I have a georgeous piece of walnut that I made into a sporting rifle stock for a M52C Winchester target rifle. I cut the barrel to sporter dimensions. As it turned out the stock after it was cut to shape had the "hole" that was the center of the log come out in the side of the butt. I inlaid a piece of the blank to cover the "hole" and it came out fine. However, if you look closely, the inlay can be detected. If you can arrange it so the "hole" comes out in the butt plate area, it's no big deal since it will be covered by a butt plate or a recoil pad.
Johnpe
