When I was old enough to get my FFL a few years ago I knew I wanted to buy myself something. It took a while to find something I could afford but was worth buying, I found this listed for like $400.Unfortunately, the seller didn't use any packing material and just put it in a box.










I haven't attempted to or tried to have it repaired yet because I want to make sure it's done very properly the first time.

It is fixable, but will always show to some point. If it were me, I'd send it back to the seller and get a refund. I doubt the shipper will pay off on repairs if it was improperly packed.

Happened years ago he gave me a partial refund, I knew it was fixable so I wanted to keep it.

That's a very cool gun and I love the checkering and the "matted rib" equivalent.

Did it come with a Lyman sight? What do the butt plate and inletting look like?

There is a lot of expertise here on stock repair, I hope the experts chime in soon.

That is a really neat rifle, for sure worthy of a proper restoration. Unfortunately the grain will always be going in the wrong direction through the wrist and it will be susceptible to further breaks if not handled properly. Let me know if you can not find the correct long slide 48, I may be able to help. I don't really want to get rid of one, but this might be a worthy cause. I to would like to see the inletting.

Thanks much for sharing,
John

Got a few pictures of the inletting, It came with Lyman 48 125 slide mismatched with the base. But the slide was very damaged in shipping as well. Am on the lookout for a proper long slide to put back on it.

I’d highly recommend you send it to Dave Norin in Antioch, Illinois. Dave is one of the best. He’s honest and he’s one of the rare gunsmiths who gets work out in a timely manner. I can’t say enough good things about him and I’m sure others on here will agree.

Thanks for the recommendation, I know repairs like this have to be done right the first time.

Often paying others for quality repairs like this can cost more than you paid for the gun. That's not to imply those doing the repairs aren't worth the money. Just saying it's not always the best economical choice, and may end up being upside down in a gun when done.
I do them myself, and have never had one fail later. How well they come out depends on how tight the break was, ans whether any wood was lost in the break.

[quote=Vall] Often paying others for quality repairs like this can cost more than you paid for the gun. That's not to imply those doing the repairs aren't worth the money. Just saying it's not always the best economical choice, and may end up being upside down in a gun when done.

Vall is certainly correct. Even though Dave Norin is very fair on price, it won’t be a cheap repair. But it’s really no good as it is now, it is a pretty neat gun, and you might as well bite the bullet, have it fixed and enjoy it. Unfortunately, you’ll likely be upside down in it but it’s only money, right?

I have a rifle I believe is by the same stocker. Long slide 48, hand guard checkered as yours, 1905 RIA, rounded cheeks in front of wrist checkering, and a very tall buttplate - something like 6-1/4”. I’ll get some pics. Mine has a cheek piece for a left handed shooter, but it looks similar to yours. Heck of a stocker, whoever he was.

Bryndon

I would love to see it, My buttplate is about 5.2in But sounds similar.

I happened to see the following passage in Michael Petrov's
"Custom Gunmakers of the 20th Century" Volume Two, Page 23.
In writing about Townsend Whelen, Michael wrote "the first custom sporter he had made was on a 1903 done by an unknown Eastern seaboard gunsmith. This rifle was chambered for the 30-03 using a 220 grain bullet, introduced in 1903 and replaced in 1906 by the 30-06 cartridge. IT HAD A WOODEN COVER OVER THE TOP OF THE BARREL and used Winchester Model 95 musket sling swivels, much like the later Winchester Super-Grade sling swivels."

The bit in all caps is my emphasis.

I have pictures, but can’t get them from my phone to imgur. I can email them to someone to post or do it from a computer later tonight.

Also, my buttplate is 5-7/8” and the barrel date is 1911, not 1905 as I stated before. I’m sure it is the same stocker though.

I'd be happy to help, if you want to send them to me.
brentd@iastate.edu will work

pictures of Bsteele's checkered handguard sporter

I think Michael Petrov would have really enjoyed this thread.

Oh, I bet he's enjoying it!

The only way I ever could figure out how to get pictures from my phone to my computer to put on Imgur was to use my phone to email the images to myself, and then I could save them on my computer and load them to Imgur.
Might try emailing your phone pictures to yourself.

VAll, it's good to know I'm not alone. I can't figure out Imgur on my phone either. Seems pretty worthless as a phone app. but works great for hosting pictures from a computer.

This one came from Monte at Tulsa a few years ago. He said it was the first sporter he saw that made him think there was art involved with bolt action rifles. He cut his teeth in the world of flintlocks and I guess bolt actions look kinda bland compared to a classic muzzle loader.

There are no clues that I have found in the rifle to help attribute it to anyone. It’s just an early sporter from that period before they figured out exactly what they were supposed to look like. This guy was in the right path, though.

The horn buttplate is 5-7/8” tall. Looks a little strange, but it handles fine even for a right handed shooter. I’m thrilled to see another.

No pockets in a shroud.

Beautiful rifle.

Both rifles in this thread are very interesting, and it's a shame we don't know who stocked them. He certainly deserves some recognition. It seems apparent that he had a good eye and a fair amount of experience as well, so there are probably other similar rifles out there, Hopefully someone will be able to shed some light on this mystery.

I agree that the broken stock is worth repairing and saving. I've found Titebond II wood glue to be the best for making repairs in clean walnut where the surfaces can be closely clamped together. The bond is very strong, and the glue joint is less visible than any other adhesive I've tried. Still, as noted, the grain layout seems less than ideal, and it would be advisable to also have some reinforcing pins epoxied in place from within the inletting. That is complicated by the tang screw, so it might be better to bore one larger hole and use a single large hickory dowel instead.