I'm not about to argue the fact that nowadays guns made out of stainless and plastic(call it fiberglass or composite,it just ain't wood)are more practical.I mean,you come under the tent at the end of a long,hard hunting rainy day,you don't have to lovingly lightly oil your faithful friend,give it some well deserved care and....well,let's not get carried away here!You get the point I'm sure.
What I mean is if all you want is a tool to shoot a few bullets to sight the thing in and then bang it on trees while you're after that deer(or whatever else)then a $400plastic rifle and scope combo'll do.
But if you see more than just a plain tool in a rifle,a nice piece of machinery finely tuned and precisely fitted in a selected piece of nicely figured wood,then mister you are a ''connaisseur''.Of course,your wallet will be thinned out quite a bit but you will have something that is worth its weight in gold comes reselling time.
My phylosophy is the same about handguns;I don't argue the fact that today's law enforcement personel have to carry more weight on their belt and,given those facts,I too would probably like a tupperware gun on my belt.But since I don't have to wear them,just shooting them,I guess that disqualifies me from arguing about their value.So I'll stick with walnut(or rosewood)and blue steel.