recently acquired a 1944 Maltby lee enfield no.4 mk1*

[Brian Dick]

Savage sent spare parts as well as complete rifles to England during WWII so I'd say there's a good chance that the handguards are original. Sure, they may have been replaced in service too but who really knows? I've seen Maltby rifles with scattered Savage metal parts throughout too and they didn't have FTR markings. The woodwork is usually British manufacture but why wouldn't they use new birch handguards made by Savage if that's what came out of the box during production? Food for thought. I know lots of guys who have insisted on changing out Savage parts from mostly Maltby production as well as post 1944 Long Branch rifles and I think it's a mistake. Just my 2 cents.