Curly maple for Traditions?

Does anyone make an inleted curly maple stock to fit a Traditions 50 cal Woodsman/Hawken?

Check with TOW, I am not sure but I think they may carry a replacement!
Not sure about curly maple or not though.

You may not find a drop in stock replacement but you could easily get a partially inlet stock. If it was me I would order a pre-carve stock with the barrel channel and ramrod hole drilled. Then you just need to inlet the tang/breech area, lock ,triggers , butt plate. Not terribly hard, just take your time.

if you find a supplier of pre inlet stocks for the gun yhat does thier own shaping, i would think they would be able to produce a stock in a fancier grade of any species wood you might want. if it's your first stocking project, you might want to consider a piece that's not too expensive to learn on.
any company that advertises pre-shaping and inletting would be able to produce a stock for you by sending them your stock to them to use as a template on thier carving machine. there's plenty of them out there.

That would be an unnecessary step and added expense. Dunlaps, Gunstocks plus and Pecatonica all sell Plains Rifle Half-stock blanks that are better than the Traditions issue. The Traditions has no cheek piece, I have one. No big issue for me, but I do like a cheek piece better.

Others have alluded to it. I'm not so diplomatic. Why put a fancy stock on a relatively low end factory made gun?
Sorta like putting ribbons on a pig. You still have a pig.
Save yer money and get a really nice rifle.

Edit: Ye I know, I'm violating my own "do wat floats yer stick" philosophy. If it's what you want, do it. But, IMHO, this project will be a waste of time and money. Let us know what you decide.

Save yer money and get a really nice rifle.

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So why even say something like this? Ownership sometimes goes beyond what an object looks like, or even how it functions, it may be a jewel in his eyes.
That is for him to determine if it is a really nice rifle or not.

Just to add another 2 cents. As mentioned I also have a Traditions Hawken Woodsman. There is nothing about it than can be disparaged. Yes it is simple, no frills. But, it is of good quality, solid build and fine machining. Shoots great! I have shot mine regularly for 6 years with absolutely no problems.

I don't know. Nothing wrong with putting a bow on a pig's head if she's a pet, I suppose.

if it shoots decently as is, the only thing that seperates it from a "high quality " gun is time polishing and tuning and nice piece of lumber, nicely finished. i'd bet that time spent finishing and polishing would result in a gun to be proud of, and what's more is the guy learned allot in doing it himself......

"and what's more is the guy learned allot in doing it himself......"

And that . . . is God's truth!

merlinron said:

if it shoots decently as is, the only thing that seperates it from a "high quality " gun is time polishing and tuning and nice piece of lumber, nicely finished. i'd bet that time spent finishing and polishing would result in a gun to be proud of, and what's more is the guy learned allot in doing it himself......

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And this is precisely what puts the burr under some guys saddle!

ebiggs said:

Save yer money and get a really nice rifle.

Click to expand...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So why even say something like this? Ownership sometimes goes beyond what an object looks like, or even how it functions, it may be a jewel in his eyes.
That is for him to determine if it is a really nice rifle or not.

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You just repeated what I said.

Rifleman1776 said:

Others have alluded to it. I'm not so diplomatic. Why put a fancy stock on a relatively low end factory made gun?
Sorta like putting ribbons on a pig. You still have a pig.
Save yer money and get a really nice rifle.

Edit: Ye I know, I'm violating my own "do wat floats yer stick" philosophy. If it's what you want, do it. But, IMHO, this project will be a waste of time and money. Let us know what you decide.

Click to expand...

I have to agree.

Rifleman1776 said:

ebiggs said:

Save yer money and get a really nice rifle.

Click to expand...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So why even say something like this? Ownership sometimes goes beyond what an object looks like, or even how it functions, it may be a jewel in his eyes.
That is for him to determine if it is a really nice rifle or not.

Click to expand...

You just repeated what I said.

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Not exactly! :shocked2:
It is not necessary to reference someone's gun, or any possession as, a ribbon on a pig. :shake:
If you can't help the guy, ”¦........well you now the rest. :hmm:

Don't get a plane jane stock just because it's your firt one. Been there done that & still kicking my self. You don't need to get a super fancy grade of wood BUT get a piece of wood with some figure( grade 3 instead of 4) & take your time .

getting a decent piece of wood and investing the "finishing" time and labor on a storebought gun is an excellent opportunity to arrive at a much nicer gun without the cost of top quality parts. most likely it will shoot as good or close to any of the higher dollar guns. so much of a muzzle loader's value is in areas that don't necessarily make the gun shoot better...something not all high dollar owners care to acknowledge because of the money they spent to get a gun that looks like the real thing. the bassis of the gun, it's hard parts, aren't that much better than what can be had over the counter, at least not enough to make any store bought gun not worth putting a little elbow grease to. any of them can be made allot nicer with some attention to the same finishing details and effort the high dollar guns recieve from those who build them. it's also a very cost effective way to obtain a parts group to build on.
i have done several post '64 wichester model 670's that way in the past. by re-stocking with a nice chunk of lumber and polishing the reciever/barrel to get rid of the matte shot-peened finish, a very nice rifle that for all practicle purposes is/was now a model 70 could be had. the difference between the two models was wood and finish, both of which the factory didn't spend time on to offer an "entry level model 70" .

What is TOW because goggling that means nothing.

It stands for Track of the Wolf, a supplier of equipment, gun parts and other good things for muzzleloaders.
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/index.aspx

They have an excellent reputation for delivering quality hardware in a very timely manner.

Sometimes the difference between a $1000 dollar gun and a $2000 dollar one is a thousand dollars worth of carving and engraving! The price goes up as the fancy goes on, but they are the same gun. :thumbsup: