Stock wood: How do I harvest wood for stock blanks?

It is difficult to determine the quality of the wood while the tree is standing; the cut log will reveal much more. Most yard-grown maples are unlikely to have significant curl. Additionally, gunstocks are generally made from the sapwood (white wood), as the dark heartwood is typically unusable. If the heartwood is not too large and you do not require curly figure, the wood could work well for stocks.