TexasCHLforum.com

Just picked up an old Springfield 53b (22lr) today for $50. A gun that cheap, I figured I could bring it home and tinker with it at the very least! It had a sort of greyish wrap on it that was peeling so I pulled that mess off and revealed that beneath was a black synthetic finish over the wood. Where the black synthetic stuff had chipped away revealed that the wood had been broken and repaired before, along the side of the action, and was in need of some repair again, as the wood filler that was used has begun to separate from the actual wood as it's all dried out. My question to you guys that know rifles is should I repair it again and coat the stock again with a new finish or get a new or new-ish stock that isn't damaged? I have rifles just not any that I've had to repair or replace a stock and am not sure what would serve me best.

Thanks!
RK- - -

Back in California, I found one of these on a used gun rack in a gunstore in Arcadia. Somewhere along the line, someone had cut out a section of the buttstock to shorten it a bit, and had run a carriage bolt lengthwise through the stock to bolt the remaining halves together again. It was an ugly little thing, but it was cheap, and it shot OK. I taught my boy to shoot with that rifle when he was about 5 or 6 years old. Back when .22 ammo was $9.95 for a brick of 500 rounds, I could set my son up on the rifle bench next to mine, give him 100 rounds, and he would shoot that thing all afternoon long, and was just a happy little guy.

Cheap and ugly they may be sometime, but if it goes bang, that's what matters. My kids can't wait to shoot it, and in fact my oldest helped me clean it up. Just trying to figure out just what I want to and should do for that stock.

RK- - -

TexGalRK wrote:Cheap and ugly they may be sometime, but if it goes bang, that's what matters. My kids can't wait to shoot it, and in fact my oldest helped me clean it up. Just trying to figure out just what I want to and should do for that stock.

RK- - -

Well, you done good. They're going to love it. Well done.

It looks like no one is really answering the original question. To be honest without seeing the stock it is difficult to advise you on repair/replacement but with only $50 invested either option would not be detrimental there are several on line replacement part outlets so you may want to look through them and decide if the cost will be feasible for you. I am no expert on stock repair, but it sounds like all the old wood filler will have to be removed to determine exactly how bad the cracks/splits really are. Using a Dremel tool carefully remove the old filler, and use a sandable filler to fill in the cracks. I hope it works out for you I love those old rifles.

Thanks for answering! I pretty much figured what I would have to do to it, pulling out the old filler, getting the dremmel after it, etc. Just wanting opinions or what others have done to their rifles in the past...repair vs replace. And you're right, with just $50 in it, I can afford to play around with it, no harm no foul. I love old guns of all kinds and I always wanted one for a project...looks like I got what I wished for.


RK- - -

Duct tape.