Speaking of staining where does the "Armory Red" color of Springfield rifle stocks come from? It's present on my 1868 Trapdoor, on Krags, '03s and Garands. On one site dedicated to the '03 posters say the rifles were stained in a vat of Logwood (Hematoxylin)before the dip in hot linseed oil. I haven't seen any official armory literature to support this, but my sources are very limited, and I wonder why they would bother. An article on the CMP site says the color comes from aging of the finish and all the various preservatives, oils, sweat, and solvents that end up on the stock. Anyone know for certain?
Jerry Liles
