Haenel 303-Super Stripping the Stock Part 1

Acquired an old NIB Haenel 303-Super many months ago. It was made in East Germany. Haven't found time to go inside and tune the rifle yet. Heck, I've barely had time to shoot this one. It's got some issues as it sits. Tom Gaylord reviewed one of these guns a while back.

From several feet away it looks pretty good.

Up close, there's some damage to the finish from sitting in a box for 25+ years.

The stain and varnish(?) on both sides of the grip is gone.

The right side is worse. The double-line border around the stippling is also poorly done and non-existent in a few spots.

Cleaned out the stippling and the border with an old tooth brush.

Bought a set of Dem-Bart checkering tools a week ago.

Used a single line cutter and chased the existing lines to deepen and define the border.





Sanded out the bare spots in the finish. The finish was puddled at the edges. Maybe it was boxed before the finish had dried completely.



Did the same to the left side. Tried spot staining the bare wood, but couldn't get it to take enough color to match.

In the right light, at the right angle, this is a really nice piece of beech.





Pulled the action. You know what's next.

Yeah, I know. I'll ruin the collector value. Hey, these guns trade hands for all of about $300. Since I'm not likely to sell it, I'm the one who has to shoot it, and it's already less than perfect...

No going back now. See how easy and decisive this can be? 100 grit paper across the finish really has the sound of commitment.

Tip: Leave the buttpad installed. I thought about a Morgan adjustable pad. Maybe the plastic base model? I'm waffling. The stock pad is marked "SUHL" and it's pretty cool. Though, it is hard plastic....Still waffling.

With the majority of the finish stripped off, here's what's lurking below.

This grain has some real potential. I'm going to try a chemical stripper on the stippling. If that's a no-go, I'll attempt to recreate the Haenel stippling technique. Looks like it was tapped into the wood. I may try a Dremel tool with a small ball mill as it seems to produce a similar appearance. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

More to come in a couple days.