Maybe in Doug's original post, he should have used the word "alter" instead. I think "butcher" raised a lot of neck hairs.
I happen to agree with him. I have been at this wonderful site for a few years, and having seen most posts from everyone here, have come to realize that most if not all have more than one side by side. Why, because we like them, some collect various makes, I just happen to like the "elsies".
My opinion, would be like a few have stated, when you buy the gun, you bought it for a few reasons, most bought it for shooting, so you knew the condition and hopefully had or had some one measure the bores and chambers for you. Also most of these old guns, most did not have choke identification on the barrels, so we take it as it is stated on the bore gage. "Elsies did come from the factory full/full unless other wise ordered, and a letter will not tell what the chokes were, so if we get one we like, we settle for the chokes it has. The only deal breaker might be honed bores.
I also think that Doug's statement and mine also, is that people who first buy a gun without trying it first, want to have the chokes opened or the stock cut and a recoil pad put on.
In the type of hunting-shooting I do, I really have no need for full/full and 32" barrels, but I have some and will not change them. On some that I have bought, with recoil pads on them, if the stock wasn't cut, I replace it with a butt plate. On the ones that were cut and a recoil pad put on, a few were still to short and I have added wood extensions to them. To me still nicer than a non period recoil pad, and nicer than a 1 1/2" re-pro. Silvers pad.
My favorite barrel length used to be 26" imp.cyl./mod., in a few o/u I still have in 20 ga. and 28 ga. These were used for skeet and upland hunting for birds as big as pheasants. Now my favorite in these old guns is either 28" mod/full, 28" imp.cyl/full or 30" imp.cyl/full. None were done at the factory, I believe, but they were not done by me.
This is what suites me, and I realize that it doesn't suite everyone and like I stated, we all have more than one, so use one that suites you for your conditions, or find one that does.
Is there such a thing as having too many?
Didn't put this in the original post because I was not done putting the finish on it, but this is the extension I added to the stock that someone did "butcher". Some won't like it, but to me it is better than any recoil pad, Total length of stock before with 1" Pachmayr recoil pad was 13" now it is 14 1/8" to end of butt plate.
Some might say restock it, but how much would you pay for a piece of wood like that?
