It came complete with a horrible and very thin dark brown shellac finish.


After scraping that garbage off, I chose a cabinet grade outdoor stain and finish called "Golden Oak".
I didn't want to use an expensive stain and finish on this stock because it wouldn't be in keeping with the inexpensive production methods involved in manufacturing these rifles, but I wanted a finish that would be both durable and accenting to the original birchwood stock.
I did not elect to remove the dents and dings underneath the original finish as I think they give the stock some character.




While birchwood isn't knoiwn for exceptional grain patterning, I was suprised to see this stock has quite a bit of pleasant grain patterning.
The refinish gives the rifle a very north european appearance that is pleasing to view.
Much more than the crap shellac anyway.

Some metalwork was also performed but this was just tank bluing to replace the thin arsenal metal finish along with removing the electro penciled serial numbers on the buttplate and magazine base, these numbers were not restamped on my rifle.
The buttplate wa poorly fit on this rifle and I had to plug the original screw holes and redrill them as well as do a bit of wood fitting to get the buttplate to lie flat against the wood.
The interior of the stock was also cleaned up. It had been milled and used as is and was quite rough inside.
Cleaning the excess wood bits and excess grease and grime allowed the action to fit the stock much better than it did. Interior finish uses two additional coats to further seal the wood and prevent warping and swelling in wet and humid conditions.

This rifle was originally purchased as a sporterizing project but will now likely remain as it is.
I am quite happy with these initial results.

Pretty nice. Your original Mosin looks exactly like mine does. The lighter stain is definately different and just stands out now. I have been thinking about getting another Mosin or two to play around with. Good job!

GOLDEN OAK!?!?!?

Golden Oak.

Nice job.

looks good

IBTYRAPOHC.



In Before the "You've Ruined a Piece of History!!!" crowd...



Looks good OP.

Well done, I like it

Ummm, yeah,,,,
In defense of Russian Arsenal workers before and now, that was a bit of history that demanded some alteration for the better!

LOL.

I have a '26 Tula ex-Dragoon, they are great rifles, and built like tanks. Aesthetics though, were far down on the totem pole.



I was really just referring to the folks that get bent when someone 'bubba's' or modifies what is realistically a <$100 surplus rifle.

I think historical heritage has it's place (not changing my '26, i.e.), but at the end of the day it is YOUR possession, do with it as you will.

just remember that at one time M1903s and M1917s were once <$100 surplus rifles as well. just because it isn't worth that much now, dosn't mean it won't be down the line.

And Garands, and Mausers, and M1 Carbines etc... etc.. You do whatever you want with your rifle but the reason other surplus firearms are so rare now is the crowd that did tear them apart when they were abundant.





 

Just remember that somebody, somewhere converted the rifle to a sporter because they didn't think too highly of the gun in its military form.

They didn't do it to piss off some potential future military coillector fifty years in the future.

If you have ever handled or shot a Griffin and Howe 1903 Springfield Sporting rifle, and I have done both, you would immediately realize military guise is not always best.
G&H converted Springfields routinely and easily exceed the value of an unaltered Military Springfield rifle in like condition each and every time they come on the market.

I have also had the good foirtune to handle, but not fire, an original 1847 Walker Colt that had been converted to use .44 Henry rimfire flat cartridges.
This gun has been featured in several articles in collector magazines.

Because of the rarity and complexity of the conversion along with its military association and the guns history after the fact, it remains just as valuable monetarily as an original unaltered Walker.

Unaltered Mannlicher Carcano rifles are lucky to realize $200 in average condition.
Cooey of Canada,(I think I spelled that right), anyway Cooey used to rebarrel Carcano rifles to 6.5 Greek and sporterize the rifles, double set triggers, pistol grips, sporting sights that are actually correctly regulated, etc. Nice rifles these are.
These rifles bring an easy $400-$500 on the collector market. Double or more what you will pay for a stock military Italian blaster.

You never can tell exactly what those "Bubba" rifles may be worth in the future now can you,,,
Right now  standard sporter conversions of common surplus rifles don't bring much, thirty years from now they may well exceed what an unaltered rifle brings.
As a gunsmith and a collector, I freely admit that I am in the "It's your rifle, do what you want with it" camp.
I don't care if it pisses off a future collector fifty years into the future, I won't live long enough to hear him/her whine.

I think it looks good and I would like to do something like that to my own.

Commercial conversions, particularly well-done ones, are rarely referred to as "Bubba" jobs. The vast majority of them were also converted well before it occurred to anyone that the rifle in question might be a collector's item sometime in the future. One has a harder time claiming that in light of history these days.

True "Bubba" 1903s, rifles that were D&T'd badly and hacked with no little or no care to actually finish the work, are worth FAR less than Griffin and Howe rifles now aren't they? You're not seeing them sell on Gunbroker for large sums of money on the strength of what one can get for a Griffin and Howe, either.

Based on history, I'd say that the assertion that home conversion jobs are all but universally worth less than unaltered original examples is pretty spot-on.

I guess I'm saying we're comparing apples to oranges here.

To be perfectly honest I don't get excited about common rifles getting modified. I do feel the need to chime in when someone brings up the lame production number argument or hacks up a rather uncommon rifle without bothering to educate themselves about what they had. Even in those situations, it's really not going to ruin my day, but I will comment on it.

I like the light color. Looks "fresh".

If you don't like the gun in it's military form then don't buy it. While I can't speak for how things were way back when,iIn todays day and age, It is cheaper to buy a budget hunting rifle than it is to turn a mosin into a scoped deer rifle.  Just refinishing like the OP did or turning one into a repro sniper isn't really bad, but butchering one and turning it into a sporter is just stupid and pointless.

It looks like the stock was made from a 2x4 now...

Yup. Just not a poorly shellacked 2X4 now.

True

It probably was. Well, the good quality ones. The other ones were made from plywood (laminate).

-Mark

I have one of those also, 1944, mostly Tula.
This one I am leaving as-is, it is an excellent shooter.
Could have been made into a sniper rifle, it is certainly accurate enough, but was never drilled for scope mounting.

I like that. Love the wood grain.

The original one posted looks like a bear that has been shaved of it fur.

Those pictures don't do the laminate stock justice on just how horrible the original finish is on these rifles either.
The action inletting is also much cruder than on the birch stock.
The streaks, smears and runs in the finish really have to be admired up close to fully appreciate them!


Light birchwood is not something for everyones tastes but it suits mine.