Anyone know what arsenal(s) these are from

[highpower3006]

I think the rear is from Remington (RA-W) but the front has me stumped.

Information

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[JGaynor]

I think the rearmost stamp is [BA-WL] = Benicia Arsenal Rebuild - The one list I consulted had no information on the inspector.

The other stamp looks like [POD D] (?) maybe if Rick sees this he can help. I am thinking maybe Philppine Ordnance Depot - not sure

Regards,

Jim

[CptEnglehorn]

The PODD is Phillippine Ordnance Depot, the BAWL, is benecia arsenal, all the rifles ive seen with the PODD cartouche have had some variant of a benecia arsenal cartouche as well. PODD is somewhat uncommon atleast around these parts.

[RCS]

The POD and the additional D (inspector) are from the pre WW2 Philippine Ordnance Depot. A few stocks have surfaced with this rebuild stamp, it is not common to find

[Rick the Librarian]

As I am a "Philippines afficianado", I've made a study of these, as my #1 collecting goal is to find a rifle that was from the Philippines.

POD is "Philippine Ordnance Depot" - located in Manila at Fort Santiago. I believe this was formerly the Manila Ordnance Depot which performed a lot of work on Krags. Nearly all the stamps I have seen are POD-D but have seen one or two with POD-B.

Virtually all of the stocks I have seen have a "BAWL" stamp, mas well, indicating that the rifle went through inspection at Benecia Arsenal, before or after (probably before) being shipping to the Philippines.

Highpower, ould like to hear more about your rifle, if possible.

RtL

[firstflabn]

Any indication POD continued rebuilding or processing rifles after WWII? If they closed down, that date could be useful.

I have an 03A3 with the BA-WL stamp identical to that of the OP - note the top loop of the 'B' is slightly larger than the bottom loop. Have seen photos of a couple of carbines similarly marked. My stamp has been sanded, so can't tell whether 'WL' has periods or not.

[highpower3006]

Here are a couple more pictures of the rifle. In looking at it, it very much looks as though it was rebuilt after WW1 but not used after that.

Avis barrel dated 1-19


Black parkerized receiver

[Rick the Librarian]

Any indication POD continued rebuilding or processing rifles after WWII? If they closed down, that date could be useful.

The Philippine Ordnance Depot was abandoned when Manila was declared an open city in 1941. Usable materials were removed and the rest was destroyed. As the Philippines was granted independence less than a year after WWII, there was no attempt to restore the POD.

I have been looking for a "genuine" Philippine M1903 ever since I started seriously collecting. I have seen several rifles with the POD stamp, but there is no way to know whether the stock is "original to the rifle" or not. I would greatly like to find a "certified" rifle from the Philippines.