Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyles
Also, cold weather shooting tip from a Manitoban - wood is warmer on your hands in the cold than plastic and less likely to crack (although I think the problems with frozen plastic cracking are a little exaggerated).
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I always thought that it was the other way round, with wood more likely to fail in the cold than synthetics, due to the whole problem of moisture getting in and freezing causing cracks. Granted if the stock is properly sealed this can be avoided somewhat (a lot of rifles are not properly sealed in places like under the butt pad, the barrel channel or around the trigger for example though), but even if a rifle is totally sealed and dry there is naturally moisture inside wood anyway which will freeze below zero leading to some expansion and hence POI shifts if not actual damage. Really early synthetic stocks had problems with both the cold and the heat, but the thing with synthetics is that they are man made and have improved over time to the point where this is a non issue (unless we are talking about temperatures like -40 degrees, where there is a whole list of components that will likely fail before a synthetic stock).
If I was getting a rifle for everyday use lugging it up and down mountains that was going to be exposed to rain, snow and sub zero temperatures, I would get something like a Weatherby Vanguard Back Country. As for calibre I am partial to .270 Winchester.