Advice on a gunshow "deal"

G

gecko85

Inactive
When I was new to shooting I bought a rifle that fit my needs for a hunting rifle. It didn't have any brand name markings or a model number when I examined it but for its small price tag and my small knowledge of rifles at the time I thought I was getting a good deal. Upon examination a long time after purchase I discovered it is a "sporterized" Springfield 1903 that was customized by an amateur gunsmith. The biggest problem with it is the stock which is a cheap plastic affair in which the action sits cockeyed.

Is there a way to fix this problem? My guess would be a new stock but I figured I would ask people with more experience. Or should I just sell it and cut my losses? Thank you in advance for advice.
 
A 1903 is an excellent rifle. Depending upon what has been done to it will depend on whether or not it is worth putting more money into. You can find stocks at Boyds or at Gun Parts, Inc. You may need to spend $100 or more on the stock though.
 
Boyd's stocks are well worth it, and less expensive than many others.
Quality is darn fine!!

It will be worth your time to take it to a gunsmith and pay him $50-75 to have it bedded into a new stock...
I'm flat running away from telling new gun owners with little experience in repair to do a bedding job themselves,
as there is ONE huge thing that non-woodworkers/non-gunsmiths tend to mess up...which is called following directions...LOL

If you ain't already a skilled woodworker, take it to a PRO, see how it looks when DONE RIGHT...
then you have something to refer back to if you decide to do a rifle yourself!!
THEN try your hand bedding a few cheap .22's before messing around with expensive/potentially-dangerous-if-done-wrong centerfires.
 
Boyd's, Boyd's, Boyd's...

Another fan of "guess who" here. I've done a Boyd's "unfinished" (means not varnished; the inletting is all done!) stock and it worked out better than I had any right to expect.

I'm NOT a "skilled woodworker" by any stretch of the imagination. I bought an Acra-glas bedding kit and followed the instructions. Just use enough release compound!! Then I sanded and sanded and sanded and sanded the stock, and sprayed on a coat of ordinary hardware store satin spar varnish, sanded it all off, and repeated, sanding off a little less each time for several coats. Didn't sand the 5th coat at all, and called myself done.

The sanding is the tedious part--If you do enough of that, the results will look just fine.

There are several U-tube videos on stock finishing. I say go for it and DIY!!

Failing that, get a Boyd's "finished, drop-in" stock, and be done with it.
 
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