I have a chance at buying my dream gun, a 16 bore royal sidelock. I have odd dimensions and would need to have the gun restocked upon purchase. It also has a heinous extension as of now which is another reason I would restock and I'm guessing part of the reason that it's in my price range. Anyways I am just wondering if there is anyone that you all would trust to restock such a double other than sending it back to holland. The cost of a new holland stock starts at around 10k.

The person I know with the skills and experience is Del Whitman of Lake Ann, MI, (231) 275-0140. I know he has worked on numerous English and Italian guns of comparable quality. Obviously, there are others, but Del is the one I know and the one who has done work for me.

I would highly recommend Dennis Earl Smith and many other ACGG members, most of which can do a best grade restock at half the price of H&H.

there is a guy in utah who worked for hollands and is a stocker

Yes, by all means, buy the gun and get it re-stocked.
But in the short time, have the extension blended.

http://www.marklarsongunart.com/#!extension-blending-portfolio

Mike

Dennis Smith is very good and so is another of our members. He restocked this Linder. His name is Doug Mann and he is a member of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild.

The interior inletting is as good as the exterior.

I had the problem of an unsuitable stock on a fine gun and solved it by having Keith Kearcher do a butt transplant.
danc

I would think that you might first wish to have a gunsmith familiar with English fine guns have a look at it first, to make sure the barrels are good, on face, tight, and in proof (or have enough thickness remaining to endure a rebore and remain in proof), and ensure that the locks, ejectors, are in good internal condition. The cost of proper mechanical repairs to return an old best gun to service can fast outrun the cost of simple restocking. Nothing on these guns is cheap.... But they are such a pleasure to own, and shoot, they are well worth the cost!
Good luck!

Doug Mann did some work for me on a W C Scott high grade SLE a few years back and I was pleased with the results.
Jim

http://www.hodginsgunstocks.com/services.html

OWD

Doug Mann does really good work.and is a really nice guy

I believe the name you are thinking of is Paul Hodgins. Former stocker for Holland & Holland.

If you have an English Best, Paul Hodgins is who I would work with. Kirk Merrington amongst others recommends Mr. Hodgins.

ph. = 435-753-2796

Paul Hodgins made a stock for my Holland 20b. Perfection is the only appropriate word to describe the quality. Perfection, however, does not come cheap.

It all comes down to time and money. Good stockers are going to have work lined up for the Fall so it will be next year before you get the gun completed. All the right people to do the job will charge basically the same. Never trust the stories of a cheap, fast and expert stocker someone has hidden away. All crap as far as I can tell. Talent gets paid and there is enough work needed to keep the best stockers busy and prices high.

The question you did not ask, that most people ask first, is how much will it cost. Simple answer is a lot but not as much as many think for what you need and are getting. I would have a fitting with the stocker, with a try gun if possible or have him alter your new gun's stock to make either a pattern for duplication or a working stock for trial. You might even be able to get that done fairly quickly and shoot the gun this Fall to confirm it meets your needs. then send it to the stocker and have him make your new stock to match your custom altered original.

If you intend to make this your default, go to gun, for the next ten year then do the project. When you consider spreading the investment over a decade it makes sense to do it. If you are going to trade the gun off next year understand that you are going to loose most, if not all, of the cost of the new stock.

Mr. Hodgins' work us as fine as anyone on the planet. I fear a full restock from him may cost as much or more than the initial price of the gun. Sending it to Italy, while a bit of a hassle, would be the least expensive and fastest way to get excellent work done. Perugini & Visini, Piotti and others can do this quite well.
Regards,
Jeff

Paul Hodgins did the stock job on my 450/400 Jeffery that is shown on his site. The quality was first rate and was done in the correct style which is very important. This was the second stock job he had done for me and I would use him again if the gun warrants that kind of $$$ investment.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of having my Paradox stocked by a gunmaker known to many of you and it was a disaster. I saved half the cost of Paul's work but someday will end up paying Paul to do it right.

In stocking a fine gun you get what you pay for.

http://www.hodginsgunstocks.com/tour2.html

I had a conversation with Paul Hodgins a short while ago about re-stocking my Holland sidelock and the quote was 9K + wood.
I agree with everyone saying you get what you pay for. A less expensive option may be to send it to the UK and have the work done there by a well known stocker to the trade. The main reason that it's cheaper to have it done there is due to the greater number of high end stockers available. This will probably be the route that I take at some point.

A bit cheaper than $9k when he made mine, but still rather expensive. I wonder how much it will cost you to get your gun to England?? I'd be surprised if you could get it shipped there and back (& they will need the entire gun) for much less than $1000.00. And it's not much fun dealing with Customs.

I spoke with Paul last spring based on several recommendations and his quote for new stock and FE was in that price range, plus blank (and it will be an expensive blank if you are going to pay that much for the work!). I did not question the value proposition but it was a mismatch for the gun in question. I would agree that sending a gun back to the England would be very expensive - but if that is done through H&H's NY gunroom would those costs/hassles be reduced?

The other consideration is the impact of restocking on value. Presumably restocking by the maker would have less negative effect on value than a restocking by an independent craftsmen. Hard to quantify, no doubt.

Sending it to the UK and getting it back will cost you $2000+. You may be able to bundle it with some other guns going over and save on costs, but you'll still have to get it to the stocker -- and know which stocker to pick.

Mr Hodgins may cost a lot up front, but his work is worth it down the line.

A second rate restock will kill the H&H's value....and make it look like sh!t....

