I've had this for a little while now but only got around to doing a photo shoot today. Kind of a quick shoot so not the greatest pics but here they are.
A couple of interesting features on this one. It has the hard to find milled, formed, and welded front band variation. I also have a b block with the same band but they aren't common by any means. They seem to only show up in the very early 44's but could be on late 43's as well possibly. The next sort of odd thing common to early byf 44's with walnut handguards is the tiny C10 stamp on the top of the handguard. Again, this could possibly show up on late 43's but none have been reported as far as I know. It's exact meaning is unknown but it's most likely some sort of inspection/acceptance marking. The last neat feature on this one is the bolt. It's a FN made bolt which is pretty standard stuff for MO but it is stamped WaA140 under the root and not the usual e/140 stamping. It's a late bolt judging by the machining so not an earlier bolt that was missed or left over and then thrown into production later. Possibly the normal e/140 stamp was broken and this stamp was used in it's place until a replacement was acquired or maybe there were two different inspectors at FN during this time frame? Who knows but I've never seen one stamped like this, this late.
Not the greatest condition but an honest all matching combat carried piece. It's duffle cut under the front band of all places so almost certainly a vet bring back. The floor plate and side of the ejector box have the finish worn off from being carried most likely and the wood around the wrist is pretty dark. The rest of the finish is thinning and the wood has it's fair share of dings and dents.
The unusual WaA140 bolt:
C10 handguard stamp:
A couple of interesting features on this one. It has the hard to find milled, formed, and welded front band variation. I also have a b block with the same band but they aren't common by any means. They seem to only show up in the very early 44's but could be on late 43's as well possibly. The next sort of odd thing common to early byf 44's with walnut handguards is the tiny C10 stamp on the top of the handguard. Again, this could possibly show up on late 43's but none have been reported as far as I know. It's exact meaning is unknown but it's most likely some sort of inspection/acceptance marking. The last neat feature on this one is the bolt. It's a FN made bolt which is pretty standard stuff for MO but it is stamped WaA140 under the root and not the usual e/140 stamping. It's a late bolt judging by the machining so not an earlier bolt that was missed or left over and then thrown into production later. Possibly the normal e/140 stamp was broken and this stamp was used in it's place until a replacement was acquired or maybe there were two different inspectors at FN during this time frame? Who knows but I've never seen one stamped like this, this late.
Not the greatest condition but an honest all matching combat carried piece. It's duffle cut under the front band of all places so almost certainly a vet bring back. The floor plate and side of the ejector box have the finish worn off from being carried most likely and the wood around the wrist is pretty dark. The rest of the finish is thinning and the wood has it's fair share of dings and dents.
The unusual WaA140 bolt:
C10 handguard stamp:
