Quote:
Originally Posted by UncleEd
Back in the day, meaning probably well before you were born,
the fate of many of the Smith stocks was the bin for unwanted
and unliked stuff. Replacement even in the 1960s or
through the 1980s were "custom" stocks or Goodyear
stocks.
So Smith started making Goodyear stocks the norm and
then the buying public wanted the old style stocks back.
The new style Classic stocks are not bad and actually fit my
hand better than the fatter old style stocks that were
standard back when.
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You are 100% correct. In their day, many of the old stocks that we now cherish were frowned upon by their owners and replaced with other non-factory stocks. That's why many older guns appear for sale without original stocks. Even very early antique guns suffered this fate, having their factory stocks replaced with mother of pearl, ivory and other desirable (at the time) replacements, with the original stocks cast aside and lost for all of time.
Then there were the non-factory stocks that rose to their own level of desirability, such as Ropers, but that's a whole different story. For those seeking replacement stocks for current models, check out Hogue, who offer some very nice aftermarket stocks.