Measure Twice, Cut Once, & Cut Some More

This Is Why I'm Not A Carpenter...

Well, if I'da gone to Woodshop in high school insteada hangin' out with the metalheads, I might not be in this fix. I've always been better with steel, though.

I measured carefully, then promptly removed 1/4" too much wood going down, and 1/4" too little going across. Damndamndamn. OK, everybody sing together to the tune of 'The Bear Went Over The Mountain'...

"$100 rifle! $100 rifle! $100 rifalllllll.... It's not the end of the world!"

My leetle experiment of inletting a stock so the scope mount would fit has been a miserable failure, IMHO. In fact, the entire scope mounting process has been a bust so far. At least it's all cosmetic up to now, not functional.

Rockhauler has expressed his reservations about what I'm doing, and he's got a very good point. The K31 was just fine as is, and I probably should have kept my paws off it. However, I have a reason for doing what I'm doing.

My plan was to make my VZ-24 the primary hog gun. With 8mm Mauser horsepower under iron sights, it's a pretty damned good anti-swine rifle. OTOH, the person who owned the rifle before me went to a lot of trouble to refinish and checker the old military stock, and it's a purty ol' thing. I really don't want to drag it through the mud, muck, brambles and briars usually associated with hog hunting. There's also a tiny crack in the stock under the receiver, and it got a bit larger on the last range outing. I'm gonna start looking around for an old beater 8mm, like a Turk or Yugo model, to burn up the 835 rounds of ammo I just bought, and save the VZ for special outings.

So, the K31 with its buggered up stock just moved into the "off the pigs" slot. It's more accurate than the VZ by a factor of 3.1404040404 (minute of fried pi), and I like the action better. When I committed to putting a scope on it, I chose the left-side permanent mount not only for the stability, but also because it would let me retain use of the iron sights, a BIG plus when you're out brushpopping. The bolt-on mount fits on the right side, and would have me leaning my face over to the other side, or shooting left-handed, neither of which appeal to me.

I'd thought about cutting down the stock all the way back past the sling band, but it would look a bit silly leaving the front iron sight in place. However, even though it'd be easy to remove, I'd lose the backup sight option. So, it's gonna be sporterized, just not as much as your typical conversion.

Cheer up, Rockhauler. I'm planning on getting another K31, and leaving it pristine. Maybe I'll win the Lotto, and be able to afford the sniper version! Then we'll find out who's the better shot...