Simple stock moldings on a SMR

[Newaygo77]

I’ve got a 36 cal Kibler Southern Mountain Rifle heading my way soon, and I’ve got a question. I know these rifles were traditionally very plain and unadorned. Most of the examples I’ve seen have only a simple two groove cheekpiece moulding, and some don’t even have that.

My question is whether a simple straight line buttstock moulding, running from the buttplate to the trigger area, would be too much. I had also considered doing a straight line ramrod moulding, but the stock seems so thin and delicate in the barrel channel that I think I’ve decided not to do that.

What I have in mind is similar to what I did on my Woodsrunner in the attached photo. Would a simple stock moulding like this be out of place on a mountain rifle? I know, the standard response is that it’s my rifle, and I can embellish it as I choose to, but my question is, would a simple stock moulding like this be out of place historically on a SMR?

 

[Eric Krewson]

Make it the way you like it, I did, buttstock and fore-stock moldings plus a toeplate.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Buttstock and forestock moldings are historically correct for some Appalachian mountain rifles

 

[Polecat_Tom]

What is the best way to do this to keep the line straight?

 

[64Springer]

My personal opinion is that a couple of straight lines add very little to the stock.

As if the carver had pushed up daisies before the good stuff got carved.

Those simple lines look like some kind of afterthought, or no thought at all and they will take away from the beauty of a nice clean stock.

Let the grain, alone, accent your stock.

Again, .02

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

My personal opinion is that a couple of straight lines add very little to the stock.

As if the carver had pushed up daisies before the good stuff got carved.

Those simple lines look like some kind of afterthought, or no thought at all and they will take away from the beauty of a nice clean stock.

Let the grain, alone, accent your stock.

Again, .02

They make the gun look leaner.

 

[appalichian hunter]

I think it adds a bit of simple elegance to an otherwise plain rifle. Not gaudy but just enough to accent the stock lines and draw one's eye to the placement of the lines.

 

[Mgbruch]

My personal opinion is that a couple of straight lines add very little to the stock.

As if the carver had pushed up daisies before the good stuff got carved.

Those simple lines look like some kind of afterthought, or no thought at all and they will take away from the beauty of a nice clean stock.

Let the grain, alone, accent your stock.

Again, .02

I think simple, well executed incise lines add a slenderizing effect to the piece. They aren't meant to be fancy or dressy, but accentuate the architecture of the gun. The toe is slightly curved, so I like a line that is higher up on the toe at the butt, and gets closer as it moves up the toe and into the wrist. The line ends up with a curve that is slightly more than the toe itself; and helps accentuate that toe line.

I also like lines that begin somewhere definite, and end somewhere definite. I like to curve the toe line in right at the rear of the trigger guard bow. It makes sense to me, and gives some nice symmetry to the area. For the forearm, I begin the line at the forearm transition, and end it in a little moulding at the nose.

For the forearm, I use a jig that runs in the ramrod groove to start the line, then I finish it with triangle files and checkering files. For the toe I freehand the lines... as many times as it takes to get them the way I want. I start the line with a V chisel and mallet. I always use a mallet, because it gives me more control. I start that line quite shallow... because it will always have some unevenness to it. Then, as you deepen the line with your files, you can get that unevenness out, and end up with a well executed line. Never exactly perfect; but that's part of the beauty of hand work done well.