An accessory of rifles that consists of two parts, the forestock and the buttstock. The forestock surrounds the barrel, allowing it to be gripped and stabilized by the non-trigger hand. The buttstock is a trapezoidal section of material attached to the rear of the action which allows the weapon to be braced against the shoulder for stability and aligned with the eye for aiming. Stocks were traditionally made of wood but have also been made of synthetic materials in recent decades.
