New to forum with question.

[JAKE MATTHEWS]

Recently picked up a vh grade 12 guage for an extremely good price. Gun is all original and in apprx. 75% condition. Only thing is that a very small part of the heel of the buttplate has been chipped (no damage to stock). Any one have any info or would know where i could get info ? serial #120870. Also where can i get another original plate? I removed plate and it contains the number 2 written in on it......would i ref. this with the new buttplate size? thanks for the help.

[Chuck Bishop]

Jake, if it's just chipped, I would get some AccuGlass, dye it black and fill in the chipped area, then file it to form.

[Jeff Kuss]

There is no info in the serialization book, but there is infor about your gun if you order a letter from our research committee. If it isn't too bad and I assume a chip is minor, you or a gunsmith can rebuild it with black accuglass. This is better than trying to refit another buttplate.
Welcome to the site.
Jeff

[JAKE MATTHEWS]

10-4 i will def. look into doing it the accuglass route. thanks for the info. Also do you know if winchester aa 50% less recoil/noise would be ok to shoot through this ?

[Chris Travinski]

Affarmative on the ammo.

[JAKE MATTHEWS]

one last question.....if i were to replace the original buttplate with a new replacement, would that affect the value of it, and if so about how much.

[George Lander]

Probably not a whole lot, Jake, but if were me I'd go the Acuglass route.

Best Regards, George

[Russ Jackson]

Jake ,One thing to think about ,Cost is only half of the battle ,when it's finished it doesn't matter at that point how good the price seemed at the time if the gun looks terrible ! I have a gun at Bachelders right now being recolored ,because his colors are very liken to original Parker colors ,the gun had already been refinished but the colors were so poorly done ,it would have been much better had who ever done them left well enough alone ! I would ask to see the Smiths work and prices and then decide who would do my gun ! Again Just my opinion ! Also ,Here are a few pictures of a set of D Grade Dam. Barrels Brad Bachelder did for me a couple of years ago ! Best ; Russ

[Chuck Bishop]

Jake, if your VH is in as good a shape as you say, there is no reason you couldn't shoot any normal 12ga shell through it. I've shot a few boxes of Winchester low noise shells in the past and they worked OK for 16yd trap however as I recall, they left quite a lot of unburnt powder in the barrel indicating a low pressure burn of the powder. I would also have reservations with shooting those shells in the winter when temps get below 32 degrees. Coldness also inhibits burn rate. A better choice would be the 1oz Winchester shells AAHLA127 or AAHLA128.

[JAKE MATTHEWS]

sounds good.....thanks again for the help. it is greatly appreciated.

[Mark Landskov]

Acraglas Gel would be the way to go for your buttplate repair. Regular Acraglas is thinner and does not allow much time for shaping, and such, before getting stiff. The kit has black and brown dyes for coloring. It only takes a tiny drop of the dye to color the 'glas. Brownells is the main source, but many internet retailers have it.