USMC Buttplate? Real or Fake

[Smokeeaterpilot]

Hey Guys I bought this to help rebuild a USMC barreled action. It wasn't expensive so I thought I'd take a chance.

Is it real or faked?



If it's faked how can you tell so I can be sure to avoid similar faked traits in the future?

Thanks so much,
Andrew

[Jeff L]

It's a little hard to tell, but is there wear to the stipples after it was punched?

[Southron]

Looks like it was Parkerized AFTER it was "center" punched. Did the Marine Corps do that?

Inquiring minds want to know.

THANKS!!!

[cplnorton]

I vote 100% real. I've had a lot of these, and it looks legit. The Marines used both punches and chisels to punch them. Usually you only see one or the other, but I've seen so many different combinations and patterns of them. No two are alike. This one is cool because it has both. Very neat! Also I find that color parkerization on WWII Marine rebuilds. It seems if they were refinished later after the war they used the light colored zinc phosphate.

This is off a SRS hit Marine 1903 that was sold at Philly as surplus. Same color finish as yours.

[chuckindenver]

really hard to tell for sure.. has been refinished at some point.
iv seen punch marks and chisel marks.

[Smokeeaterpilot]

Thanks so much guys. Glad it "may" be real. I can't wait to throw it on my barreled action.

[Parashooter]

Back in 1964 when I was a young Private on the Fort Dix rifle team, our old "brownshoe" coach picked up an AP core from the berm and told me how they used them as prick punches on M1903's to enhance buttplate friction. My point is that this was a career Army NCO, not a Marine - and that anyone with a hammer and an AP core (or a punch) can produce this effect on a smooth '03 buttplate.

[Smokeeaterpilot]

What is a way to invalidate a buttplate in question. Any marks that make you think "faked?"

[Parashooter]

This kind of thing can be "faked" only if one believes, erroneously, that it is found exclusively on rifles belonging to a particular branch of service. Once we accept that it's meaningless by itself, the concept of it being bogus becomes irrelevant.

When observed in combination with several other features generally recognized as peculiar to a specific branch, it acquires a bit more utility, but none of these easily-produced characteristics, alone or together, give positive proof of a specific provenance. That's something that requires documentation.

[Art]

I don't think USMC buttplates are routinely faked but if they were they would be almost undetectable. I would just go with the assumption it's authentic.

When the Greek '03s were being imported I lucked into a very nice high number former USMC '03 with an original barrel. I had a USMC front sight hood I'd bought from Scott Duff and decided to make the rifle into a representative 1930s rifle with all the USMC modifications....or at least as many as possible. I bought a USMC rear sight slide and front sight from Joe De Christopher, had them installed then got really lucky. An old boy wrote in this forum that he had received a Greek return Remington '03A3 with a smooth buttplate that had been stippled and wanted to know what the deal was. Long story short...I swapped him a really nice Remington butt plate for his rifle and he sent me the stippled butt plate off his '03A3. The thing was so used and had been refinished so many times that the stippling was very worn but still there. There are probably people who would tell me that my buttplate is "fake" and how would I prove it wasn't??? Which brings me to Parashooter's point. The buttplate was shipped by the CMP on a rifle that almost surely was never a USMC rifle, stuff happens in rebuild.

[TDP0311]

It looks ok to me, but like everyone says, this is one of those deals where its really hard to tell. I think for the build you are working on it will work out great though. Definitely looking forward to seeing the pics of it when you have the old girl all restored.

[Smokeeaterpilot]

That's interesting... Thr USMC service rifle is a learning curve for me.