Maybe the jury is still out but I suspect the stock is a honest attempt at duplication of the original, including the checkered cheeks. The combination of bluing applied to the forend and butt, along with obvious oil that has leached into the wood aft of the breech balls, detracts somewhat but still works for me from an aesthetic angle.
Harold and I must live with the mysteries. Just like firing pins, stocks break. How and when they were repaired or replaced matters as a curiosity. Is a repaired stock more desirable than a decent replacement? Fords v Chevies in my neck of the woods. But to a purist, the original, pinned or not, gets the nod. My guess.
She'll be put to the test June 6 when some sidekicks show for a clay bird bar-b-cue.
I hope I don't let her down!
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