Bittersweet Acquisition

[imarangemaster]

EDIT: M4 bayonet is probably 1990s commercial/. "X" is vertical rather than horizontal. The devil is in the details!

[W5USMC]

Checked it against "Bayonet Points" guide, and it is definitely WW 2 production with "X" stamp on pommel

EDIT: M4 bayonet is probably 1990s commercial/. "X" is vertical rather than horizontal. The devil is in the details

Regardless, an X would have not been WWII production, it would be either Korean War era or commercial.
Bayo Points 8

Curious, what markings if any are on the recoil check?

[imarangemaster]

"Recoil Check SPAIN". He had two, both were Spanish made. As a side note, the potbelly has a recoil plate marked SG with an R over it. That's a coincidence!

[W5USMC]

That would be an SG recoil plate that was transferred to Rock-ola.

[painter777]

IRM,
I believe you called the trigger housing a type IV. It's milled for the M2 mods.

[imarangemaster]

Bill probably picked it up at a show and changed it out. "Bill" is just an ugly duckling mix-master, but that's OK. Its quirky, just like my friend, its name sake, was LOL. I have a range date on the 24th to see how it shoots.

[imarangemaster]

Yes it is! It actually came with two M2 trigger housings. The purple one in the gun, and a parked one in the box of spare parts.. "Spare parts" are good tho have .

[imarangemaster]

I'm thinking maybe it is an ERMA barrel, maybe recently re-crowned. The SG has the purple trigger housing indicating possible German/Austrian use, and it has the distinctive collar in front of the gas block. According to M1 Carbines Inc. (see link) these barrels are found unmarked on some of these Ger/Aus Carbines, and they are the only ones with the distinctive collar. First three pics are Erma and show a bit of variation in the collar. Criterion and Green Mountain do not have the collar, at least in the pics I have seen. As for the SG being in a birch pot belly, that may have been switched out by my friend to have an M2 stock.

U.S. Carbines in Germany and Austria







My barrel:





Open to all opinions. The key, of course, is how does it shoot. That'sall that really matters to me!

[imarangemaster]

I have to say, though, the "blonde" birch pot-belly stock bugs me. I have a nice walnut pot-belly stock that I'm going to put the Saginaw. First, I'll clean and freshen it with my 50/50 Mineral Spirits / Raw linseed oil mix. I use it to scrub the grime off with a green kitchen scratch pad.

[browningautorifle]

the "blonde" birch pot-belly

You could strip the finish with liquid and use a Fiebings leather die to darken it. I did northern maple to as dark and walnut on a savage pump 30/30...looked perfect.