That 88 of yours shoots pretty darn good. My dad bought mine for me used in 1968, serial # 3950, which makes it a 1955, & still carries the old Weaver K-4 B60 scope. One thing puzzling is, mine doesn't have the clover leaf insert at the rear of the receiver. Have anyone of you guy's ever seen or heard of this before?
From an article that was posted
Recoil Block : The early model 88 rifles under approximate s/n 82,900 (made from the start at 1955 to about mid year 1958) had a cloverleaf recoil block, later ones were a larger rounded style. The part number changed from #6988 to #6988B. The reason for the change was that the inletting of this block into the stock at the rear was prone to crack the stock under recoil. The new block style sat on top of a stock shelf which solved this problem.
The Model 100 rifles did not appear until 1961, therefore they used the later same style rounded block as the 88s of the same time period, HOWEVER the 88 and 100 blocks do not interchange as the model 88 needed sideplates riveted to the inner rear of the receiver to support the lever system, thereby requiring the 88 block to be narrower to fit inside these sideplates, and it also had slots forward top to accommodate the link's at full lockup movement. The part number for the model 100 recoil block is #5200.
Early clover-leaf type recoil block on Left with the later on the Right Here you see the model 100 on the left with the late model 88 on the right. Notice both blocks probably started as the same part, but the 88 has sideplate AND link slot clearances machined in.
You may see some older guns with a new style recoil block and a replacement stock. This is because when the inventory of factory old stocks was gone, the factory and warranty centers used new style stocks, but then had to also use a new style recoil block.
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/CLWZCVPx/Winchester-M88-243-WIN-with-Elite-3200.jpg)
