doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Overstocked

I have seen two guns that were IMO overstocked. One was an L.C. Smith field grade that had been restocked with an incredible piece of wood which hadn't been checkered. It looked like a bum wearing a pair of spitshined shoes.

The other I can't remember except the guy paid a large amount money (according to him) for a pretty ordinary O/U. This was a work in progress.

I think, but don't know, that original fine guns of the past two centuries had great wood, but nothing spectacular (my definition of spectacular.) Look at them and you'll see what I mean. I believe this was because of a Victorian sense of taste: they liked nice, but not spectacular in their personal items.

I'm not degrading Best Grade old guns, I think they're wonderful, but I just think they reflected the tastes of their times, which was more conservative, whereas modern stocks reflect the tastes of our times, which tend to be more razzle-dazzle. Am I wrong in this?

Most of the Westley Richards that I've seen/owned had much better than ordinary wood even on the lower grades. But I do know what you mean about looking too tarted up for the gun.

Better a fancy piece of wood on a ordinary gun, than a fancy piece of wood on a ordinary piece of furniture. 'no such thing as too pretty...' Everybody likes a tart now and then.

I only object to the wood finish itself being out of place. Most "tart" fancy wood also gets super gloss finish. It'd be much more fitting if it had original finish.

I'm not without a "tart" or two myself.

A common 12g A grade




and this on a Nitro Special

I have a Syracuse era LC Smith 10-gauge F Grade hammer gun (lowest quality) with original stunning stock wood that should have been reserved for only the highest grade Smith guns; and also have a G Grade LeFever with original stock wood way above G quality; and I've seen other similar examples over the years. By the same token, I've seen more than my share of high-grade American double guns will relatively plain and disappointing wood; I suppose folks then are very much as they are now, we all have different tastes when it comes to what we enjoy.

I wouldn't say either of the guns pictured are excessive. However, I think, and have seen, guns that were way overboard for what they were.

The other thing is age and oil adds a patina to wood (it gets darker)so it doesn't look so flamboyant.

Fads in the aftermarket (the stocks of California custom rifles come to mind) are one thing. What a production maker has on hand in terms of dried blanks or can get at the moment largely determines what gets worked to go on a gun so there is bound to be some high grade wood "wasted" on field grades and some plain Jane on higher grades. Anyone who knows the Morton Salt/FN story knows that demand often outruns supply and expediency in correction of the deficit can be a disaster. Personally, I think stocks with a lot of figure and no checkering are a dead giveaway of the amateur reach that exceeds grasp. Still why anyone would dislike pretty wood on a utilitarian gun is beyond me.

jack

I have been saving this piece to tart up a plain gun.

Oh Man Chuck.....that is nice. And the grain flow up through the grip! Will kick a$$ on any gun. We carved a simalar blank for one of them Disco Decade SKBs one time.....aint ashamed of it either.

What are you fixin' to put it on?
As always, Hoping this finds everyone well;
kraft

Kraft,
I haven't found a gun worthy yet.