What is with these replacement #4 forward bands?

[Nate]

The rifle I am restocking came with a front band that is made of heavy metal thicker than a Savage type. I had a difficult time getting it off and have no interest in reusing it. I have seen one part for sale that is the same thing. Who makes this junk and where can I find the thin, flexible band that have, until now, been on all my #4s? Time to place a WTB entry.

[JBinIll]

Try Springfield Sporters.Early British,Savage,and Long Branch all used the heavy milled bands.

[Nate]

What confuses me about these heavy bands is, my first #4 was bought in1956 and I have had at least a half a dozen since. This is the first time I have run across this particular band and I don't want to see another one. My Savage band is not a heavy as this one I'm tossing.

[John Sukey]

You are tossing an original part. In any case, WHY would you want to replace it? Do you plan to tear down the rifle every time you shoot it?

[Nate]

Forgive me, I don't throw away anything. This band is so bad that I risk damaging the front end of the rifle for nothing. Also, someone punched a deep V in the top rear and bent that part of the band inward, making it drag on the handguard. I did try to peen it down but not much help. Again, my innocence about these early parts was a surprise because in 50+ years collecting the heaviest band encountered was the thinner Savage band. I still have that rifle and it is the only Mk1 I have personally seen. It is complete and correct and a little beaten up. My intention was to upgrade some day but I never saw another one. All the others were the *variant.

[JB White]

The punch mark in the band was part of your rifle's history. That's a common armorers fix to stop a band that shifted under recoil. No big deal really since most don't have that fix applied. All you did by attempting to straighten it out was lose the value of the band now that it displays "private sector tampering".

[Guamsst]

I wonder how many people have "fixed" correct items over the years. I have a friend that spent a long time chipping all the dirt out of a WW1 German helmet when he was a kid. Only to see in a reference book later that it was correct WW1 German "insulation". That was probably 40-50 yrs ago and he is still sick about it.

Atleast you only tried to unbend something on a small part.

Best thing I ever did was start off early on listening to guys who had been collecting for a long time.

[Nate]

The heavy band mentioned has been replaced with the one I remember. I will happily send this heavy band to anyone here post paid. Just let me know.

[Frederick303]

Having spent a fair amount of time at the range shooting matches with the No 4, I suggest you keep the notched milled band. The V notch, as mentioned earlier, is to keep the front handguard from gradually moving forward under recoil. The problem with the handguard moving forward is that it will eventually (after not that many shots) hit the front sight base protector. At that point you will get wild shots due to the inconsistent vibration patterns that the barrel is subject to.

This is a very common Armourer mod, and one you will see applied on almost every rifle set up for either SR(a) or SR(B) competition. The original hinged bands did not have this problem, the hinge providing a suitable stop to prevent the handguard moving forward and striking the front sight protector.

On some rifles if the height of the brass rivets that mount the metal shield to the front handguard are sufficiently high and the rivet head diameter very large, you will not see this problem, as long as the band screw is very tight. On most handguards the size of the rivet head is insufficient to limit the forward movement of the handguard.