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.

[Jawjadawg]

Fantastic.

[Quail1]

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.

[Kensal Rise]

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!

[Hammer Gun]

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

[Bindlestiff]

Originally Posted by John Campbell

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.