Painting wood grain onto wooden butt extensions

[John Havard]

This past September while in Alaska for my annual moose hunt I found a little forlorn Parker VH 20 sitting on the shelf of an old favorite gun store. Nothing very special mind you, but a VH 20 in reasonably good shape except for the butt. Someone in days gone by had chopped off the butt to shorten it. Some time later a wooden extension about 1.5" long had been added to the butt to bring it back out to around 14 1/4". The old saying about "standing out like a diamond in a goat's a**" was never more true. The extension had been well fitted but was made with a blonde wood - probably maple.

Normally I rescue 3-legged dogs but this one had more like 3 1/2 legs, so I made it mine. After bringing it home I decided to send it to Mark Larson. I know full well that a VH isn't worth much but I couldn't leave it the way it was. As usual Mark did a great job of matching the nice wood grain (it was a late VH) on the extension.

The metal was not corroded but desperately needed a cleaning. Multiple vibratory cleanings later it was presentable again. The after-market DHBP was put onto the end of the wood and there you have it. More than anything a testament to Mark's ability to blend any extension.

[will evans]

Fantastic.

[Fred Lowe]

Did he paint the whole stock or just the extension?
Beautiful wood for a VH!

[John Havard]

Fred, he only painted the extension but the entire butt stock and fore end were refinished by Mark.

[charlie cleveland]

i looked this stock over good i could not see that it was painted...this fellow is good ....nice 20 ga for sure.... charlie

[Dean Romig]

A very nice job.

[John Campbell]

I've availed myself of Mark's talents many times. And in my opinion, no one in America can do what he does so well - gunstock magic!

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Dumb question, Will the paint hold up pretty well? He did a great job! Gary

[Robin Lewis]

I've availed myself of Mark's talents many times.

Several years ago I saw a gun that had this done to it and I was amazed. I wonder, does this hold up under the test of time? If a gun that has had this done to it is taken into the field and exposed to normal wear, how long until it starts to show. Is the process really a paint or is it a stain that penetrates the wood?

[John Havard]

Perhaps someone who has extended experience with this can comment on the durability? I do know that it's a paint and not a stain. Mark covers the entire stock including the painted portion with a finish designed to protect it. However, because it's paint I'm sure that a deep gouge would expose the different wood underneath.

[Russ Jackson]

John a Beautiful job indeed and a gun well worth the effort ! Congrats on a Great little 20 Bore !

[John Campbell]

I must admit that I haven't seen fit to abuse one of Mark's guns to the degree where its durability can be judged. But the finish he uses is very tough indeed, and with normal care should last a lifetime.

And... the paint on your Mercedes-Benz will come off with a deep gouge, too. To reveal that plain, ugly steel beneath...

[Kevin McCormack]

This technique was used by SKB in the mid-1970s on the Ithaca-imported Model 200 and 280 side-by-sides and the Model 600 series O/Us/ When I first saw some "before and after" repair samples I couldn't believe my eyes.

[wayne goerres]

I am curious. What is the cost of having this type of work done compared to having a gun restocked. Some of the work I have seen pic's looks great.

[John Havard]

Wayne, you can go to www.marklarsongunart.com and get a pretty good idea of his prices. It's quite a bit less than having a gun restocked.