20 gauge stock repair

[Alan Phillips]

Do any members have any idea if this stock could be repaired? It is an 0 frame 20 gauge with 30" barrels and high condition. I would think it would be worth spending some money on this gun. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Rick Losey]

Hmm, looks like an attempt at a cross over stock

Wood could be spliced in after cutting into that. But I doubt it would give you the right look.

I would go for new wood, and end up with a gun that fits you


An after thought -this may be a good candidate for a butt transplant. The original stock is cut behind the grip, and a donner stock or new wood is grafted on. There was an article about this in Shooting Sportsman a couple years ago. Properly done the joint did not show

[Larry Frey]

This gun would be a good candidate for a "Butt Transplant" as shown in "Shotgun Technicana" by Trevallion and McIntosh.

[Brian Dudley]

I agree, I think the only reasonable repair to this would be putting another back half onto the gun. And of course there is a new replacement or a used replacement. Being a 20g you are looking at either a 1 or an 0 frame of you were to look for a replacement stock.

It's too bad that was done. Looks like great wood apart from that. Obviously whoever did it needed a lot of help in getting the gun to fit.

[charlie cleveland]

good as some of them bows are with wood repair i think i d let one of them have a try at fixing it..i see that there is a bad low place but some of them boys mite have some majic to work on it... charlie

[John Dallas]

Someone really wanted cast off, didn't they? Didn't George Bird Evans do that to a Purdey?

[Rick Losey]

Someone really wanted cast off, didn't they? Didn't George Bird Evans do that to a Purdey?

George lowered and thinned the comb a little but neatly. I have held that Purdey and you wouldn't know it was done. He also shortened the stock later in life. It has had an extension added by the next care taker, that was done very well.

[John Campbell]

Alan:
A butt "transplant" is certainly one option. Another is to send this buttstock to the Stock Doctors -- or Mark Larson. They can add wood to the area, regrain and refinish the stock so you'd never know it was an issue. For testimony on Mark Larson, I refer you to my feature in the summer Double Gun Journal.

[Justin Julian]

Ditto what Kensal said...here's a link to Larson's website. I've never used him, but the before and after pics sure look amazing....

http://www.marklarsongunart.com/#!extension-blending-portfolio

[Brian Dudley]

If you are attached to having the original stock. The Stock Dr. for a transplant, or to Larson for an addition and paint job is the way to go. If you do not care about having the original stock on the gun, a replacement stock or new one is the way to go.

Keep us up to speed as to what you decide to do.

[Alan Phillips]

I want to thank all who responded for their excellent advice. The gun is going up to Mr. Larson along with the original butt plate. It will no doubt be several months but I will post the before and after pictures for your viewing. This should be a lot of fun.
alan

[John Campbell]

Alan:
To reprise a famous line from the Indiana Jones saga, "you have chosen wisely." I am sure you will be well pleased.

[Patrick Hanna]

Alan, I came into this thread after you had already decided to have the gun restocked. Well, I don't think you'll regret that. Do ask for your old stock back. You'd be surprised how many good pieces of wood you can get out of that: Grips for your .45 ACP, handles for chisels and knives. Drawer pulls. Etc. etc. etc. I think you've got my drift.

[Alan Phillips]

Patrick, thanks for your comments. The stock will not be replaced. A piece will be spliced into the existing wood and the original butt put back on. The original grip, checkering, etc will remain.
alan

[Alan Phillips]

Here is the finished result. Original stock(what was left) butt and PG retained. Also retained original dimensions.

[charlie cleveland]

very nice ...it really looks great...a job well done...charlie

[Patrick Hanna]

Yes, that's beautiful work! I can't see the splice in your photos, but I guess that's the idea, isn't it? Congratulations.

[Justin Julian]

Superb workmanship...and at a fraction of the cost of a new stock, I would imagine.

[Jordan Palmer]

I have a cracked stock on mine is well, to the point it is loose and probably dangerous to shoot. From all the info I have it is a 1901 12ga vulcan steel #2 frame VHE all matching serials, the bore looks pretty good. it has some light rusting. Do you think it would loose value if I Were To Replace The Stock entirely? It's not worth much anyways but I have a hard time repairing/restoring anything knowing my attempts are reducing the value.

[Brian Dudley]

If it has a broken stock that makes in un usable now, then it should be replaced. Either with a new one, or a sound original replacement.
Making the gun a sound shooter will surely improve the value. However, a poorly fitted or repaired stock will not make it worth as much as it could be.
Granted, if the gun is in average condition, a well crafted new replacement stock would not make the gun worth more than the repairs would cost. But it would be a proper repair and restore the functionality of the gun as well as the overall value.

[Jordan Palmer]

I'm no expert on guns by any means, but I would say the rust could be cleaned up without any evasive procedures leaving some nice patina and my guess it's somewhere between fair & average other than the stock. All the mechanics seems to operate very smoothly.

I am a decent woodworker ( traditional hand tools) so I might just give it a go on making a new stock myself. Any tips from the experts would be apreciated.. I think I have a source on some 50 yr old air dried quarter sawn black walnut that would do nicely.

Maybe someone can confirm this, I was told the ejector mechanism was a rare option on the VH and increased the value by alot.

Thanks for all the great info gentlemen.
This site is truly a wealth of knowledge.

[Brian Dudley]

Ejectors would not really be super rare on a V grade, or any other low grade gun for that matter. Well... Super rare on a Trojan. Tee hee.
They were a higher price option. Later on they were standard on the high grade guns and a customer had to request to NOT have them.
Ejectors are a value adder for sure when it comes to book and market value. But true value is if a buyer wants ejectors on a gun they are going to use.

If you are to fashion a stock from scratch, it is a lot of tedious work. But can be rewarding for the hobbyist as a winter project. Or having a stock roughed out on a duplicator that you can then fit and finish can be a way to go as well for a DIY job.

[Jordan Palmer]

I would imagine getting the shape of the stock is only about 10% of the work then 85% fitting and 5% finish work lol. I can hear my hand planes, chisels and gouges call me to the garage now to start a prototype.

I will post some pictures here in a bit. Maybe get an expert opinion on this thing, to help finalize my decisions on this sxs's future. It's either going to be an ugly unusable gun handing in my living room or a slightly less ugly gun that works hanging in my living room. :)