Several years ago I had to cut down a bunch of Hawthorns to clear a path for a surveyors transit sight line. That was by far the hardest wood I ever cut, even when green. A very large one would only have a trunk 8 or 10 inches in diameter, but it would take more time to cut through than an oak tree twice the diameter. I actually got a few sparks off the saw chain as if I was hitting nails or other embedded metal. The sharp 6d nail sized Hawthorn needles that went into my hands and right through my boot soles added to the fun. I burned the wood not knowing that it makes great tool handles because of its' close grain and hardness.
While the Hawthorne wood is hardly suitable for gun stocks, I did buy one I Grade Syracuse Lefever that was stocked in what appears to be white oak. Whoever did the work did a very nice job, and all of the inletting and details of the exterior including the checkering and the flutes at the nose of the comb were a duplicate of an original factory walnut stock. It is stained a walnut color, but it is clearly oak. I wish I knew the story behind that stock.
