Can you identify this unusual Brno Model 2 wood?

Rob

Rob

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Can anyone identify this wood beyond saying it is "Turkish walnut." I have owned numerous Brno .22s, plenty of Model 1s, 2s and 5s and I have never seen walnut like this. Brno .22 walnut is generally a honey color, often with black mineral streaks, sometimes more, sometimes less. This wood is very different. It is very dark, almost black (it appears lighter in the photos than it really is), and with short reddish streaks. It is also much harder than the normal Brno walnut and when compared to several other Brno Model 2 stocks it on average weighed at least 1/2 lb. more. So...darker, harder, and heavier. Any ideas? (The rifle is early 80s vintage.)x1.JPGx3.JPGx2.JPG
 
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There are four different species of walnut generally used for gunstocks. Juglan nigra (Black), Juglans regia (English), Juglans hindsii (Claro), and Juglans x paradox (Bastogne). The species of walnut used for the stocks of the majority of European rifles is Juglans regia.

English walnut includes naturally growing trees in various parts of Europe and Asia, including French, Spanish, Turkish, and Circassian. The wood can look different based on how it grows and the nutrients it absorbs from the soil in which it grows. Black walnut grows in North America.
 
Donny Fenn1 said:
Is it a Model 2E? I've had a couple with dark wood like that but not as shiny.
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No, its pre-2E, just a regular Model 2. The Model 2 is my favorite Brno/CZ 22 model. I have owned plenty of Model 5s (both early and later versions, all sold now) and personally, I prefer the Model 2.
 
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grauhanen said:
There are four different species of walnut generally used for gunstocks. Juglan nigra (Black), Juglans regia (English), Juglans hindsii (Claro), and Juglans x paradox (Bastogne). The species of walnut used for the stocks of the majority of European rifles is Juglans regia.

English walnut includes naturally growing trees in various parts of Europe and Asia, including French, Spanish, Turkish, and Circassian. The wood can look different based on how it grows and the nutrients it absorbs from the soil in which it grows. Black walnut grows in North America.
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Thanks. I am well aware of all that.

My original question was because it just looks so different from the dozens of walnut stocks of all types that I have owned, that I thought it might be something else...plus it is so hard and so heavy, much more than any walnut I have worked with ...and I have worked with Juglans Regia since the early 80's.
 
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Rob said:
Thanks. I am well aware of all that.

My original question was because it just looks so different from the dozens of walnut stocks of all types that I have owned, that I thought it might be something else...plus it is so hard and so heavy, much more than any walnut I have worked with ...and I have worked with Juglans Regia since the early 80's.
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As noted, walnut can appear to be different because of how it grows and the different nutrients and minerals it absorbs.

Do you think that your Brno has something unusual or exotic, something that's not English walnut?
 
grauhanen said:
As noted, walnut can appear to be different because of how it grows and the different nutrients and minerals it absorbs.

Do you think that your Brno has something unusual or exotic, something that's not English walnut?
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I understand that European walnut varies with location soil. To a degree.

I do not know if this Brno has some wood other than European Walnut, but I do know that it is unlike any Juglans Regia in my experience and I have been messing around with plenty of walnut for four decades. As I said, it is much harder, much heavier, and very dark. That's all I know. Other than that, I make no specific claim.
 
I have no idea but maybe try asking the guru's at https://w ww.rimfirecentral.com/forums/cz-brno.18/. Depending on the year built/serial number, they might be able to pinpoint other builds with the same wood. Maybe it was a rifle exported to a country out east?
 
kjohannn said:
I have no idea but maybe try asking the guru's at https://w ww.rimfirecentral.com/forums/cz-brno.18/. Depending on the year built/serial number, they might be able to pinpoint other builds with the same wood. Maybe it was a rifle exported to a country out east?
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Well, I tried...But all the Yankee "gurus" came up with was, "Maybe it's Turkish Walnut," after I specifically said in the first line of my inquiry, "Can anyone identify this wood beyond saying it is "Turkish walnut."

Yanks aren't familiar enough with older Brno rifles. I guess my only hope is to get a small piece from the stock to a wood lab at a university for a positive scientific ID.
 
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Rob said:
I guess my only hope is to get a small piece from the stock to a wood lab at a university for a positive scientific ID.
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There's that avenue to pursue. Of course you may only learn that the wood is after all Juglans regia. Perhaps laboratory testing could determine where this example of the species grew. Location often makes a difference in the appearance of the wood.

Many who have worked with walnut for decades, as you have, will readily understand that not all walnut from the same species looks alike, weighs alike, and even smells alike.
 
I work with wood for a living and many moons ago made game calls from species of woods most will never have heard of. In my opinion its English Circassian Walnut. This is just my kick at the can without seeing and smelling it
 
On another note, if you had any indication or inclination they may have sourced the wood from another continent. I can take a stab at a few different species. Because of your mention about the heavy weight im going to venture a guess of two different species because of the market being flooded with both at the same time of that gun being manufactured. Call me crazy (I am) but my first is Jatoba (formerly Brazillian cherry) but in these times everything gets rebranded. If they ventured into Asia it might be Kempas. Both these can have the colour and the density and weight which leads me off the Walnut varieties.
 
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