From a bulk purchase of stocks I had a NPM stock that had a hole on each side, located in the same area as yours.
I assumed it might have been from some type of Bi-Pod. I gave it to someone that used Aqua Glass (?). It came out ok.
With your picture magnified I might have imagined seeing a box near your oiler slot......... Thinking it might be whats left of a RIA over EB stamp... But IDK
Any plans to Deep clean the wood?
Any sign of a small ordnance bomb near the recoil plate?
We've seen this little bomb stamp on many RIA/EB stamped stocks.... See 2nd picture.
So i picked up one of the Royal Tiger M1 carbines Through Classic Firearms and paid more than i should have but ended very Happy. So i believe it`s fairly low number 1,145,XXX. The rifle was sold at a discount because they listed a cracked stock. Mine has a hole in it. It came with a scruff of a sling left behind held in place with a piece of driftwood or a mummified finger? The barrel and receiver metal is in remarkable condition. And the bore is amazing. I don`t have a muzzle gauge but a cartridge wont go closer than 1/8" from going all the way into the muzzle. I don`t know how such a nice rifle ended up with such a POS stock but i love it. Can anyone tell me an approximate manufacture date?
I am more than pleased with what I got. I paid alot for an imported rifle but they are getting harder to find everyday. She shoots flawlessly. I am really hooked on Winchester service rifles now days. Painter777 I will have to check all those cool details. I can almost imagine a suspicious mark here and there that i would like to be something beside Tank Tracks. So 3 1/2" barrel channel. three holes under butt plate. I would like to think it has a square corner near the oiler hole?? It has a Inland Trigger housing with Winchester Hammer haven`t disassembled more. Very nice Winchester Barrel. I am very happy with Classic Firearms.
I really do like the stock i imagine the hole is where they used it to fight off a lion. No ammo. ever used in it. I really like the mummified finger holding the sling.
No rust anywhere except the tiniest bit on the barrel band. I can`t imagine how the stock got so bad and the metal stayed so nice? All i know is the Rifles Gods were smiling on me when Classic sent me such a great example hiding in such a Cruddy old stock. I really do love the stock it has character. But i also had an OLD thing just leaning around waiting for a gal to wear it.
They probably robbed the original stock and replaced it with the scrap one. Doesn't really matter now, it looks presentable now and the new stock is a much better stock all around.
You need to look for one of these:
Is your ordnance ball on the barrel flat like this?
Don't be too cautious, these are genuine Winchester stamps. They just are hit harder and the wood is Winchester wood. The Ordnance ball caused an uproar because this carbine is considered to be completely original (it has an AU recoil plate, one of 5,000 sent to Win by Underwood in Nov of '43). Some folks threw it under the bus over that barrel marking. Marty Black put a bit in the final issue of the CC magazine asking people to respond if they had one like it and about 6 months later several surfaced. Marty was right, it was just an "Oddball" Winchester stamp. Many many Winchester stocks look this good. Don't assume it was humped. It may be too late for your carbine, but it is a Win. By the way, there is really nothing particularly special about Winchester carbines except the name. Their metal finishing is just as rushed as any of the others. They also assembled after being finished, so it isn't unusual for front sights to look like they've been removed and replaced...humped. I think that Underwood and NPM made as good or better guns.
There is a "Mirror Image" gun in the same SN# area complete with an AU plate in the CC files. BQ has another way of identifying an original and it's simple: If it is a humped or corrected gun, why would Bubba leave in an AU plate? Winchester plates are all over and cheap.