Originally Posted by
Lead Snowstorm
Neat looking piece. SRS stands for Springfield Research Service, which compiled a list of serial numbers found during records searches. Most weapons will not appear - only a small minority of numbers appear in the SRS database, and they were not issued sequentially, so a miss is as good as a mile - but it is interesting to see the configurations (carbine, rifle) of nearby weapons.
Unfortunately I?m away from my books right now so I can?t help much. But from what I recall, there are some notable features.
First, it looks like rather a low number serial. That?s interesting as the pre-LBH carbines command a premium. I don?t recall the exact serial hotspot ranges for the 7th Cav, but I know some here do.
The rear sight is also early, and also retained by the original slotless screws. That?s good.
The eagle over crossed arrows on the door and the ?1873? on the lock plate also go with early guns.
The stock does not appear that it would have been original, as in the first stock placed on the gun. Eyeballing it, it seems to have the short wrist/long comb configuration. That?s not necessarily unusual, as most of the early trapdoors were overhauled.
If possible, could we get photos of the left side of the barrel just in front of the receiver; a detail of the front sight; the muzzle crown; the underside of the stock fore-end; and the buttplate? Those will make a good start in assisting the folks here who know more than I to help with more info.