I am trying to decide what I want to have done on the butt of a gun I am ordering. The gun uses a through bolt to secure the stock to the action. It is normally offered with a butt plate or a pad. However, I prefer a checked wood butt and I have been given that option. The question is, what is the best way for the hole to be covered up and still have a checkered wood butt?

Looking to see any pictures you may want to share showing wood plugs, screws, trapdoors, or other methods to allow checkered wood at the butt for a through bolt action.

Any help is appreciated.

No pics, but some ideas and a suggestion or 2.

First, heel and toe plates: IMO for best looks, it will be necessary to hide the drawbolt hole underneath the toe plate. I have seen this done (very awkwardly IMO) by making an enlarged toe plate, enlarged and extended on the top side in order to cover the drawbolt hole, with its attaching screw placed far down toward the toe. I was underwhelmed.

A much better way IMO would be to place the drawbolt hole down near the butt so as to be covered by the toe plate as formerly, but then instead of making an awkward oversize toe plate, simply use a standard-size one & inlet a hidden 'bridge' to span the drawbolt hole and provide a base for the toe plate screw. The bridge can actually be fabbed from any hard material that will hold the threads of the toe plate screw, and of course should be pleasingly shaped and carefully inletted & fitted so as to span the drawbolt hole in a neat and tidy fashion with timed screw heads, equal to the finish & workmanship lavished on the visible portions of the arm. This hidden bridge/base would also provide a perfect place for engraving, carving or scrimshaw if wanted.

Second, no heel & toe plates: Jerry Fisher has used a hinged steel island trap door to both hide the drawbolt hole and also to store any accessories and/or cleaning gear. I've seen photos, perhaps on his website or his page in the ACGG show-&-tell book, and it has a round door that looks like it's slightly smaller than the usual military one. Very elegant IMO, and a perfect place for engraving if wanted.
Regards, Joe

My son's gun that my friends and I made for his graduation from the US Naval Academy has a contoured Ebony buttplate; the stock is solid Rosewood. I have been thicking of getting it checkered as well. The gun has wraparound 30 LPI at the grip. This is a bolt gun and the buttplate is glued on. You will probably have to make a separate wooden buttplate (perhaps contrasting wood) and screw it on like a standard buttplate.

I have seen older custom guns with contoured and checkered horn buttplates. They always looked elegant to me.

When I say contoured I am saying that the buttplate is not flat, it is gracefully curved in the convex.

Here is a Martini that I made all the parts and it has a screw in the center section. Remove the screw and there is the stock bolt.

This is the only other one that I can find in my files. The was taken about 25 yrs ago with a 35 mm camera. It is not too clear, but you can get the idea of what you maybe wanting to put on your stock. All these parts are made from 1/8 in. stock cold roll and shaped on a iron mandrel to shape for the curves. This Martini was a left hand with the stock bolt in the center of the middle piece.

Fantastic Les. I've been kicking around trying a heel\toe plate. Is it easier to inlet a whole plate then cut the two pieces and continue or inlet the pieces separately?

Make the parts and then inlett each one. I don't practise enough on engraving as you can tell in the pictures. This is a hacksaw and file project. Keep the curves in the center in order to use only one screw to hold in place. I like to have a little ribbon around the parts so you can checker to a wood finish line. I use a wooden templete which I show in the write up at the top of the page on making a stock by hand. It gives the angle and curve which is needed to get everything lined up correctly.

Hope this helps,
Les

I would just score it. That is use a wood plug to fill the through bolt hole then just cut a series or parallel lines across the butt leaving the top 1" and bottom 1" unscored.

Easy to do, cheap, doesn't matter if you need the through bolt out as you can easily get a new plug rescored to match the existing butt scoring. It is also done where a shot gun (or rifle) has had the butt drilled to remove weight and the butt end of the hole then plugged.

Also quite traditional. It was done on many English shot guns and rifles where either the maker wanted to keep cost down or (like myself) the end user specified it as being easier to clean mud and muck out of than chequering!

Send me a PM with your e-mail and I will send a picture.

i did one once that i made a trapdoor over the thrubolt hole and then plugged it and made it into a cartridge trap

I don't know where the pictures are but I did a skelitized but plate a few yrs ago and check the wood area it turn out great

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
i did one once that i made a trapdoor over the thrubolt hole and then plugged it and made it into a cartridge trap

Anyone know a source for quality high end trapdoor butt plates? Not looking for a military type.

http://www.recknagel.de/

cataloque 6, page 29.

Check out this old thread. It has some interesting ideas at the bottom. You can contact richj for other pics.

Alternate type buttplates