Butt Plate Surprise

[Mike Franzen]

While taking down "Buster" my grade 2 10 gauge hammer gun I decided to remove the butt plate and see if anything was there. Pictured is what I found.

[Jim Wescott]

Might be David Trevallion, Trevallion Gunstocks of South Berwick, ME. 03908

[Mike Franzen]

Yep. That's what I was thinking.

[Patrick Butler]

After reading a few blogs in this forum regarding finding old hunting licenses and such in the
balance holes under butt plates, I used my investment in a set of correct screw-drivers to look under the plates of my small collection of Parkers and found just dust. However, I'll still keep looking...

Patrick

[Jean Swanson]

Give David a ring------207-704-0450----he may remember working on the gun & what he did. David has a good memory.

[Russ Jackson]

Give David a ring------207-704-0450----he may remember working on the gun & what he did. David has a good memory.

And always a pleasure to talk with !

[Phil Yearout]

Cool! I keep looking for at least an old hunting license or maybe an emergency $50 bill under the butt plates on guns I get. So far, no luck...

[Dean Romig]

Give David a ring------207-704-0450----he may remember working on the gun & what he did. David has a good memory.


Right! Because you'll probably never be able to find any evidence of a repair he might have made to it. :cool:

[greg conomos]

This is just me but I'd kinda rather not have the name of someone who repaired my gun scratched into it.

[Rick Losey]

on the underside of the buttplate?

IMHO- it adds interest to the history of the gun

[Dean Romig]

Just me, but I'd rather know David did it rather than wonder who had... and if I could trust the repair while not having known it had been done by a true artist.

[Erick Dorr]

Maybe he could have put in a copy of his old hunting license with the date of repair on it and made everyone happy rather than scratching on the underside of the plate. It doesn't bother me but where do you draw the line? This might encourage a lot of "smiths" to pull the electropencil out of the bottom drawer to sign their work.
Is the but-plate original or a replacement?
Erick

[Dean Romig]

Conversely, I would rather see Doug Turnbull's, Runge-DelGrego's, Brad Batchelder's, Dale Edmond's, and a host of other artisan's names or trademarks scratched, etched, or engraved into a redone gun and know for certain who did the work than only ever be able to guess who's work it was, judging by how it "looks". A receipt may only last so long and often will not even accompany the gun the very next time it changes hands.

[Mike Franzen]

I thought it was kind of cool seeing his name on there. The work done is part of the guns history and now I know who did it. As to its originality I don't know how to tell but would appreciate being educated. Thank you

[Jim Signore]

I bought a set of wood from Mr. Dudley for a small frame Lefever project gun of mine. When I got it and started looking, I found what I presume to be the original owners name and date scratched into the underside of the plate. Granted only the wood is all I have, but I thought it was kind of neat. Plus the gun I had came with the broken wood, and under that butt plate was a receipt for some work done in the early 80's. I enjoy the history aspect of stuff like that, and I think original owner's info scratched into the underside of a plate is fine. For restoration guys to start marking things, I'd rather see a receipt of some kind stuck somewhere I think. 1, it's not there's to mark unless they bought it, restored it and then are selling, and 2, I can start buying plates and carving whoever's name I want in it and try passing it off as having been worked on by someone better than me, if I were unscrupulous that is. People do stranger things...

[Erick Dorr]

Mike, I'm not qualified to judge the but-plates originality. What I would look for is does the wear on the plate match the rest of the gun. Others with more experience would know which dogs on the plate are right for the era. I didn't see a size # on yours and I don't know that a size # was used from the beginning when PB switched from metal plates. Others have said that PB chalked the sn on the inside of the plate and I've observed that this is true. Obviously in this case if the plate is original it would have been wiped off.
Erick

[Brian Dudley]

I too ch do under buttplates for surprise finds. The Lefever stock that Mr. Signore mentioned above was one of the few that I have personally found. Another one was finding two packs of matches in plastic wrap inside the butt of my Grandfsthers old Btowning Light Twelve.

In regards to a smith "marking" his work. I tend to lean towards the 'shoildnt do it' side. Custom work is one thing. But a restoration of repair should appear as untouched as possible when the work is done.

[Mike Franzen]

If I get a chance tomorrow I'll call Mr. Trevallion and see if he remembers working on the gun. This pic, if you look closely shows the gun had the stock cut off near the grip and was spliced back on. It's done so well it's barely noticeable.

[Bill Zachow]

I would be willing to bet that Mr. T. did not do the etching of the name and date. More likely done by the gun owner who sent the gun out to be fixed.

[Brian Dudley]

Odd that the splice is done there and not just behind the checkering pattern. if it was done there, it would be completely undetectable.

[edgarspencer]

Open up the back dust cover of your Grandpa's pocket watch and you'll see lots of chicken scratch. It was standard practice for watchmakers to leave their 'mark' when servicing a watch.

[Mike Franzen]

I have my grandfathers pocket watch. He was a railroader with the B&O. Brian I've wondered about that splice too. Any opinions as to why it was done in the first place? I'll bet the previous owner did scratch the name into the plate.

[edgarspencer]

I have my grandfathers pocket watch. He was a railroader with the B&O. Brian I've wondered about that splice too. Any opinions as to why it was done in the first place? I'll bet the previous owner did scratch the name into the plate.

I knew that. That is why I suggested looking inside his watch.

[greg conomos]

Parkers are like women. I know someone else used them before me - that's fine - but I don't need to their name added as a reminder.

[Mike Franzen]

Edgar you are amazing. I should be consulting you about the future.

[Daryl Corona]

Parkers are like women. I know someone else used them before me - that's fine - but I don't need to their name added as a reminder.

Great comparison Greg. You should use that as your signature on your posts.:)

[Jerry Parise]

Perhaps, a previous owner cut the stock off to use the gun with only a pistol grip for defense purposes. The original back end or a facsimile was put back on at a later date.

[Dean Romig]

I doubt it... generally when that is done to an old double the barrels are shortened too.

[Gerald McPherson]

I once found a hunting permit from 1918 under the butt plate of a 1917 20ga.The permit was for South Carolina. It was very yellow and brittle so I laminated and put it back inside. Sometime latter I sold the gun to a friend. His home was broken into and he lost it..

[Erick Dorr]

Wasn't there a chapter written on Trevallion doing a "butt transplant" some years ago? Was it MacIntosh who wrote it? Maybe why Trevallion's name is under the plate.
It was done to save cost of inletting the head of the stock when the original was intact.
I have the opposite situation on a French ou where the head of the stock was replaced and the balance of the stock was transplanted. Go figure. Maybe I should check under the butt plate on that one.
Erick

[Bob Brown]

Gunner, that was Trevallion and McIntosh that had the chapter on the butt transplant in Shotgun Technicana.

[Brett Souder]

I had an English stocked Winchester model 21 that Travallion left his name on and it helped when I sold the gun to the next owner. Excellent work the only way we knew the stock was replaced was because of his name was etched in the wood under the but pad.

[Dennis E. Jones]

I've only found two things besides dirt under a buttplate, the first was a small bundle of strike anywhere matches in the cleaning rod hole on a krag rifle and a picture of a woman circa 1900 glued to the butt under the buttplate of a drilling. I keep looking, you just never know.

[Mike Franzen]

I had an English stocked Winchester model 21 that Travallion left his name on and it helped when I sold the gun to the next owner.

I'm not looking to sell the gun but, if I was I can see where it might make a difference.