Has anyone noticed how very different the factory nosecaps on the Husqvarna fullstock carbines can be? Some have a totally different shape from others...and therefore the wood forend behind it is tapered differently. I just noticed it on two that I have. Hard to see the difference in photos but I tried:
The two rifles in the photos are a 30-06 and a .243. Both all original. The .243 has a front sight hood and has a Monte Carlo stock. The 30-06 has the simpler stock and is the earlier rifle (based on serial number). In the 30-06 nosecap there is a pronounced taper from the bottom of the forend up to the barrel and there are just straight sides in the .243 nosecap. Or to put it another way, the nosecap on the 30-06 widens from the barrel downward and the .243 nosecap does not.
The bevel at the front of each nosecap differs as well, and is wider in the 30-06, but this minor compared to the difference in overall profile.
I have not taken any accurate measurements but you can see what I mean...I hope. The differences are more obvious in reality than in photos.
I guess we have to put the considerable variations of parts dimensions down to the handwork by different employees over the years. You would think that by the 1960's the interchangeability and standardization of all parts would have been the norm in firearms assembly, but this is apparently not the case with Husqvarna. (I also note that the two stocks will not interchange without requiring rebedding in the recoil lug area. The .243 has a barrel that protrudes approx. 1/16 in. past the nosecap. The 30-06 barrel is flush to the end of the nosecap. You can clearly see this difference in the first SXS photo.)
On the negative side, this makes parts replacement difficult. The nose-caps on these two rifles are not interchangeable. At least not without re-filing the forend wood, since the frontal shape of the nosecap acts as a template for the forend section. On the positive side, it could prevent the unscrupulous from assembling parts guns and falsely claiming them as all original.
One other thing: The screw holding the nosecap on the more recent Monte Carlo stocked .243 is nearly three times as long as it is on the 30-06. Both screws look completely original. Although it has never happened to me, I know some people have complained about losing the caps and having them come off during recoil. Placing the screw parallel with the barrel (and the recoil force) never seemed like a good idea to me. Other manufacturers usually have the attachment screw enter the stock from the bottom center of the nosecap at a right angle to the barrel. I think HVA using the much longer screw on the more recent rifle may have been an attempt to solve this problem.
My question is whether or not one of these nosecap profiles is more common or more typical than the other?