Savage Enfield

Full disclosure, a friend of mine listed this. I have handled the rifle and it looks good.

Serial number looks strange. Any input on that?

Bob.

Serial number C132 would indicate very early production. I can't find my book on firearms produced for U.S. allies during WWII but it seems production started well before 1942 on the Savage Enfields and over a million were produced before the end of the war. It seems unlikely the serial number would be that low. Maybe it's an assembly code.

Sold for $1125

That must have been made in Utica.

No?

It would have been made at the Chicopee Falls Stevens Plant.

Ahhhhh. Gottcha.

David, I am no expert but Ian Skennerton's fine book on the Lee Enfield indicates that production started in 1942 at Savage and the lack of the asterisk might indicate an early 1942 rifle. So, it may be an early 1942 produced rifle. The actual No 4 Mk 1 didn't go into production until mid 1941. I am suspicious of the different finishes on the stock and steel. Not sure it would be all original but one never knows.

In 1942 Savage owned Stevens, and so Chicopee Falls was a Savage plant.

I didn't inspect it real closely, but agree that the wood has probably had some BLO or gunny's wax over the years.

I certainly would not shove it off the shooting bench. It looks like a beauty to me.

Seems a little strange but it could be a very early one in which case it should have 6 grove rifling as they very quickly went to 2 grove to reduce production costs

Also the serial number should be proceeded with a number then letter "C"

My No4 MK1 Has 6 grove rifling and has a 4 digit serial number 0C 1753 is how the spacing should be

The cocking piece on the early ones were a button and then they went to the slab rectangle cocking piece

This is the little I know