doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Side panels on sporter stocks

Please forgive what may be a dumb question regarding the side panels on some early Mauser and Springfield sporters. Looking at such a stock from an end view, are the panel surfaces parallel to each other or are they inclined in toward the center of the stock,ie: if a caliper were applied to the top and bottom edges, spanning the stock, would the distance between the two top edges equal the the measurement between the bottom edges or would the bottom measurement be shorter?

Also do they serve a purpose other than aesthetics?

Thanks.