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No.4 rifle -Property of USA? |
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Hammer
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Joined: November 17 2025 Location: Hampshire Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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Topic: No.4 rifle -Property of USA?Posted: November 17 2025 at 1:24am |
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Good day all. Can you help with the potential story behind this rifle?
Not mine but owned by a friend. Outwardly a standard No.4 and in excellent condition. Except that is marked Property of the USA on the body of the action. And has the No.4T cheek rest fitted. No scope, a previous owner has fitted a side mounted BSA micrometer sight. My theory is one of a batch of No.4T transferred to the USA for them to fit their own scopes and use as sniper rifles? I would appreciate your views. Thanks. |
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Shamu
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Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510 |
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Posted: November 17 2025 at 11:37am |
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Does it have the scope mountig pads on the left side receiver wall? Very simple! Either a U.S made (Savage), or Canadian made (long branch) rifle that was set up to be a sniper, but probably never mated to a scope. You can tell which from the letter in the serial number! "C" was Chicopee falls, Mass made by Savage-Stevens. "L" by Long Branch Arsenal, Ontario, Canada. The "U.S. PROPERTY" marking was a political boondoggle allowing neutral American made weapons to be "Lend/Leased" to the U.K. without violating The Neutrality act! "Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (Pub. L. 77–11, H.R. 1776, 55 Stat. 31, enacted March 11, 1941),[1][2] was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, France, the Republic of China, and other Allied nations of the Second World War with food, oil, and materiel
between 1941 and 1945. The aid was given free of charge on the basis
that such help was essential for the defense of the United States.[2]
The Lend-Lease Act was signed into law on March 11, 1941, and ended on September 20, 1945. A total of $50.1 billion (equivalent to $690 billion in 2024 when accounting for inflation) worth of supplies was shipped, or 17% of the total war expenditures of the U.S.[3] In all, $31.4 billion went to the United Kingdom, $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union, $3.2 billion to France, $1.6 billion to China, and the remaining $2.6 billion to other Allies. Roosevelt's top foreign policy advisor Harry Hopkins had effective control over Lend-Lease, making sure it was in alignment with Roosevelt's foreign policy goals.[4] Materiel delivered under the act was supplied at no cost, to be used until returned or destroyed. In practice, most equipment was destroyed, although some hardware (such as ships) was returned after the war. Supplies that arrived after the termination date were sold to the United Kingdom at a large discount for £1.075 billion, using long-term loans from the United States, which were finally repaid in 2006. Similarly, the Soviet Union repaid $722 million in 1971, with the remainder of the debt written off." |
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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Zed
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Donating Member Joined: May 01 2012 Location: France Status: Offline Points: 6460 |
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Posted: November 17 2025 at 11:57am |
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It could just be a lend lease rifle that was returned to the USA, and had a cheek riser and dioptre rear sight fitted for target shooting.
If it was a No4T rifle, it would be marked as such and, as Shamu mentioned, it should have fittings for the scope bracket. Some photos of the markings and both sides of the receiver would be helpful.
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DisasterDog
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Joined: February 21 2025 Location: Brewery Status: Offline Points: 256 |
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Posted: November 17 2025 at 1:06pm |
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Many Savage (T) rifles were never fitted for the scopes themselves, but had the bases mounted. This one sounds like just a standard No.4 that someone added the riser to, to go along with the diopter.
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Hammer
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Posted: November 18 2025 at 5:43am |
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Thanks all. No, no scope pads. I would go with post service fitting of cheek rest, myself. But wasn't aware No.4's were manufactured in the USA. Should it have Savage markings?
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Shamu
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Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510 |
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Posted: November 18 2025 at 8:11am |
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The most obvious one woiuld be the serial number with the #C#### serial number format. There may well be "square "S" marking stamps, looks almost like a number "5"
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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DisasterDog
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Posted: November 18 2025 at 9:09am |
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Savage actually made more No.4s than any other manufacturer.
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Hammer
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Posted: November 18 2025 at 10:01am |
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Thanks all. Problem solved. I will pass it on to the owner.
Peter.
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