Brian, just to clarify!! The receiver ring serial # you refer to....I take it that's the serial given by CA and not the original serial at time of rifle manufacture? This one I'm trying to pry away from the owner does have the "tri-cornered maple leaf" proof mark you speak of on the receiver ring and bolt handle (looked in Skennerton's the Lee Enfield story but could not find it), the impression on the bolt handle is hard to make out, it's been lightly stuck. The "0" on the end of the 1500 is also lightly struck on one side. It makes sense to have struck the tri-cornered proof right after cause it is right behind the 1500 and the depth of impression again is lighter. I have done some stamping on small metal parts in my day and there is finesse in being able to leave a proper impression, if not holding the stamp perpendicular to the part, one side is not as deep and the other could too deep, it's even more difficult when stamping on small round parts with oversize stamps. Easier than it sounds!!! Maybe the poor fellow assigned the task of proofing rifles that day was a bit hung-over and couldn't hold the stamp straight??
Anyhow thanks for the responses so far guys....got to get this picture thing figured out at some point.
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---------- Post added at 10:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:38 PM ----------
Oh yeah forgot!! Did the installation of a Sterling ejector require another hole just forward of the original extractor hole???