While a perception exists that synthetics constitute the best materials for rough-duty rifles, wooden-stocked rifles have a rich history of field service and repairs. So much, in fact, they cannot be discounted for rough-duty. A wonderful example is Roy Chatman-Andrews wooden-stocked Springfield sporter, currently owned by the Campfire Club of America. This is the rifle that, during a 1922 expedition thru the Gobi Desert, was smashed over rocks by nomad bandits. Later recovered, the broken stock was repaired with a drill and some bolts installed thru the grip. It provided sterling service for the balance of the trip.

This is a colorful and dramatic example, but serves to illustrate a point. Almost nowhere in the world are we far removed from basic tools and materials that can be employed to repair wood. Drills, screws, bolts, wire, tape, glue and sinew are all commonly available. Sure, we cringe at the though of an expensive and beautiful rifle stock breaking after a slide down an Alaskan rock scree, but if the hunt of a lifetime is in jeopardy that wood stock will be of the material most receptive to field repairs.

We can view metal work the same way; does the action lend itself to basic field repairs or does it need special tools? Can broken parts be welded? Can the sights be salvaged and re-affixed if the rifle were ever to need a new barrel? Will the tools and gauges be readily available for the job, long in the future? Can small parts be feasibly manufactured by a machine shop should they become unavailable in the future? These are all questions worth contemplating in the design of your custom rifle because they could have implications generations down the road, or in some far-off, distant land.