Krag Collectors Association Forum

Even though some said "It's a nice sporter, leave it alone." a sporter wasn't what I wanted. I picked this sporter up gun up few weeks a go and after a few prayers went to work. I removed the rubber recoil pad, stripped off the shiny lacquer finish and removed the sling swivels. It was a challenge and I did some things I've never tried before, like shortening a handguard and carving by hand the inlets to allow it to fit over the receiver on one end and under the barrel band on the other. I hand carved an inlet to allow the steel buttplate to fit the stock too. I also plugged holes that were made from aftermarket sling swivels. Finally, I gave her 3 nice coats of BLO and ended up with 2 coats of Tom's 1/3 mix. I have to admit, I'm amazed by how well this turned out. Here are some pics. The first picture is the way the gun looked when I got it. The last picture is the handguard before I modified it.

Your stock looks a lot better with the rubber & swivels gone and a 1903 Springfield butt-plate fitted to the shortened butt-stock.

butlersrangers wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:39 pm Your stock looks a lot better with the rubber & swivels gone and a 1903 Springfield butt-plate fitted to the shortened butt-stock.

Thank you. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am with how it turned out. Shortening and inletting the handguard was definitely the toughest part. It didn't help that I used a set of wood gouges that my daughter had when she was younger and did some crafts. They were horrible. If I had any sense I would have gone out and bought some decent ones. I tossed the crappy ones after I finished. LOL

Years ago, I bought a set of 4 (small) Mills Falls "carving chisels". It was one of the better investments, I ever made. (easy to sharpen & hold an edge forever)

Hummm? "De-Sporterized". I like that new term.