Early RIA Correct or Not?

[ibuymilitaria]

Gentlemen looking for some answers on RIA. The rifle serial #is 385xxx it has a RIA 3-18 dated barrel does this sound right? Also the bolt I have a question about should the NS be on top or on the bottom of bolt handle? Does anybody know if there where different font sizes used for marking. I was at a show this week and saw 4 different NS bolts 2 marked from the top, one NS the other was marked N S with a space, the other 2 were marked from the bottom, one NS and the other N S but the fonts were twice the size and spaced very far apart. Would someone kindly educate me on this. Thank You Jeff B

Information

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[mark1]

Jeff check out VIshooters page. Follow the link. There is a lot of great information there.

http://vishooter.home.att.net/m1903.html

http://vishooter.home.att.net/slc16_2008.html

[ibuymilitaria]

Yea been there already. Love that sight. Jeff

[Rick the Librarian]

A 3-18 RIA barrel might be a little early, but might be correct.

Is the NS bolt also on the RIA? A RIA NS bolt was on the safety lug, not the bolt handle.

On Springfield bolts, the NS was found on the top othe bolt handle.

[ibuymilitaria]

Yes my mistake..... on the safety lug. Jeff

[John Beard]

There are several different styles of legitimate Nickel Steel markings. These are:

(1) "NS" in small block letters, no periods, almost touching, on the top or bottom of the safety lug. These are Rock Island nickel steel straight handle bolts.

(2) "N S" in small block letters, without periods, individually hand stamped atop the bolt handle. "Individually hand stamped" means that the letters are usually not perfectly aligned. These are early Springfield Armory nickel steel curved handle bolts.

(3) "N S" in large serifed letters, without periods, individually hand stamped atop the bolt handle. These are a bit later Springfield Armory nickel steel curved handle bolts.

(4) "N.S." in small block letters, with periods, die stamped atop the handle. Die stamped means the letters are perfectly spaced and are close together. These are the later Springfield Armory nickel steel bolts, and are the most common.

The RIA rifle you describe is not likely correct, but may be. More description is required.

Hope this helps.

J.B.