Quality Stocks
Parkwest Walnut
Parkwest Arms Walnut stock blanks are hand chosen from several vendors in the United States for figure, contrast and strength. The primary wood types we have found to be the best for our rifles are English, Turkish and Bastogne Walnut. Each type has different characteristics and distinctive looks that help to individualize your rifle.
We only purchase wood from a few select vendors who meet our demanding requirements for quality. The wood we purchase is air dried to a moisture content of 8-12{9d5b1decdc7de615130e52865c173c761bdaa9a99a15cd53493c230e975f1d4b}. We never use kiln dried wood due to the brittleness that can occur. Parkwest’s minimum grade wood on rifles is XXX.
We encourage customer input into the selection of their wood, it is the best way to individualize the rifle to their tastes. Selection may be done over e-mailed photos or a personal visit to the Parkwest facility in Sturgis, SD for a first hand look at the wood and our facility where your rifle will be made.
Turkish Walnut
European Juglans regia trees are generally much older (200-300 years) than California English and can have burl from the ground up, sometimes so much burl that proper layout of a stock is difficult. This is the true Turkish and English wood although most of the English walnut gunstocks are made from the California English variety of this species.
Color depends greatly on the climate and soils in the region where the trees grow but the Turkish will usually have more of a “chocolate hue to the wood instead of the “honey” colors found in domestic wood.
Straight grain Turkish is as stable of a platform possible for a heavy recoiling rifle while a piece of full burl turns a SD-10 into a true presentation piece.
Bastogne Walnut
Bastogne walnut is a natural cross between English and Claro walnut, it is the densest and heaviest of all of the walnuts as well as the rarest of the walnut wood. The Bastogne wood exhibits the vivid colors of the Claro plus the dark contrasting grain of the English, another feature commonly found in Bastogne are vertical stripes or “fiddleback” that adds to the unique appearance of Bastogne.
Bastogne is suitable for all calibers and types of rifles.
English Walnut
Juglans regia or English walnut that has been grown domestically since the early 1800s, originally the trees were grafted onto the hardier root stock of the Claro or California Black Walnut that were better adapted to the California climate. The California English is a beautiful wood with colors ranging from light honey with dark contrasting grain to a dark smokey appearance, grain can be from straight quarter sawn to swirling marble cake. The density and grain structure makes English Walnut an excellent choice for heavy recoiling rifles.