Savage No.4

Blastattack

Blastattack

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Hey all. Went to the thorncliff gunshow this morning and came a across a very nice No.4. It's a US Property 1942 Savage No.4 MKI (no *) Serial number 6C5512. It has the two position flip rear sight, button cocking piece, plum (?) safety clip/retainer thingy, stamped (but somewhat bent) sight protector, and appears to be all original and in very good shape, and a drop dead gorgeous, sharp clean bore to boot. Now for the bad: The wood is sportered, and the butt is unsalvageable for a restore. It also did not come with a magazine, and sports a Savage no 2 bolt head. I (perhaps foolishly) purchased a magazine (painted and unmarked, save a serial number) and wood, which appears to be sanded. Having said that, I am not at all familiar with enfields, and do not exactly know what the surface should look like or what the fit of the hand-guards should look like. The wood also came with what appears to be new production hardware, as the blueing is absolutely pristine and completely unmarked. The included buttstock is too tight and does not fit. I am not terribly satisfied with either purchase as my research indicates that a Savage No. 4 MKI is relatively rare, and should be fully restored with exact and appropriate parts. I paid $115 for the rifle, $70 for the magazine, and $135 for the stock set. How did I do?

And I know :needPics:, but it's dark and my camera sucks. I'll take the gun apart and take a bunch of pictures for y'all tommorrow.
 
"I paid $115 for the rifle, $70 for the magazine, and $135 for the stock set. How did I do? "

I'd say you stole the rifle. An early Savage is a rare beast, especially with the button cocking knob. The magazine was overpriced, and the stock on the high side.
 
I've never seen one with a button cocking piece, be interested in seeing some photos. I have a 7c savage but the regular cocking piece.
 
Interested in this thread, will be interested in photos. I have a 1C Savage, mismatched bolt and sportered, but an early Mk 1 . Bore is a drainpipe so may never be worth a lot, but sounds like you got a great deal on your rifle. Wood sets are getting hard to find so you didn't overpay unless they are in bad shape, you will need to do some fitting anyway to fit your rifle, its not just a bolt on and go type deal. Some fitting around the receiver will be needed, also the buttstock will be tight anyway. No 4 magazines are not too hard to find, you probably overpaid on that unless it is nearly new. Overall sounds like a good dealin my opinion.
 
So, she is taken apart. Bolt and receiver match, and all visible parts are S marked. I can assume all parts not visible would also be S marked. The barrel is... odd. There are only four markings on it. On the shank: US Flaming bomb, 5, and D. And at the muzzle we have "NP (?) 303 2.221" above "18.5 TONS". It also has a 6 groove barrel, counterclockwise rotation (from the breech). I searched google: Lee Enfield 6 Groove Barrel and there certainly wasn't whole lot of info pertaining to Enfields with six grooves.
 
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Six groove barrels do turn up on early Savages.
Those are commercial proofs applied when the rifle was surplused in the UK.
Forend should be cut low on the right side of the action, to allow for the cut-off that was never fitted.
You should be able to find a square S marked magazine.
The S marked Nk. I cocking piece is correct.
I do not know when the stamped foresight protector was introduced. Is it S marked?
One of my long term restoration parts is a Savage 0C three digit. Started with less than you have.
Incidentally, OC1 has survived, and is a T.
 
Cool information. There is no cutout on the right side to accommodate a cutoff, nor is there a cut in the receiver for a cutoff. I believe the sporterized wood to be original to the rifle, however i can find no evidence of a makers mark on it. Not sure where savage would have stamped that. The buttstock might also be original to the gun, but I see no S marks on it or the but plate, however the but plate is made of the same grey material I see on other savage rifles. The sight protector is S marked.

Well, this rifle sure seems worthy of a full restoration to original factory specs. What precisely am I looking for to complete this rifle? Will any old Savage wood and hardware work to complete the rifle, or, being that the rifle is a very early model, are there specific parts I would need? I'll get some photos posted shortly, but any info you guys have would be awesome!
 
Pic's are required to give any solid advice. Early Savage is well worth the effort...mind you, parts are going to tough to get and cost more than the normal stuff. Thing about Savage is all parts are marked "S". You may be able to trade or sell off some of the parts you have collected to date. Savage stock sets are a beautiful reddish or light brown birch. Ron
 
rgg_7 said:
Pic's are required to give any solid advice. Early Savage is well worth the effort...mind you, parts are going to tough to get and cost more than the normal stuff. Thing about Savage is all parts are marked "S". You may be able to trade or sell off some of the parts you have collected to date. Savage stock sets are a beautiful reddish or light brown birch. Ron
Click to expand...

Birch, at the beginning of the war? I don't think so (but never say never with Enfields). The specifications from the War Office would have been walnut, and dark well-aged lumber at that. And the contracts were carefully followed, until such time as the fundamental manufacturing inefficiencies were recognized and addressed.

I had a chance to buy 0C303, but foolishly tried to negotiate and the seller laughed me off. It too was a T conversion without a scope.
 
Is there a resource specific to Savage made No 4 variations? Does Skennerton cover them well in the big book?. I see some Savage parts with a squared S and some with the S inside a square- what is the difference?
And when did they do away with the cut-down sided forestock?
 
Blastattack said:
So, she is taken apart. Bolt and receiver match, and all visible parts are S marked. I can assume all parts not visible would also be S marked. The barrel is... odd. There are only four markings on it. On the shank: US Flaming bomb, 5, and D. And at the muzzle we have "NP (?) 303 2.221" above "18.5 TONS". It also has a 6 groove barrel, counterclockwise rotation (from the breech). I searched google: Lee Enfield 6 Groove Barrel and there certainly wasn't whole lot of info pertaining to Enfields with six grooves.
Click to expand...

NP is probably Nitro Proof?
 
So, pictures:

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The safety doesn't appear to have an S mark, and is the only part that is broad arrow marked. Think it's original, or not?
The trigger guard also does not appear to sport an S mark either. Though I can't see why it would not be original savage when everything else is.
 
Yeah the safety isn't original, but you can easily find savage ones. Neat too see the round cocking knob.


Savage marked the safety and catch on the back side.
 
Looks like a neat restoration project! Gotta love it when one stumbles on such things. :)


** Little tip: Don't use white as a background. :):)
 
kjohn said:
Looks like a neat restoration project! Gotta love it when one stumbles on such things. :)


** Little tip: Don't use white as a background. :):)
Click to expand...

I sure hope so. I was looking for an Enfield to play dress up as a full military, you know, for :bigHug::bigHug::bigHug::bigHug:s and giggles. Sure as heck didn't expect to find such a treasure.

As far as the pics go, I went with what little I had. All three of our cameras were out of order for various reasons and I had to use my iPhone instead. What would have been a better background? At the time white seemed like a good idea, but now that you've said it I imagine the white brings too high a contrast and made it difficult for the camera to properly calculate and focus on the fine stampings I was trying to capture.
 
yup thats a good one to restore, and you have the rear barrel band already :D those are getting harder to find.

No2 bolt head, also getting hard to find, so check your headspace it may be that someone who didn't know what they were doing just put that one on.
 
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