Which has best longevity given good care? Longevity of wood vs McMillan stocks or other similar high quality fiberglass/carbon fiber/synthetic stock

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Hey all,
I have a very general question related to a rifle build that I plan to leave as an heirloom if possible (especially given the costs!). I grew up with the CMP shooting the old M1 garand, carbine and 1903a3 which all had great wood stocks that were well used but cared for appropriately and were definitely serviceable 50 years later. So my general question is which stock (given appropriate care) has the longest service life? I understand certain polymers are not uv resistant and cleaning solvents could have some effect on degradation as well... the same could be said for wood with respect to effecting the finish or softening the wood around critical areas such as bedding and action screw areas.

 

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I truly appreciate the input from any perspective from technical organic chemistry discussion to field experience. Thank you in advance!

 

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Also assumed hunting field use in inclement conditions (normal hunting use in the fall with rain and snow)

 

[NBPRP]

Many years ago there was an article in American Rifleman about wood stocks that were treated with PEG or Polyethylene Glycol (SP) and essentially they would take a walnut stock and place it into a container to fit the stock and pour the PEG over it and let the stock marinate for a period of time. The PEG would penetrate the stock and made it almost impervious to various weather conditions though the stock did weigh a bit more from the absorbed PEG.

The author of the article was Barrett (Boots) Obermeyer and one of his match rifles had that type of treated stock. It was a bit darker in color than a standard walnut stock and it was tough as nails. He would shoot in rain, sleet, snow, whatever and not worry about his stock while other shooters were scurrying around for cover or rain ponchos to put over their beloved stock.

I am sure there are some current day products that will have the same affect.

Good luck on your heirloom.

 

[Rateoftwist]

Many years ago there was an article in American Rifleman about wood stocks that were treated with PEG or Polyethylene Glycol (SP) and essentially they would take a walnut stock and place it into a container to fit the stock and pour the PEG over it and let the stock marinate for a period of time. The PEG would penetrate the stock and made it almost impervious to various weather conditions though the stock did weigh a bit more from the absorbed PEG.

The author of the article was Barrett (Boots) Obermeyer and one of his match rifles had that type of treated stock. It was a bit darker in color than a standard walnut stock and it was tough as nails. He would shoot in rain, sleet, snow, whatever and not worry about his stock while other shooters were scurrying around for cover or rain ponchos to put over their beloved stock.

I am sure there are some current day products that will have the same affect.

Good luck on your heirloom.

Thank you… I will see if I can find the article but I would not have thought to use polyethylene glycol I guess if it works in oilfield dehydrators has promise in a wood stock too.
Found this site about it
https://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Stabilizing_Wood_with_Polyethylene_Glycol.html
Thank you!