OWD

I actually feel fortunate that I do not own an H & H Royal in need of a stock replacement.

Ding, Ding, Ding!!!!!

You, Sir, are the winner! First place trophy, in this case, is hanging on to your wallet, and continuing to hunt with your current, restock not needed, shotguns.

You are fortunate, indeed. That makes at least two of us, anyway.

Best,
Ted

A profound statement there, Ted. Thanks for such useful insight.

A sixteen gauge Holland Royal in need of a restocking..... ahhh I think I'd take that headache.

PS Pay Hodgins, be happy.

check with the acgg site lots of really good stock makers american checkering is the best so you have that going for you

I agree that a 16 gauge Royal is a rare and neat gun. One may want to consider if this particular Royal is of the first, second, or third lock design. The latter seems the most valuable and could stand the additional dollars more easily.

If you send an H&H back for repairs/restocking through their US showroom, is that a less expensive than shipping a gun back directly?

Paul Hodgins is as good as anyone working today, in my opinion. He is expensive but you get what you pay for. By way of comparison, We are re-stocking a Holland & Holland 12-bore for a client in the UK right now. The total cost, including wood, to re-stock the butt and forend is £6,500 plus VAT. Without the forend, you can reduce the cost by £1,000. Getting the gun to the UK is trickier if it is post 1898, as you need a UK individual import and export licence as well asa USA for m 6 from the ATF dept. It is not 'difficult' but it does require someone to do it and it takes time and therefore costs money.

"GrouseGunner," I most enthusiastically third the previous recommendations of Paul Hodgins (tel.: 435-753-2796) as your gunstock maker of choice. I also commend to you another correspondent's suggested method of cognitively spreading the cost of restocking over whatever period of time you intend to use the gun as a sound way of considering cost versus benefit. The initial cost of restocking may be substantial, but that cost is then spread over the many years of service gun and a finely made (and fitted to your individualized measurements, do not forget) and finished stock will subsequently provide you. It is also vitally important that the chosen professional gun-stocker make the critical final selection of the wood slab from which he will shape, finish and chequer your stock(s).

Mr. Hodgin's quality work on my antique and vintage guns has been superb and faultless in every aspect. As well, his restoration work (wood and metal, by the way), though not the subject here, is equally so. He is an articled gunmaker (as is Kirk Merrington, also previously mentioned, tel.: 830-367-2937) and can perform all work associated with building, stocking, or repairing a gun or rifle.

Correspondent "Smallbore" (whose opinion I also highly respect) has personally seen an example of the restoration work (and of course seen other examples of his work too) Mr. Hodgins performs with respect to one of my high grade W. W. Greener guns, and therefore can rightfully attest, as he earlier did here, to the first quality of Mr. Hodgin's work. Most will not know that Mr. Merrington, who solely performs all my gun barrel work, whether smooth bore or rifled tubes, began his illustrious career as a gunstocker with, if memory serves, the firm of Churchill. My point is that when Mr. Merrington recommends someone to me within the same professional trade, his opinion definitely influences my decision concerning which peer should be seriously considered to perform work he himself does not undertake. And he recommends Mr. Hodgins.

Like many of this site's correspondents presumably, I admittedly am something of a perfectionist, and thus prefer to commission other professionals, artisans or craftsmen, to whom my hard-earned custom eventually will be remitted, who evince the same perfectionism, in order for me to ultimately realize the production of best quality work that meets my personal expectations. In that respect, Mr. Hodgins will not disappoint.

Good luck with your anticipated project! I know you will enjoy the 16-bore Holland & Holland 'Royal' that you currently have under consideration for purchase, if and once restocked. Which small bore, in my opinion and from direct experience afield, I have come to know as the nonpareil upland game gun bore. With my


Best regards,

Edwardian

The above inevitably bring to mind scenes from my visit at Perazzi: an order for a stock was received, executed and couriered in less than four hours, guaranteed that it would fit when it arrived. The fitting needing no more than a hex driver.

No, I am not comparing the H&H to the Perazzi. It is the process that seems so anachronistic. The fit of the Perazzi stock "wings" and tang are no less demanding than the lock plates of the H&H, yet there is no equiavalent machine for the Holland (and others), even though the metal work at the factory went over to CNC years ago.

Whoever develops software for precision stock inletting for shotguns will make a packet. Inletting by using the metal work as reference, and not merely copying. I know it is done for other things using laser scanners in conjunction with programs like Solidworks. Once the inletting is done the stockmaker can take over the shaping and other subtleties at a lower cost and much shorter time.

Have you considered a Butt transplant, David Travallion would be the man.

+1

SRH

The posters that are expressing reverse snobbery should be aware that it often comes off as plain old jealousy!

Personally, I wish I had a 16ga H&H Royal in the condition & configuration that justified restocking to my specifications by a top stockmaker.

If the gun was such that the expense of a complete restock was questionable I would give serious consideration to a butt transplant assuming the head of the stock was in good shape. I've seen several of these done that were virtually undetectable.

The guy in the photo posted by Edwardian could use a butt transplant to get rid of that thing.
N

I wonder how long it took the old men to completely make a stock. I mean, those Englishmen who had spent their entire careers stocking guns. I've seen a lot of what were originally medium to low priced guns that displayed spectacular stock work.

Another thought: why do we never hear of sending a gun to Spain for restocking? Seems they have some incredible craftsmen over there.

Good one! The gentleman on the shooting stick doesn't look all that happy. Maybe he forgot to unfold the seat or needs to see a proctologist.