A quick introduction: I've been a member of the forum some time, and I posted a few times before life got in the way of fun. Did you miss me? At any rate, I'm happy to be
back and I plan to be more active.

I have a few questions about this No. 5 Mk1 that I would appreciate some help with. It is a BSA (M47C) rifle dated 1946 with serial number BJ4684. All serial-numbered parts (including stock and magazine) match. Using Stratton as the source, all other parts seem to be correct and some are marked with the BSA code. As you can see, it bears the "ENGLAND" stamp. I can find NO stamp that would indicate it has been through FTR.

My questions concern the rifle's condition. As you can see, the wood is in what I would call excellent condition. There are no scratches or other damage. Can someone tell me what type of wood it is? What does the condition of the wood indicate about the carbine's history?

The re-painted finish on the metal is also excellent with slight wear around the end of the flash eliminator. There are no other signs of wear. It has a few (four at most) chips in the paint in places where that's likely to happen.

As one of the pictures shows, the part of the barrel that's beneath the fore stock is not painted. Except for a few paint runs, it looks almost like the barrel was re-finished while in the stock. Is that possible? Is there any other explanation?

Upon close inspection, two "spots" of what I thought were paint on the unfinished part of the barrel are not, in fact, paint. As the picture below shows, they appear to be darker spots in the steel. They are completely smooth. They cannot be felt when rubbed with a finger or finger nail. Their shapes seem to be too similar to each other to be coincidental.

Does anyone know, or want to hazard a guess as to what the marks are?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Mike





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