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Unread 12-03-2021, 08:02 PM   #3
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Well, I just spent over an hour off and on typing a response about my current experience with a stock like this, and due to a timeout I lost it all. so I'll give you the quick opinion.

The barrel condition is absolutely the first thing to check. Bore and wall thickness along with internal condition. If there is enough metal to fix any problems and be safe, you are good.

The metal looks pretty good actually, and with some deep cleaning and carding of the barrels, you should be good to go for a decent looking shooter.

I am not as positive about the stock as the other comment above. I have been working on a stock like this for a week or two and have been frustrated at every turn. Unless you have incredible luck, I will bet that the head of the stock is completely oil soaked. In a gun this old, that means the wood is likely punky and weak. Even if you can completely deoil the wood,it has no strength after gluing; the wood will be much weaker than the glue. This is the problem I have been fighting recently, and I am only trying to make a pattern stock.

I have been working with gunstocks and multiple kinds of stringed instruments over the last 4 decades. The pictures above show three breaks, not cracks, across the grain in the weakest area of the stock and one older crack that has been glued and pinned with a brass rod.

Breaks are much more serious than cracks in weakened wood. I have repaired them in boxlocks because the wood is generally thicker than a sidelock and a dowel can be glued in longitudenly and carry the recoil force. The sidelocks plus internal cuts generally leave you with 4 very thin sections which are too small for this.

The stock may be salvageable but I don't think a simple glue and pin is the answer. If it were mine I would tru to deoil, glue with the breaks meshed as perfectly as possible then remove enough wood at the bottom of the sidelock inlets to allow laying a acouple of layers of carbon fiber beded in epoxy.

As far as full restorations, if you have a complete restoration done professionally, the price will generally run $4000 to $5000 if a new stock is involved. This would include barrels, case color and new stockwork along with with any mechanical refurbishing needed.

I have been really following the low end market on auction boards, and my impression is that in the composite barrel guns, if it is well used with either stock or barrel issues, the opening will be in the $600-900 dollar range. With both issues. They are essentially not sellable. If the barrels are decent and the stock not too bad, the opening will be around$1000. A solid gun that looks over the hill will list around 1200 opening. Of all these guns, only about 20 to 25% sell at these numbers. Just my observation.
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