Punch marks on No. 4 Mk 1* receiver

[Merc]

The No. 4 Rifle was a simpler design over the No. 1.

You’re correct. The British obviously took great pride in their engineering skills. They lead the world into the Industrial Age.

[Merc]

checked my Savage last night,

no marks at all in that area

I’ll have to start paying more attention to the Savage No. 4s at gun shows to see if they’ve been punched. It will remain an open question however, it wouldn’t surprise me if the British required a hardness test on every 10th receiver produced.

I find it strange that the serial number is stamped on the metal wrist band instead of the receiver.

[lyman]

I’ll have to start paying more attention to the Savage No. 4s at gun shows to see if they’ve been punched. It will remain an open question however, it wouldn’t surprise me if the British required a hardness test on every 10th receiver produced.

I find it strange that the serial number is stamped on the metal wrist band instead of the receiver.

the wrist is part of the receiver, and where most #4's and #5's were stamped until sometime after WW2,

[Merc]

the wrist is part of the receiver, and where most #4's and #5's were stamped until sometime after WW2,

Oops. You’re correct.

[JB White]

Why does everyone assume the marks are British? No4 rifles served in countries around the globe. They spent time outside the service of Britain and her commonwealths. They have been out in the secondary and civilian markets for decades.

It's fun to imagine that all our rifles were carried by Tommy Adkins until released from service. For all we know Billy Bob could have thrown a fork at Bubba Joe during a July 4th BBQ and hit the rifle squarely dead center. That in itself is worth another beer.

[Merc]

Why does everyone assume the marks are British? No4 rifles served in countries around the globe. They spent time outside the service of Britain and her commonwealths. They have been out in the secondary and civilian markets for decades.

It's fun to imagine that all our rifles were carried by Tommy Adkins until released from service. For all we know Billy Bob could have thrown a fork at Bubba Joe during a July 4th BBQ and hit the rifle squarely dead center. That in itself is worth another beer.

Nice to see you here again, JB. There’s no doubt that many No. 4s passed through many hands over the years. I bought my lend-lease rifle several years ago from the estate of a past VFW Post commander who was a WW2 vet. He had quite a collection of firearms, as I recall. His No. 4 was the only military rifle that was for sale. I suspect it was still in service somewhere up through the 1950s. There’s a K and 51 stamped on the wrist band that could be a rebuild date and inspector’s initial. The punch marks will remain a challenge for now.

[Carlsr]

That's funny JB White Kinda looks like fork marks to me also.
No punch marks on my 1942 No4 Mk1 star either.