundred bucks and it works fine though It has a pretty small field of view for a coyote gun. I mainly intended it for ground squirrels and rock chucks. I bought this whole setup for my son whom still lives with us. I'm hoping to get him out shooting this year.

Well shoot failed devices I have to apologize for hijacking your thread. Sure hope you find a good 22 that works for you. There sure are a lot of choices on the market today.

who makes that stock Bob???

in appearance it is very close to mine....

who makes that stock Bob???

in appearance it is very close to mine....

That's Remington's factory VLS stock. Cabela's sells Boyds laminated stocks in both standard and Thumbhole varmint models that closely resemble it.

Handsome stock, handsome indeed.

There are very FEW factory synthetic stocks I like , but most I can do with out. Most are just a cheap piece of plastic.

That being said , here are the stocks that I swear by and only use .

So far as wood or laminate , ACCURATE INNOVATION stocks all the way !

As far as the synthetics, H&S,McMillan ,and B&C

Just my choices going on my personal experiances ;)