RFI made No. 4 T sniper

[Roger Payne]

Thanks Giove. When I've mentioned before about the rifles left as Mk1 (T)'s by the Indians being roughly hand stamped 'No4 Mk1' on the receiver side wall, your photo's show exactly what I meant. In fact, yours is rather neater than most!

I would agree that the rifle has also had the serial applied to the butt socket in Indian service. The font is typical of others I've come across. I have a BSA 43 that has seen Indian use & it seems to have had the original serial number over stamped. It is an AS prefix rifle. Yours now only has a letter 'A' prefix, so whether it has been totally reserialled by them, or whether that is the original number & they've just forgotten to stamp the second letter prefix, I've no idea.

[Giove]

Thank you Roger.

Looking better, actually the S.N. could be the original one: the font of the 7 is the same in the S.N. and in the M47C.

[Giove]

Here another "Indian", not mine, with original S.N.

[Roger Payne]

This second one is like my AS prefixed 1943 rifle, & has 'escaped' being marked with the 'No4 Mk1' on the side of the body.