J5 bolt in serial #1214356 ?

[218bee]

Mr. Beard.....A co-worker just picked up a beautiful 1903, serial # 1214356.

It wears all contemporary parts, but has a J5 bolt (marked on safety lug). According to the chart, this is a bit early....The rifle's finish matches pefectly on all major parts, and it wears an 11-20 SA barrel.

Could this bolt be original to the rifle?.....I doubt it's a NM rifle, as there are no NM parts on it.....but I have no access to SRS records..

Any help would be appreciated.

regards

218bee

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Don W]

Hi bee,

FYI, My 1212817 ~ SA 11-20 has a J6 bolt (marked on top root of handle).

DW (219zipper)

[John Beard]

Mr. Beard.....A co-worker just picked up a beautiful 1903, serial # 1214356.

It wears all contemporary parts, but has a J5 bolt (marked on safety lug). According to the chart, this is a bit early....The rifle's finish matches pefectly on all major parts, and it wears an 11-20 SA barrel.

Could this bolt be original to the rifle?.....I doubt it's a NM rifle, as there are no NM parts on it.....but I have no access to SRS records..

Any help would be appreciated.

regards

218bee

The bolt is not contemporary with the rifle's serial number by more than a year. And I can prove that. The bolt, however, may still be original to the rifle. SA may have scavenged the bolt from the bottom of a parts bin or perhaps another rifle. It wouldn't be the first time.

Hope this helps.

J.B.

[218bee]

Just for kicks I advertised a swap for a J6 bolt on the shopper.....

I appreciate all your time with this..


218bee

[Rick the Librarian]

If the present bolt matches, as far as color and finish, I would be hesitant to replace it with a "correct" bolt of dissimlar finish and color.

[Chuckindenver]

if it aint broke dont fix it.

[John Beard]

I concur with RtL and Chuckindenver. If the bolt matches the rifle, I'd leave it in there. As I mentioned in my previous posting, it wouldn't be the first time that SA scavenged a bolt from the bottom of a parts bin. Although remote, the mismatch is not so great as to completely rule out the possibility of originality.

J.B.

[218bee]

I agree....The bolt matches perfectly with the rest of the rifle, .....I'll relay this to my friend....I'm sure he'll concur...

Many thanks again

218bee (Dan in NY)