Stock (firearms)

A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun (such as a rifle) that provides structural support, to which the barrelled action and firing mechanism are attached. The stock also provides a means for the shooter to firmly brace the gun and easily aim with stability by being held against the user's shoulder when shooting the gun, and helps to counter muzzle rise by transmitting recoil straight into the shooter's body.SIG 550 rifle with folding stockRevolver with a wooden detachable stockRuger 10/22 International with full length Mannlicher-style stockAK-47 with a three piece stock consisting of butt, grip and fore-end A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun (such as a rifle) that provides structural support, to which the barrelled action and firing mechanism are attached. The stock also provides a means for the shooter to firmly brace the gun and easily aim with stability by being held against the user's shoulder when shooting the gun, and helps to counter muzzle rise by transmitting recoil straight into the shooter's body. The tiller of a crossbow is functionally the equivalent of the stock on a gun. The term stock in reference to firearms dates to 1571 is derived from the Germanic word Stock, meaning tree trunk, referring to the wooden nature of the gunstock. Early hand cannons used a simple stick fitted into a socket in the breech end to provide a handle. The modern gunstock shape began to evolve with the introduction of the arquebus, a matchlock with a longer barrel and an actual lock mechanism, unlike the hand-applied match of the hand cannon. Firing a hand cannon requires careful application of the match while simultaneously aiming; the use of a matchlock handles the application of the slow match, freeing up a hand for support. With both hands available to aim, the arquebus could be braced with the shoulder, giving rise to the basic gunstock shape that has survived for over 500 years. This greatly improved the accuracy of the arquebus, to a level that would not be surpassed until the advent of rifled barrels. Ironically, the stocks of muskets introduced during the European colonization of the Americas were repurposed as hand-to-hand war clubs by Native Americans and First Nations when fragile accessories were damaged or scarce ammunition exhausted. Techniques for gunstock hand weapons are being revived by martial arts such as Okichitaw. A gunstock is broadly divided into two parts (see above). The rear portion is the butt (1) and front portion is the fore-end (2). The fore-end supports and affixes the receiver, and relays the recoil impulse from the barrel. The butt interacts with the shooter's trigger hand while being braced against the shoulder for stability, and is further divided into the comb (3), heel (4), toe (5), and grip (6). The stock pictured has a thumbhole (7) style grip, which allows a more ergonomic vertical hold for the user's hand. In some modern firearm designs, the lower receiver and handguard replace the fore-end stock, leaving only the butt portion for the stock. The most basic breakdown of stock types is into one-piece and two-piece stocks. A one-piece stock is a single unit from butt to fore-end, such as that commonly found on conventional bolt-action rifles. Two-piece stocks use a separate piece for the butt and fore-end, such as that commonly found on break-action shotguns, and lever-action rifles and shotguns. Traditionally, two-piece stocks were easier to make, since finding a wood blank suitable for a long one-piece stock is harder than finding short blanks for a two-piece stock. In traditional one-piece rifle stocks, the butt also varies in styles between the 'European' type, which has a drop at the heel to favor quick shooting using iron sights; and 'American' type, which the heel remains horizontal from the grip to favor more precision-oriented shooting using optical sights. There are also in-between designs (such as the Weatherby Mark V) with a 'halfway' heel drop where the front half of the buttstock stays leveled.