The gas cylinder on my SA (5,485,xxx) has a vertical cut, through the dovetail under the front sight. Does anyone know of a good explanation for this?

This was my first Garandicon that I bought before joining CMPicon, and I didn't notice the cut gas cylinder until much later. I have not tried gauging the cylinder.

At first I thought maybe the gas cylinder had previously been stuck to an old barrel, but the placement of this cut would not appear to aid removal of anything. I'm just curious, maybe someone can tell me the reason for it.
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