Circassian wood?

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Heliman

Heliman

Hawkeye
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Nov 20, 2007
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Southwest Washington
Okay, before you laugh at my ignorance. Tell me the difference between well figured walnut as found on a lot of #1's and Circassian walnut that seems to be the rage. I have seen numerous rifles with this wood and frankly some are very plainly figured. Is it the grain structure or what? Is it denser? Please help me understand and forgive my dumbness. :(

Dave
 
Dave,

I'm far from an expert on wood types but I believe circassian is the same as turkish walnut. The colors vary a little from american or black walnut and as you know,it is usually lighter in color and has more contrast to the grain. The grain is like every other type of wood. Some plain and some well figured. The angle of the cut and the area of the tree it is taken from decide that. I also feel like circassian is a bit more dense and has a tighter grain to it.

I would like to hear more from someone more knowledgeable than me on the subject as well.

Jeff
 
The grain structure has to do with the age of the tree and climate it grows in. It is different than American Walnut.

I prefer American Walnut (and Ruger's supplier) to most other stock woods which are usually pretty boring unless you pay extra for upgraded wood.

Circassian is very straight/even grained with little figure in many cases.

There are a lot of different walnuts, my favorite is the European Walnut on my Krieghoff KX5. http://www.krieghoff.com/ki/pdf/KX-5.pdf
 
Circassian tends to have tighter grain and handle recoil impulses better with out splitting. If you look at both of them with a hand lens, you can see the difference. Our black walnut tends to be grown with good moisture conditions and tends to have faster growth. That makes the dried wood lighter. Our black walnut tends not to handle recoil as well. On heavy kickers, it can split more easily than the slow grown stuff. If I remember my wood science classes, it has to do with the cross grain structures and how they effect shearing strength. But that course was way back in the sixties.
Bfly
 
Whatever the differences in dryness when new, Ruger does not seal their gun stocsks very well if at all. This is fine if you live in a low hunidity climate. In areas with wide swings your stock will swell and shrink outisde a climate controlled safe, no matter the wood type. You can minimize this effect by sealing it yourself.

Also IIRC the Circassian is more straight grained than our walnut which can produce those burl effects which set us to drooling but actually weaken a stock.

wunbe
 
Circassian walnut is denser, harder and makes a better gunstock wood than American walnut. It holds checkering better than American. Stock makers prefer to work with it because it cuts smoother than American. Not all Circassian is straight grained. As with American the more figure the higher the cost. I really like the look of Circassian much better than American black walnut.
 
Also be aware that "Circassian walnut" is a term misused by many people to describe any fancy or semi-fancy stock wood. :?
 
Never seen or heard of a 458 with Circassian walnut. Everytime I see one I immediately think they need luggage rollers near the muzzle and a handle built into the butt.
 
Every time I see DavidMc116 avatar of his (boy? grandson?) I get a happy feeling! That's a good one!
MalDerrisSept2010012-1.jpg
 
resident said:
Every time I see DavidMc116 avatar of his (boy? grandson?) I get a happy feeling!
Click to expand...

The reason you smile is because umpteen years ago that little Devil was YOU! BTW, He likes the "BUSH" too! Where's that Wascally Wabbit?

BushHat2.jpg
 
6GUNSONLY said:
Not a big-bore rifle shooter (other than my Marlin .45-70) but didn't Ruger used to stock all the M-77 .458s with Circassian? Maybe they still do, IDK. Some I've seen is really pretty, lots of contrast in grain and color at times.
Click to expand...

The M77RSC with Circassian Walnut stock and in .458 was cataloged by Ruger from 1975 to 1978.
12 guns in .416 Taylor were also produced with Circassian walnut in 1976.
Chet15
 
I have a .458 Circassian Model 77 that I bought in 1975. It is a great rifle. It has a polished steel (not aluminum) blued trigger guard and floorplate. The rifle overall has a much higher grade of polishing than does a regular 77; it's almost as good as the early Super Blackhawks. Mine has a 4X Redfield on it and it shoots 1-inch groups at 100 yards with 300-grain Hornady hollowpoints over 18 grains of Unique. It's one of my all time favorite rifles.

I'm a sucker for any Ruger with Circassian walnut. I have one the recent Talo Model 77s in .308, and it has gorgeous Circassian wood. Just picked up one of the Mini-14s with Circassian; waited a long time to find one that has great wood. Here's a photo of the Mini...

Mini14GoodWood.jpg
 
El Numero Uno said:
My goodness! That is just way to nice wood to have on a Mini!! Really nice!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I love the Mini 14 concept, and over the years, I've come to love the .223 cartridge. I've been watching these "De Luxe" Mini 14s since they were released. Most have relatively plain Circassian wood. When I saw this one, I knew it was time to pull the trigger.
 
Buckeyeshooter, Great looking M77's.....I really like the top one. I want a M77 bigbore. I love Ruger's Express Rifles series.....I'd like to stumble across a .416 or a 375 H&H. I have an M77 Express in 30.06.....excellent circassian on that also.
 
Sweet rifles, Buckeye. I have the .458 77 in Circassian, bought it in 1975. Shoots 1-inch groups at 100 yards (300 grain Hornady HPs over 18 grains of Unique).
 
C6S1C said:
Here is some pics of my second M77 Ultralight deluxe. A great example of Circassian walnut.

92240494.jpg

92240496.jpg

92240495.jpg

92240497.jpg
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C6S1C, I think that rifle is defective. Yeah, that's the ticket, it's defective. If you want, I'll buy it from you to take it off your hands. Then you won't have a defective rifle any more. It's only because I'm a nice guy that I'm making this offer.
 
Thanks Gatling.....I will definately keep you in mind if I decide to sell it...hahahahaha. I topped it with a Swarovski AV 3-10 x42mm so I hope that works for you. No, It is quite a nice rig and I knew I had to have it when I saw the wood. Those Talo M77 Ultralight deluxes are really nice.....I haven't seen a bad on yet.
 
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