I was looking through my gun safe the other day when I spotted a Browning BLR that I inherited from my wife"™s uncle. I have had the gun for a couple years now but never used it.
Well I took it out on a walking\plinking trip and found the gun was a pleasure to shoot and carry. Accuracy was not bad either. The one thing I did not like about the gun was the fact that my wife"™s uncle had removed the fore end barrel band. I was told that was because the accuracy was terrible with the band installed. It looked terrible!
Not having the band to re-install I decided to make my own fore end tip. I removed the fore end and trimmed the tip square. I then used a piece of Purple Heart I had lying around and crafted a tip. I drilled holes in the fore end and the new tip so I could install dowels to give the joint some strength. I used epoxy to secure the tip in place. I striped the old finish, lightly sanded, and applied several coats of Tru-Oil stock finish. Here is a picture let me know what you think.
It's a 308. I'm not sure on the age but I'm guessing the 70's. When I have time I'll get the serial# and see if I can look it up. It can't be rare, it has impressed checkering!
A little home "smithing"
