About the only dimension you can change is LOP. Bending the stock is a bad idea, as the screw that runs into the stock, from under the action, is a wood screw, with machine screw threads on the inside, and attempting to bend the stock usually just results in a broken wrist, and destroys the attachment hardware.
If you follow Dewey Vicknair’s blog, you will find he has a bit to say about bending stocks on any gun. My results on conventional gun designs with attempts at bending, have mirrored what he has to say. But, it is a huge no-no on any Darne.
Many of the Darne guns that are here are very old guns that were brought here by returning soldiers or other visitors. I own a Halifax that actually came back with a retuning member of The Big Red One, and I continue to be surprised just how often this happened. Like prewar American guns, the stock dimensions often are a poor fit for the taller and heavier people we have become since then. If those are the only guns you have ever seen, you might think there was never a Darne built that fit anyone but children and dwarfs. But, the custom ordered guns of the 1980s and 1990s are far closer to modern dimensions, and the Stoeger era imports (1960s) was when the changes started, higher grade examples being typically better in that regard.
Complicating all of the above is the fact that few American stock makers are interested in making new stocks to fit Darne guns. At the factory there were a couple fixtures built to cut and fit the attachment hardware very precisely, and the job is complex without those fixtures, and they aren’t here.
Those are the highlights. If you are buying used, you really need to handle the gun. Most will need a bit more LOP, and many install a pad for a bit of help in that regard. If it does not fit, I highly suggest you do not buy it.
Best,
Ted
