Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Question re JC Higgins 51-L

I would like your opinion on something.

I have ended up with a Model 51-L HVA actioned JC Higgins in .30-06. It has the usual mauser cracks which I was looking forward to playing with as well as replacing a broken off piece of wood.

I removed the finish and started to do some clean up and found the stock was in considerably worse shape than I thought mainly due to a great deal "black rot" some of which was very deep. The rot is concentrated around the tang, the holes for action screws, the recoil lug and a portion of the magazine well. At this point removing all the rot looks to be more effort and likely to result in a very weak stock or one with far too much epoxy and added work to be reasonable. I have decided to pursue other options.

In my "tickle trunk" I have 2 stocks which might work. A thumb hole laminate for a Zastava should be an easy "fit" but would be all wrong for my intended purpose of recreating a lighter weight walking rifle. The other stock which would suit the intended purpose but would require a lot of work for a "fit" is a short action M70 featherweight stock. The main issue would be that i will need to remove a good deal of wood behind the recoil lug recess and drill a hole trough the recoil lug recess for the from action screw. There will need to be some removal of wood near the tang for the safety and bolt release.

I am completely nuts for thinking of repurposing the M70 stock? I know that buying a stock from boyds would be much much quicker however this rifle was to be a project from the outset and the challenge and final result seem quite appealing.

My fear is that I will just end up with a ruined M70 featherweight stock, hours wasted and still need to buy a stock.

What say thee? Would pictures help?

All the best.

GRF

Buy a stock.

Buy a stock. Boyd's has walnut or lammy-nated ones at good prices.

"Challenge" yourself to do a good job fitting it.

If you have to ask.....buy a Boyd's.

GRF;
Good morning to you sir, I hope this finds you and your fine family doing well and keeping warm enough as winter sets in on our side of the medicine line.

It would appear that I'll be bucking the trend here - but I'd opine that if you are inclined to try something then at worst you'll learn it cannot in fact be done and you shouldn't do it again.

So in the vein of "it can't/shouldn't be done"...

Pre-64 Model 70 stock - fitted into a 98 Mauser with a #4 Douglas Match barrel chambered for .22-250AI.



It's now my "mule" stock for Mauser jobs actually - oh original cost of stock was $10 and it had been cut down and hacked previously so it wasn't collecting anything other than dust.

Found this S&W branded Howa short action stock at a gun show for $20 - it was broken a bit, but so what - I do a fair bit of work on the side repairing broken stocks and my standard line to folks is "please bring all the pieces you can find!"

Epoxy is stronger than any tree grown fiber in my experience. Anyway this one had lots of meat to take away and I had something very specific in mind which did in fact work out.

So short action Howa stock in the same Mauser 98 .22-250AI.



Lastly this was hanging on the wall of the shop, so an already shortened 788 stock was really reworked to fit a 722.



Anyway sir, there's just three that come to mind off the top of my head that I've reworked. In some ways it's easier than starting with a board and in some ways a bit tougher - but it absolutely CAN be done if you're so inclined.

All the best to you all this winter and Christmas season.

Dwayne

I believe the model 51 is still a 98 mauser, if not it is a husqvrana. In either case I would buy a used which would be close to fitting. Should be fairly cheap and you will not destroy the market value of the winchester stock.

Yes.

I expect that the issue with the original stock is not dry rot but more than likely
it is oil soaked. I have encountered a couple like that,likely due to too much oil left in the barrel and the rifle being set on the butt and the oil eventually gravitating to the tang area. Not a solution to your problem but like BC30cal I also have adapted some stocks - some came out good, others not so much.

drover

It's the Husqvarna 1640 action. It's a modified small ring I think of as a 96/98 hybrid. Excellent action. If boyd's has that inletting , take advantage of it. Otherwise do some fitting, filling and bedding with a 98 stock.

If the main reason for a stock change, is oil softened wood at the action screw holes, that is an easy fix! Find a nutcert that has the same size center hole as the original screw. Install it in the stock, use epoxy as the threading lube. Grind off the extra length. This gives you a solid piece between the floor plate and the action, better than original!

Thanks guys. It's a Husqvarna HVA action. The black soggy wood is in a lot of places. I will proceed on two projects simultaneously trying to fix the original stock and modify the M70 stock. After all this was supposed to be a project from the outset. I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

I would use the M70 stock, the M70 Featherweight is one of my personal favorite stocks period.