I agree with Dirtfarmer. Jeweling sure wouldn't keep me away from a shooter gun! Not one bit. Nor would a pad, especially if the LOP was not overly shortened in the process. Pretty as those original "bird's beak" steel butt plates are, they are hard on the shoulder, especially on a hard kicking gun. In addition, they make it tough to lean the gun into a corner without fear of slipping. Having said that, I won't cut an unmolested stock.
As for stock refinish, re-blue, extra holes . . . those should get the price down even more. The refinishing is due to wear or damage, and holes are holes. But for a shooter, it comes down to what it really should be, which is how good a rifle is it? How well does it feed, eject, and is it accurate?
I read somewhere, I think from Terry Wieland, that one of the secondary, practical purposes of "fine grained, intricate" engraving was to hold a film of oil on the surface to prevent rust, etc. One wonders if there is some of that thinking going on with jeweling?
Last edited by GunDoc7; 05/18/17.
