Yes, Poplar does have a different odor, sort of a sweet smell. I heat with wood principally hard maple, beech, ash & oak but if I come across a fallen poplar I usually saw it up for for use in the early or late periods of the heating season as it does not yield the amount of heat and length of burn needed for really cold weather fires. As soon as I run the cut pieces thru my logsplitter I can smell the aroma of it. It is a fairly soft wood so that might be the reason for it's tendency to warp. I cannot say I have ever seen a poplar stock on an Enfield. Pic is of the overhead in my living room. I chose tongue & groove Poplar for it because of it's widely varying grain patterns, colors and many knots. It has more personality than Pine. Gee, I should have put an Enfield in that pic somewhere!!