Mark 4 T without S 51 stamp on stock

[Peter Laidler]

By dint of coincidence, My c.1965 .22" No7 rifle has a S51marked, cheekrest butt, originally fitted to 380(or 6?)56. No doubt, the now owner of this No4T will be champing at the bit, concerned about the lack of originality of his No4T.

And in a few years time, the owner-to-be of this No7, BS1xxx will be humming and haaing about the lack of originality of the No7 he wants to purchase. But that's the way we did it in the 60's

[Sht_LE]

I got curious and checked. According to Skennerton all No.4Ts had the Normal butt fitted from the get go, but as everyone else has pointed out the butt would have been changed over time if:
The original butt was damaged
The Normal length was too short or long for the sniper issued the rifle
As a side note, I once owned a normal length butt that was S51 marked and had a scope serial number on it. The check piece had been removed and both of the screw holes had been neatly plugged with wood dowels. The fit and colour match was so close they could not be felt and they could only be seen in good light. I obtained it in a lot of used furniture I purchase from Springfield Sporters years ago. My best guess was it had come off a 4T because it was too long or short, and the Armourer had pulled the check rest to put on the new butt, then plugged the holes so it could be used on a standard No.4 if the need arose.

[Peter Laidler]

I've since been informed by 'Big Robbie' the now since long retired examiner that there was always a 10% rule with No4 rifle butts. They were manufactured with an average of 90% normal butts with 10% long/short mix thrown in to cater for your average run of soldiers. This applied to original L1A1's too.

Given that the No4T's were selected off the line as those which gave a higher accuracy reading from the check group, then I feel that it'd be a safe bet that if the mathematical saying that 'averages generally turn out to be the norm' then the pick of No4T's will reflect this too.

You're dead right there ShtLE. That's JUST the way we did it. Waste not, want not.