This is the butt-plate from my newly purchased Belgian SXS. Have you ever seen anything more ugly? It has a charm of its own!

I love it. However I love the Boroque period. BRING ON THE GUILDING AND THE ORNAMENTATION. Diamond dust mixed with plaster is not required, but is a nice touch.

Baker

How about a skeleton buttplate...

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These are from L.C. Smiths.


left to right, Two pointing setters, used on early higher grade Fulton L.C. Smiths.
Dog watching Duck fall, Syracuse era hammerless L.C. Smith, used from 1886 to 1888. I have never seen one ao a Fulton gun.
Setter on point with right foot on rock, used on Syracuse hammer guns from 1883-4 to Fulton early hammer guns.(This one from 1884-85)
Then on most were of the lines commonly seen on both hammer and hammerless.

Some may be ugly, but I would rather have the original butt plate then have a gun with the stock cut and a recoil pad added.

Corkdecoy and Stallones, both of y'alls pictures illustrate just how beautiul old butts can be!

I know this isn't what you mean at all, but they don't get much uglier than this. This is the LC Smith I just finished up. I opted to go ahead and replace the recoil pad.
CHAZ

I have to say that Mr. Stalones wins this contest hand down.


Joe:

I done lost your email address. Are you going to be around south eastern CO at the end of June?


Glenn

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Foreign butts :>)

W&S model 700 butt (in Commando style)



...Geo

Beauty is the eye of the beholder. I like a lot of the above, excepting only Hoof's mis-fitted pad. a lot of work went into some of those "uglies"

AJ Aubrey.

Hoof, That pad looks strangely like the sole of my sons sneakers, but of course it was installed by a qualified gunsmith- right? You pay extra for features like that.

Me too! Some of my favorite artists are from that period. Caravaggio, Velazquez, Vermeer, etc. High technical standards and dramatic light effects. What's not to like? I rather like several of the ugly plates posted here too, although gilding would be a bit much. Or would it?

Those old time mold makers had incredible skill! It opens up a whole new field of wonder. Their work closely resembles that which was done on many articles, especially die making for pressing powder flasks. High art wrought with a lifetimes work with a chisel and files.

Here's a sample of the same type of work in a powder flask:

I find the butt plate on the early Smith of interest(the one on the left of JDW's post) Here is one from an 1892 high grade Ithaca Crass model that appears pretty much identical.

The Smith boys were bothers. Perhaps they shared some butts. I have never seen this plate on any other Ithacas. Was it widely used on high grade Smiths?

Walt: that plate has also been found on Smith, Fox, and Lefever doubles; in standard thickness, and another adding 1" to the LOP, and possibly marketed for that purpose. The maker is unknown.

Thanks Dr. Drew. That is very interesting!

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Here's a very nice early Ithaca butt plate from what era I'm sure Walt knows. It's a reproduction, none the less very nice.

Jolly

Lads,
I find those butt plates very sweet,they are what they were, n i find them lovely,
the last few shots above of singles & triples are gorgeous & I wish I had a few like them...loverly
franc

The buttplate on an exhibition grade JP Clabrough & Bros 12 ga. hammergun Circa 1885. After much head scratching we finally decided that the animal was a buffalo. Unless it's a lion with hooves...