First of all, a big "thank you" to all of those on here for providing such a mine of useful information: it's obvious that there are many incredibly knowledgeable enthusiasts and experts here. I'm especially appreciative of the balanced and detailed discussions regarding damascus barrels that helped me form a view about whether to shoot them.
I'm hoping that some of you might be able to help out with a bit of a dilemma regarding the modification of old guns to improve fit?
More specifically the gun to which this question relates is a wonderful damascus barrelled Reilly hammer gun that is a joy to shoot but would really benefit from a stock extension to get to my usual measurements (having arms like a gibbon this is a problem I'm going to face when I succumb to the inevitable "need" to buy another old gun).
Thus far I've tried a slip-on neoprene extension but it's proven less stable than I'd like, and the less flexible leather slip-on extensions are too small to go over the butt.
As a result I face a bit of a dilemma: should I take the plunge and have the stock modified with an ebony (or similar) extension or would it be sacrilegious to do so?
If the gun was a bit of a dog/a restoration project then I'd have no qualms and would get the work done in a heartbeat. It's not though, so I'm struggling to reconcile the thought of "corrupting" something immaculate that has survived 140 years without molestation with the fact that I will never sell this gun, probably have at least 30 years shooting left in me, and plan to have at least one or two days a year using it on live quarry...
What would you do?
