Is it safe to assume that barrel shanks were threaded at time of contouring and maker/location stamping? If hand fitted, wouldn't the threads and extractor cuts be done as a last assembly step? Even if hand fitting was not the case post-1960, the Chicopee bbls could have been threadless when they reached Westfield. (Assuming Chicopee marked bbls were actually made in Chicopee.)
Might explain why M1920 and M99 bbls with respective patent date stamps were so frequently interchanged. Granted, 4 decades difference, but same process, same rifle.
Another question, were barrel and receiver assembled before or after bluing? Has anybody ever asked JC, or did anybody ask Roe Clark about what the assembly line steps were?
