doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Why a checkered butt?

I once owned a Wm. Evans that had what I thought was a fancy piece of highly figured wood. Well, turned out that a lot of the figure was inked on. I was so disappointed when I discovered this that I got rid of the gun. This previous learning experience is a big reason that I now prefer an oiled stock with no butt pad. Whenever a gun maker has a stock like the RBL, I am very suspicious as to the actual quality of the wood.

Max, that's a shame about the "inked" stock. There are funiture refinishers out there that do that all the time. Some call it "grain painted" and Thomas Jefferson was good at doing it with a feather.
When it's done you can't tell the difference between of what is real and painted on.
I'm sure that it is also done with stocks as you have said, just don't try to refinish what might not be.

You'd have to get mad at that grand old firm of W&C Scott - as from what I can understand, Wm. Evans was just a peddler of fine guns and other stuff!
Btw Max, sidelock or boxlock Evans?

Maybe the slippery surface of the gun rack can be covered with some thin rubber material, which looks appropriate, that will hold the buttstock in place.

Lowell, it was a sidelock hammer with a great oak & leather case.I hated to let that case go more than the gun.I had to pay a furniture repair guy some good money to re-ink the figure in the wood. All part of my double gun school tuition. With second hand guns I now expect the unexpected. Many issues do not surface until you have lived with the gun for awhile (sorta like new wives).

Jack, that's halarious...and true. It always struck me that the Galazan pads looked like they should have a pumpkin face on them and only be used in late October. I suppose Halloween is a tradition even in England?

Without getting into an argument and only expressing an opinion: I like a checkered buttplate on a high grade gun. It does seem to add eligence to the gun. But on a working gun a pad might work better. And one needs to be careful of nicking the end. One nice chip and that eligence is gone.

Jack, ugly as the red or orange pad is, there is always the white and black line of spacers followed by an open sided pad with the triangular holes showing. And a big thick black spacer with a black pad attached is just as ugly. About the only pad that looks reasonable to me is a leather covered one. (Have two more to cover myself.)

I agree, Jerry, there are things even uglier than a Silvers pad!

Usually having to extend my guns (to 15" LOP), I prefer the brown Pachmayr's Old English SC pad, with the black heel insert. Understated and very practical for knockabout field use. Leather pads are pretty but IMHO would have to be treated a bit more gingerly.

I'm no fan of an old open sided white line pad but the pumpkin pads are a further down the same road to me. Fact is, I found a good use for a white line pad not so long ago.