Savage No4 (T) Register

[Roger Payne]

IIRC PL told me that when he was researching the book he discovered that the pads/bracket fitting & machining was indeed carried out in two parts. The pads were made & fitted, but the precise machining of the spigot was left until the time came for the actual fitting of the bracket, when mating surfaces on both parts were done as an ensemble. It makes sense. I have never bought this line that the 'Less Telescope' rifles were all set up late on to ensure H&H got the maximum remuneration before the contracts were cancelled in April 1946. I know I've banged on about this before, but there are minor but very real differences in the contour of the radius running along the top front face of the front pad. The radius of the edge of the 90 degree turn becomes progressively 'sharper' as production history goes on. It is very easy to distinguish a set of pads off a 1941 to 1943 rifle compared to a 1945 rifle if you know what you're looking for. The pads on ALL Savage rifles conform to the 'early style'. However, if the initial machining was done early on, but the rifles were not finished off until near the death, that might just explain the apparent dichotomy.

I don't know any better than anyone else on the early conversions but I suspect that in the early days, when H&H were just getting started on the conversions, any rifle that satisfied the accuracy standards & generally fitted the spec requirements was set aside for conversion, regardless of manufacturer. And perhaps the fact that a lot of (all??) early Savage & Maltby rifles came with the appropriate Mk1 rear sights clearly didn't hurt. Equally evidently, over time relaxations in the spec were allowed, such as the solid foresight block & the acceptance of rifles with the wrong pattern of rear sights, so long as correct replacement sights were available.