Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean Romig
The forend pictured is typical of a grade 3 or 4 gun but not a grade 5..
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Dean, I have to disagree with this. I have seen many B grade guns with checkering pattern on the fore end the same as D and C, and you will note that this is stated as such on page 308 of TPS.
I believe the fore end, wood, iron, tip and latch are entirely original to the gun, and agree that the barrels are a later replacement.
Despite my assertion previously that the tip and latch did not appear correct for a grade 5, as the coverage doesn't appear as much as the ones I showed, the numbers on the reverse indicate their originality.
As to why the flat is marked '3', rather than '5', is a mystery, but Titanic barrels were the norm in 1905. TPS states the ACME barrels first showed up in 1905, but that Titanic continued to be supplied for some years afterward.