What is this on my M44 stock?

[bp2626]

I purchased an M44 a year ago or so and it has this on the left side of the stock. What is it?

Higher magnification here

 

[Grove]

Taking a shot in the dark but my first guess would be the shellac finish is flaking off?

I got spots like that all over my M44 but it gets some serious bush use.

 

[st1264]

Looks like wood fill (putty) to me. Probably a big gouge in the wood and it was filled, then refinished at one point. Just my best guess. I found a lot of the stuff in some beat up shotgun stocks when I stripped them.

Nowadays you can buy the wood fill that comes in shades so it will blend in with the rest of the wood.

 

[bp2626]

Looks like wood fill (putty) to me. Probably a big gouge in the wood and it was filled, then refinished at one point. Just my best guess. I found a lot of the stuff in some beat up shotgun stocks when I stripped them.

Nowadays you can buy the wood fill that comes in shades so it will blend in with the rest of the wood.

This is what I had suspected. I guess it was done by a previous owner as I have never seen an arsenal repair like this. Has anyone seen a Mosin-Nagant arsenal repair using a wood filler?

 

[RMXC51]

The Russians would have cut out a straight sided pieced of wood and glued it in. It would have the same finish as the rest of the stock. They were very good wood workers.

 

[EMEDiva]

Hmmmm, Wood Filler.

 

[FLHTCUI]

Hmm, looks like, appears to be, could it possibly be wood colored bondo ?
FLHTCUI

 

[st1264]

You could always strip your stock, chip that stuff out, put the new filler that is close to your colour and re-stain it. Or just go shoot the hell out of it. Marks of use look pretty good on a period piece, stock repairs - not so much.

 

[SKS Bitten]

My SVT-40 stock has some kind of filler on the stock from the arsenal refurbishing. The filler is hard like an epoxy and they didn't do a very good job smoothing it out.

 

[bp2626]

My SVT-40 stock has some kind of filler on the stock from the arsenal refurbishing. The filler is hard like an epoxy and they didn't do a very good job smoothing it out.

Yeah, they didn't do a very good job. Strange, the arsenal repairs are typically well done.

You could always strip your stock, chip that stuff out, put the new filler that is close to your colour and re-stain it. Or just go shoot the hell out of it. Marks of use look pretty good on a period piece, stock repairs - not so much.

Subjective, some collectors prefer stock repairs because it shows use. Having been damaged presumably in battle adds to the character.