Rare and or unusual marking on model 1884?

[Oleskoolcollector]

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Any idea , what the 40G and 45 markings mean or stand for? I have yet to see any type of marking where the 40G is located on my rifle. Any help or knowledge would be great! Thanks

[Dick Hosmer]

I'd assume some sort of "regimental" ID marking(s) such as Company "G", rifle #40, hence possibly indicating that the stock and receiver may not be a matching set.

[Oleskoolcollector]

I'd assume some sort of "regimental" ID marking(s) such as Company "G", rifle #40, hence possibly indicating that the stock and receiver may not be a matching set.

Would there be any hard reference that would conclude the stock and receiver do not match? Are the stock and receivers specifically matched to each receiver or stock. I mean back then were the gunsmiths matching the rifles accordingly? Also, I have not seen any other trapdoor have any type of marking on the receiver like mine, what ideally would that conclude? Why haven't other rifles have the markings on the receiver. Granted I understand these rifles are apart of history and identifiable engravings and markings are hard to source out.

[Dick Hosmer]

No, it is impossible to tell, with 100% certainty what has, or has not, befallen any single rifle over the nearly 140 years of its' existence! No one can say if that is THE original stock or not - I merely intended to suggest that logic would dictate that the numbers should be the same if it were. All we can do is make educated guesses (and some of those will be wrong, though we'll never know it)

A change made 130 years ago would have, by now, acquired a patina which would be indistinguishable at this point in time.

No, SA prided itself on total parts interchangeability, and while each new rifle did come with a stock, there was nothing linking them together. The U.S. Army itself did not stamp such marks, as it was considered a defacement and was prohibited. Probably 99% of such markings come from later State usage, opening yet another (and less rigid) avenue to potential parts replacement. In short, markings such as yours usually wind up being an unsolved mystery. FWIW, many more guns are marked in the wood than in the metal, and are usually from the Spanish-American War period.

Interesting? Yes. Part of history? Yes. Decipherable? Probably not. Increased value? Modest, if any (unless the markings can be specifically associated to a famous event)