The fly in the ointment is that replacement stocks for that period , in my experience, are not easy to find. I have several guns of that vintage and many have had stock issues even though the guns are quite presentable. I suspect that it is because they are sidelocks. Many have issues that are with stocks that are already replacements from many years ago. A couple of them are guns I have found at a really good price that were purchased because they may have useable replacement stocks for a better barreled action. They turned out to not be useable generally because of the running changes in lockplates and their fit. I regularly am on the lookout for lifter stocks or butchered guns with a decent stock, but just don't find any. Ditto for pre-inletted semifinished stocks. Several of the major old time stock people tell me they have ditched their patterns.
Bottom line is that for a pre-hammerless gun there is not much hope of finding a donor stock. So either some form of repair to make a stock at least useable (and often ugly) or a restock are the the only two options. I call them all or none. If you are going for a restoration, it is always cheaper to buy someone else's older restoration than do it yourself. I have often done that.
|
Threaded Mode