Claro vs. Black Walnut for new stock

[winfan]

Howdy, Found a guy who will make a replacement stock for my Tikka WH.   He is offering both Claro & Black walnut for the same price.  He has about six different categories, ranging from plain straight grain to some amazingly figured stuff.  I'm thinking something maybe 3/4 up the scale.   Same price for either.   Any advantage to one type or the other?  I'm a cabinetmaker and have worked with black walnut a lot, but I'm not at all familiar with claro.   Anyone have any recommendations either way?

Thanks, Mike

[Rangr44]

If you prefer a plainer-grained, more utilitarian look to your stock, then go with one of the less expensive Black Walnut stocks; but if you like a stock with semi-fancy to fancy grain, with nice color contrasts - not as much as English or Circassian Walnut - then for the same money, Claro will give you a lot more bang for your bucks.

The only thing to be wary of with Claro, is that in the very fancy grades, sometimes stock blanks are not laid out properly, resulting in too much figure in the grip area - weakening it.
Fancy Claro also sometimes has a tendancy to move around a little, with big changes in humidity, and usually benefits from a glas-bedding job.

I like Claro. YMMV.

[lilabner]

Fancy black walnut will also move on you, especially if there is a lot of figure and contrast in the fore end. I had to glass bed the entire barrel channel (free floated) on a rifle because whenever there was a change in humidity, point of impact would shift. The glass bedding worked fine and the stock is now stabilized.