Handguard markings on M1917 Remington

[cwbuff]

I'm looking for information on the markings on the 11/18 dated M1917 Remington. As you can see in the pic, there are three letters that look like "SAO". Does anyone know anything about these markings?

Information

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[RCS]

I heard that some Winchester M1917 handguards have a number on the inside (if anyone has a photo ?) I do not think the SAO on the outside would be related to a factory marking

[woodlecj]

I believe that is 045 as in the height of the sight blade? Mine says 090.

---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 PM ----------

Sorry, looked at it again and saw the SAO on the wood stock. My answer was not what you were looking for

[emmagee1917]

Just a WAG , but maybe SA for a springfield armory replacement ( did they make any ? ) followed by a flaming bomb. SA is also a stamp used by Finland .
Chris

[thefixitman]

The remington handgards I've seen were marked with a "R" stamped on the inside .

[Calif-Steve]

Many of the early handguards were factory marked. But they split so many in the process that the practice was halted. I guess SAO was a sub-contractor.