doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 20 Gauge William Evans - What to do with the stock

As I mentioned in the EM Reilly line, my wife has a William Evans SxS.

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=437575&page=1

It was given to to her by General D.K. (Monty) Palit 26 years ago in New Delhi. General Palit was Sandhurst, British Indian Army during WWII, then Indian Army Major General and G-3 Chief of Operations during the Sino-Indian War and a noted military author. He passed away about 10 years ago.




It is 20 gauge, serial number 5210 made in 1901. General Palit shot 2 3/4 shells in it. I have too but am a bit loath to continue. It kicks harder than my 12 bores. General Palit said the side plates and accoutrements were silver which hardly seems possible but are certainly striking. It has a small silver oval plate in the butt with the initials "WHW". William Evans said it was ordered on Nov 22, 1900 (Thanksgiving Day that year) as part of a six gun order and delivered on July 4, 1903 (prophetic?). It was bought in 1904 by a man named Wakefield.

It has a long pull - 15 1/2 inches; a stock extension has been added at some point. The recoil pad possibly was added at that time and is now so hard it will bruise a shoulder.

So here is the question. It has an emotional appeal for wife as is. But with the long pull is not so ergonomic and the recoil pad definitely has to be changed. Color? Black or orange? (I prefer the latter). Do I fit it now to my 6'1" son who will inherit it? I.e. Keep the extension or reduce/eliminate it? I'm of half a mind to just put a recoil pad on it, maybe only 1/2" in depth and leave it at that for the future generation to figure out.

well- just to be picky - it cannot have silver sideplates because it is a boxlock

but- what a great problem to have, what a nice little gun to have received as a gift

the amount of recoil may be because you were shooting heavy 2 3/4 shells in a 2 1/2 chambered lightweight gun

Is your wife going to shoot it - then fit it for her

if she wants to give it to your son- fit it to him

Orange works for me too

I'd lose the hard pad and the extension both and then fit a new pad (orange) to fit whomever will be shooting it presently...Geo

Go with the standard English 20 bore load of 13/16th. ounce of shot and enjoy it. Ditch the inappropriate loads! 20's sometimes can be kicking little pigs. As the stock is an extension just have it removed but keep it so that it can be put back in the future. Lagopus.....

I think OHO is correct. I wouldn't mess with the stock unless you go through the motion to fit it to a specific person. Then you can decide which options to exercise. You can get recoil pads as thin as 1/2" and also could just put on a buttplate, if you need to shorten the LOP. Big heavy orange pads are not my favorite.

What you do to the rear end of the stock will also bear on the balance of the gun, so choose wisely.

Have the chambers measured and you might find the recoil lessens if you have 2-1/2" chambers and use the right ammo...I wouldn't be surprised if the chamber length is marked on the barrel flats.

Nice gun, you'll like it better if you use a 2 1/2 7/8 load in it. Try the lighter loads before you mess with the stock.

Send it to the Stock Doctor, AKA Dennis Smith. He will do wonders.
The little gun deserves a second chance.

The second photo (from underneath) seems to show plenty of cast-off, possibly because of the extra long butt stock.

You are right - the cast off is significant. You can see it in the below photograph.



Whomever added the extension of course kept the angle. Unfortunately it's set for a right hander and my wife shots left handed. I'm thinking the original pull was 13.5 inches..add a pad and it's 14" which is pretty much a "standard" pull.

General Palit got mad at her in Delhi because she was deliberately missing ducks flying down the canal and scolded her that if she didn't want to shoot her meal, she should become vegetarian. (This in UP where vegetarian was a religion and I had to leave a shikari to guard the jeep to keep locals from letting the air out of the tires.

That shotgun has way too much history behind it to alter it. Put it away and buy another William Evans.