Third Party Press

AC44 K43 Labor of Love Gun, Is It Worth It?

heavy_mech said:
Like I said I didn't know. At one time if I recall correctly he had prices posted but now it seems he does not and it's 'inquiries' or something? I'm sure stocks in the wild in good condition probably cost more? Don't know but I'd suspect so and it would still be not matching so why not? Anyone know the curren cost of the Apfeltor shooter's kit?

Also I think it would have been a slam dunk at 800-850 as someone else suggested but I can understand why the seller is holding firm.
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I agree, I offered 900 hoping that we’d find some middle ground but he just started looking into selling it. Said he’d fish around for a while and see what he got and if I was the best he’d come back to me, for an extra 100 didn’t want to lose it. That all being said, I started inspecting the pictures of the stock better and noticed the “inlay” almost looked like more of a sticker. The seller confirmed my theory, so I’m hoping I can remove the stickers from both sides which will re-open the section for the sling. From there my thought is remove the rubber butt pad and I could just “build up” the wood on the end of the stock to have the proper K43 steel plate fit. It’s not perfect, but I think the original stock “repaired” is still less expensive and certainly more authentic to the piece.


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fishermankw said:
..I started inspecting the pictures of the stock better and noticed the “inlay” almost looked like more of a sticker. The seller confirmed my theory, so I’m hoping I can remove the stickers from both sides which will re-open the section for the sling.
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For real I thought something looked wonky but when your photos didn't zoom I let it go. That's even better that it's not really hacked into the stock and you really might luck out with it. I wonder how difficult it will be to find a butt plate? I never had to look so I couldn't tell you. sticker.jpg
 
I hope I'm wrong, but that sure looks like the textbook, Bubba hacked in diamond inlay to me. I'd factor in getting the Polish stock.
:facepalm::sorry:
 
heavy_mech said:
For real I thought something looked wonky but when your photos didn't zoom I let it go. That's even better that it's not really hacked into the stock and you really might luck out with it. I wonder how difficult it will be to find a butt plate? I never had to look so I couldn't tell you. View attachment 256557
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Repo butt stocks are easy to find, but I would prefer to have an original on there, price depending of course. Fingers crossed with it, really won’t know for sure until I have it in my hands. Cautiously optimistic


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swjXE said:
I hope I'm wrong, but that sure looks like the textbook, Bubba hacked in diamond inlay to me. I'd factor in getting the Polish stock.
:facepalm::sorry:
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Yeah, I’m hopeful that what he’s seeing is a sticker. My concern is that it’s a diamond that sticking slightly out of the wood which is making it appear that way. We’ll see when it’s in my possession


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fishermankw said:
Yeah, I’m hopeful that what he’s seeing is a sticker. My concern is that it’s a diamond that sticking slightly out of the wood which is making it appear that way. We’ll see when it’s in my possession


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Well,:happy0180: it's still a cool project either way!
 
I bought one in a very similar state a few years back. It was fun slowly gathering the parts I needed to put it back into its original configuration. I needed a front band, bandspring, a new mag and I also used a nice replacement stock. It was my favorite rifle and using P 635 (Hirtenberger I believe) 1939 ammo it could group into 1.5 inches at one hundred yards. I eventually sold it at a tidy profit when other bills came up. I would do this again if I ever have the chance. I would go for it.
 
johnstanley said:
I bought one in a very similar state a few years back. It was fun slowly gathering the parts I needed to put it back into its original configuration. I needed a front band, bandspring, a new mag and I also used a nice replacement stock. It was my favorite rifle and using P 635 (Hirtenberger I believe) 1939 ammo it could group into 1.5 inches at one hundred yards. I eventually sold it at a tidy profit when other bills came up. I would do this again if I ever have the chance. I would go for it.
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I know that not everyone can do this, but sometimes it's worthwhile to get something like this away from some Bozo that's only looking at a few extra bucks, even if you have to buy it just to pass it on to someone that has the available resources to restore it!
:faint:
 
swjXE said:
Well,:happy0180: it's still a cool project either way!
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Yeah .... I bought a pricey piece recently so this one isn’t going to get put back together immediately, but will start looking to source her parts back. Really hoping the inlays are stickers, be a huge benefit. I’m a stickler for original, know repo parts have their place, but I like original.


