I Guess I Collect Underwoods Now!!

[Dave-In-Maine]

Daily lurker, never posted on this forum before, although I did on "the old" one a few times.

The reason I am breaking my silence is that I am so excited by a new addition to my family, and I have to share!!!!

I have been the proud owner of a beautiful 1943 Underwood (266****-all original, all early features) since I received it for my 13th birthday in 1976. I love it, and consider myself very fortunate to have such a nice rifle in such great condition.

Well, I am now also the proud owner of a beautiful 1943 (or 44) Underwood (287****-all original, all arsenal rebuild features) that I got over the weekend.

On my list of "carbines I want" the top spot was held by "Underwood, late features, arsenal rebuild, not import." Well, be careful what you wish for--you may get it!!!!

What is interesting to me is that while most of the parts are what I expected (post-war rebuild/mixmaster), the receiver, barrel and stock match. The receiver and stock could be twins of my older one (right down to the very faint, almost invisible cartouche).

The barrel appears to be a replacement, although with an Underwood stamp and date. The barrel and barrel band have a pretty dark grey finish, but the portions of the barrel inside the stock and under the barrel band are somewhat lighter.

The markings all appear to be right, with the exception of the barrel--I cannot find a proof mark. Would a replacement barrel have a proof mark?

I didn't realize how much I had wanted another one until I saw this one!!

I'll fully disassemble and post photos when I can--the ones I took of a partial disassembly did not come out all that great.

Information

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[ChadC]

Thanks for sharing!

[jimb16]

Have you started on the Underwood subcontracts yet? If not, I've got a nice Underwood "T".......

[Tired Retired]

Darnit, Jim, just when I got my carbine addiction under control, you have to peek my interest in another way to collect them! Guess I need to order a underwood before they are gone!

[22mike]

[Dave-In-Maine]

Photos added:
M! Carbine - a set on Flickr

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

Pichers? Where did he go to school?

[Mizzouboy]

everbody knowes its spelt "peekshures"....

[22mike]

Really nice Carbine............

[Dave-In-Maine]

Thanks--I'm quite pleased with it.

I'd like some feedback from more knowledgeable members, but my "theory" is that it is post-war rebuild, and received a new barrel, and that it is simply a fluke that the receiver, barrel, bolt and stock are all Underwood.

The carbine is an almost identical match to my older rifle, in terms of finish, wear patterns, etc. There was a reasonable level of gunk and lint around the metal/wood interfaces, the wear patterns on the moving parts are pretty consistent and what I would expect, ditto for the wood, but the barrel is a bit of a puzzle to me.

The barrel appears to have not been fired through very much--there is little to no wear around the feed ramp or chamber as there is on my other carbine. There's very little wear around the muzzle or the sight fins.

The barrel appears to be dated 9-44. I say "appears" because the first "4" is very faint, and might be a product of wishful thinking. The 9 is distinct, the - less so, there's a gap/shadow of a 4, then a distinct 4. This seems to be consistent with my other carbine, as well: the "outer" numbers (and letters in the name) are very slightly more distinct than the "inner" numbers and letters.

The barrel and band have a very dark grey finish, and the areas of the barrel covered by either the band or the stock are quite a bit lighter which makes me think they have been in that configuration for some time--I tried to show that in one of the photos.

There's no visible proof mark on the barrel.

So, I guess my biggest questions for the forum are:
1:Would a replacement barrel have a proof mark, and if so what and where?
2:Is an Underwood barrel date of 9-44 correct?

Thanks to all--I enjoy lurking here every day, but it was finally time to come out of the closet, so to speak.............