Not quite Gunsmithing, but a repair

[steve77]

I've been meaning to make some Micarta to mess around with, but hadn't quite decided on what to use it for. I picked up an old Stevens 20 ga side by side, and it had a broken butt plate. I had been trying to find a replacement plate with the original screw spacing for it, but finally realized that it would be a perfect Micarta project. I used some tan material that was kind of a cross between burlap and canvas, it reminded me of an almost sheer curtain. A little black enamel rustoleum in the epoxy for color. Looks pretty decent for a first try. I'll do some more profiling to add a little concave curve to it, but it bulls up nice and has about the perfect texture. not slippery, but not overly grippy either. I'll be refinishing the stock with an oil rubbed finish to make the gun look decent. This is just a beater gun that I use for dog training, so it makes a good Guinea Pig. I'd like to do this as a custom pad on a few other guns with light recoil, and possibly make a set of grips for my CZ RAMI now that I know it isn't rocket surgery. I have done some hand checkering in the past, so I may mess around and see how well the checkering tools work on some of the scraps.

[hunterspirit]

Someone else uses paint for pigment in 'Poxy.

[michpatriot]

Beautiful job! I've got a Rascal that I shortened the length of pull for my kids and now wish for the length back now that they're older..

[steve77]

Someone else uses paint for pigment in 'Poxy.

Yep, I really wanted to use actual burlap, but since I couldn't remember where I squirreled mine away, I used some random fabric. I didn't thin the fabric looked all that great, so I used paint to darken everything. I figured the fabric pattern wouldn't stand out as much with dark epoxy. I think it was a good choice. If I find my burlap, I'll use clear epoxy to show off the burlap, I think the burlap looks particularly nice in micarta.

Beautiful job! I've got a Rascal that I shortened the length of pull for my kids and now wish for the length back now that they're older..

The micarta would make a nice spacer! You could even add a couple sheets of white paper on the top and bottom of your stack of fabric to fancy it up like the white line butt pads.

[MichMass]

Looks fantastic and clever. As an aside, what kind of dog training do you do?

[steve77]

Looks fantastic and clever. As an aside, what kind of dog training do you do?

Thanks for the compliment! Bird dogs. I used to train all kinds of pointing dogs, now I just do my own dogs. I currently have 3 Deutsch Kurzhaars. A little older line of the American bred German shorthairs, but much more tightly controlled breeding for hunting characteristics, if you aren't familiar with the breed. I used to be a pretty dedicated grouse and woodcock hunter when my health was better. Now, I am happy to get out a few times a year. Sold all my good double guns when I was broke and fighting cancer. Someday, I hope to replace a few of them, most of all my English stocked Ruger Red Label 20 ga. Nothing fancy, but I never shot better with any gun than that one. But for now, I am making the best of some older side by side 20 gauges that I bartered for.

[MichMass]

I love hunting over dogs. I've got a squirrel dog, mountain feist, who's starting to act a bit gun shy but even if I never get to shoot over him again just watching him work is a joy. Sorry to hear about your battle but glad to see you made it through.

[steve77]

I love hunting over dogs. I've got a squirrel dog, mountain feist, who's starting to act a bit gun shy but even if I never get to shoot over him again just watching him work is a joy. Sorry to hear about your battle but glad to see you made it through.

Thanks! Watching a well bred dog hunt is a beautiful thing. I would love to go on a bear hunt with dogs some day, as well as coon hunt, coyote and cat hunt with good dogs. Maybe even hogs. Probably a pipe dream, but it sure seems fun!

[MichMass]

Thanks! Watching a well bred dog hunt is a beautiful thing. I would love to go on a bear hunt with dogs some day, as well as coon hunt, coyote and cat hunt with good dogs. Maybe even hogs. Probably a pipe dream, but it sure seems fun!

If you ever want to see a well bred squirrel dog do his thing, let me know.

[steve77]

If you ever want to see a well bred squirrel dog do his thing, let me know.

I would like that. Does the dog scent track them? Seems like squirrels cover lots of ground in a small area rather aimlessly. I’m curious how the dog narrows it’s search. How do they find them?