doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Restoration by Committee!

Because it is there, I'd try to make the existing butt plate acceptable first, then, if that proved impossible, I'd change it.

Color anodizing should be available from some near by plating shop. In the late 1970s through mid 1980s we did substantial quantities in bronze for solar panel boxes. Other colors are available. It is a tough finish, but will fade with UV exposure. I suppose environmental regulation changes may have made it harder to obtain by now.

The right hand twist in "smokeless" Pope barrels started with his Krag barrels, so that the original sight windage adjustment procedures would be retained.

"rifling throws the bullet off to the side at long ranges and the direction depends upon the direction of the twist. I had done some long-range shooting with my 1917 as a high-schooler but had never fired a 1903 at long range until I got to Trinidad; in my teenage ignorance my usual 1-foot horizontal allowance for the twist immediately turned into a 2-foot miss!"

I believe that this is the reason for the RH twist. Most of the Pope 30 caliber barrels were used on match rifles. Many were used by members of teams and had to be able to share sight setting and wind drift information.

I kinda like that buttplate .... and it is a period alteration.

Beautiful rifle, Michael. I wouldn't change a thing about it.

Michael,
being in the AR-15 business, we have a lot of Anodizing done. Not all anodizers are created equal. We have finally found a good one, if you would like I would be glad to send the buttplate along with one of our orders. If it is cast aluminum however, it may not anodize very well.

John

Jim, Welcome to the forum, good to see you over here.

John, Thanks for the kind offer and I'll let you know if I decide to go this way. It is cast, what are the problems with cast aluminum? My other question is would it come back Candy Apple Red Metalflake? ;-).

Someone wrote “You should leave it absolutely original”. I could not agree more, when Ross King let Mr. Murphy know that his rifle was ready Murphy drove the ten-miles over to King’s shop and picked up his new rifle. There are some things done to the rifle that are irreversible but I’d like to see it as close to what it was when delivered as possible.

The old Lyman moulds 308403/311403 were listed in their early cast bullet handbook as designed by H. Pope for use in the .30-06. Presumably for barrels with the 1:14 twist. They do not shoot all that well in the standard 1:10 twist barrels.

Good, interesting thread. I, at first, was in the leave it alone camp. However, since you know what it ONCE was, restoring it as close as possible would be appropriate. JMHO

Is that buttplate an aluminum copy of the NRA Sporter plate?