Walnut of the World

A hard look at the stuff stocks are made of

Shotgunners are an eclectic lot. They use guns ranging in style from classic, conservative British game guns to eight-pound trap models sporting "on-ramp" ribs and fully adjustable orthopedic stocks. Yet when someone pulls out a gun whose stock sports the hypnotic smoky swirls of English walnut or the red and orange flames of "crotch-feather" American black walnut, there is universal acclaim. Everybody likes nice wood. A gun can have perfect proportions, fantastic engraving and barrels struck within an inch of their lives, yet if the buttstock and forend wood aren't up to snuff, none of it works.

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