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So I picked her up tonight. Unfortunately the diamonds were not a sticker. They filled in the section for the sling to go through the stock, so a polish stock is now in play. I purchased a polish stock that had very good reviews, but not from fox. Doesn’t have the waffens or serial stamping, but was also about a third of what the fox stocks were. It has a lite coat of stain or oil, not entirely sure. I intend to give it a lite sanding as it’s appears still a little “rough cut”. My question is what does one use for a finish on a repo stock. I’ve been reading a coat of danish oil, but want it to have an authentic look even if it is a repo.

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Pictures of the rifle - also decided not to take the “cheap route” and buy the nicer “Fox” stock for this rifle. They’re about $500 all in, which of nicely done I guess I spent more money on less important things. Attached are some pictures of the rifle, has what appears to be a backwards “40” on top of the bolt carrier which seems odd. I would assume it’s the original fist cover, guy said his uncle bought it in the 70s, not sure if repo dust covers were common then. Going to be taking her apart to clean today.

Other question I have is, is the stock worth selling? Obviously the butt of the rifle and diamonds have been messed with, but the remainder of the stock is nice (obviously was sanded and varnished) and the upper does have the crack/chip. Just thinking it might help someone out with a repair project down the road.

Let me know your thoughts.
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It’s a flipped/mirrored 45 on top of the bolt carrier. My two AC45s has the same stamp.

Everything on a k43 is sellable. Your rifle is worth more in parts than what you paid, so, your ahead of the game already. A lot of K43s were duffle cut at different spots so people are always looking for a sportorized stock that may serve as a parts donor to their existing stock.

I’ve never heard a bad thing about Fox’s stocks.


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WreckTangle said:
It’s a flipped/mirrored 45 on top of the bolt carrier. My two AC45s has the same stamp.

Everything on a k43 is sellable. Your rifle is worth more in parts than what you paid, so, your ahead of the game already. A lot of K43s were duffle cut at different spots so people are always looking for a sportorized stock that may serve as a parts donor to their existing stock.

I’ve never heard a bad thing about Fox’s stocks.


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Yeah, from what I read he (fox stocks) has really good reviews. Was going to try to save a couple bucks and finish a stock myself, if I had more wood working ability I’d probably give it a shot, but decided to back down and let the professionals do it. Like the fact that he can also put in the serials and waffens. If I screwed up on finishing the stock I’d be kicking myself and end up buying one anyway, might as well cut out that “middle man”.

I was looking at the serial on the bolt carrier and the serials didn’t seem like the same font, which with the 45 on top totally makes sense now. Do you think this was “updated” later on, or something done by an armorer in field. Guy I bought it from said his uncle got it in the late 60s early 70s sported like this. I wouldn’t imagine his uncle would’ve changed serials or cared as he bought if for deer hunting in MN and I would really not imagine that the guy who sported the rifle out would’ve gave a rat’s a$$ about matching serials [emoji23].


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By raw I meant no finished with any lacquer or such. Yes I believe linseed oil was used and or stains, but no sanding to smooth out the surface of the stock.
 
20PZGR said:
By raw I meant no finished with any lacquer or such. Yes I believe linseed oil was used and or stains, but no sanding to smooth out the surface of the stock.
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Thanks for the clarification. I put in for a Fox stock, heard really good things about him. I assume he does it in the traditional, correct way? Have you heard anything about him?


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I have not seen one in person, but like you I have heard all good things. Let us know how you like it, how the install went. Post some photos please. My shooter is an AC45 no letter and someone made the stock a bit shorter and varnished the daylights out of it so it needs to be replaced at some point....
 
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