Posted by Adam Steinquist on March 17, 2024, 9:45 pm
Hi all!
I wanted to reach out to this group to see if anyone has seen a stock modification like the one on the stock of this 1895 Grade No. 2 16 gauge. It looks like someone had this stock modified to accommodate a strong jaw line or something like that. Curious if this may have been done originally from the factory, or if it is more likely that it was done somewhere along the last 130 years. It seems that it was done with attention to detail as it isn’t rough hewn and the workmanship and surface prep of this area of the wood matches that of the rest of the stock.
I picked it up recently and am stripping the non-original finish and have repaired a crack in the head, and am considering trying to fill this void before applying a French polish finish. However, if it’s possibly that it’s original, I would rather leave it alone.
Another curiousity with this gun is that both the buttstock and the fore end have the letter “M” stamped in the wood - any idea what that might indicate? The checkering is pretty shoddy, and looks like it was done by a brand new employee or maybe someone that had a few beers at lunch