by Marauder 1 » Mon Jul 25, 2016 11:15 pm
OK went over those photos again with a fine tooth comb. There is what appears to be a D stamp on the barrel, however not where I would expect it to be.
There are a couple of possibilities. I have no proof of these so take them with a gain of salt. It could have been started to be built as what has been termed a "sneak" rifle. That is not the proper term but that's what some call them.
They were built in the 60's by the Finns' when they were not supposed to be building them. They had a lot of war time captured parts and built them as rifles for for officers.
It could also have been an arsenal prototype or it was a test rifle, I tend to doubt it, but it's possible. I have a receiver here that has no date stamp as well. However mine is a round receiver. And from the way it's cut it's a high wall from the 40's. I believe this was a spare part and was sitting in a bin waiting to be built. Yours on the other hand is a Hex and those were already in service, so spares on those are not likely. My best guess is a parts gun. In any case it's still awesome
Seeya
Mark
“Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.” (James Madison, The Federalist Papers #46 at 243-244)