Straight eared lugs and lightening cuts....oh my!

[Justin Hell]

You would think, that after all of the scrubbing, scraping, exposure to noxious chemicals...that I would have noticed this before stripping it of all BBQed Russian street cred, rebluing and installing it on the '49.

But, alas....I did not.  I was too busy looking at her funny ears.

If there was any question... Which came first, the lightening cut or the angled bayo lug...it was the lightening cut.



In addition to many things I have been noticing, this one also doesn't match up with the pin holes on the 49, neither horizontally or vertically. I had to chip out the upper round corner of the existing hole to get this in...still not noticing the bleeding lightening cut. I also noticed, later, that mounting it also butts it up to the step on the barrel rather than leaving that small gap. Between the hole positioning and the difference between this and the original neutered lug FSB being a difference in length of half a millimeter everything is just off...and wrong...so very wrong.

Luckily, despite refinishing it, I have been offered an exchange for the right one...but the question I have is, how rare is this particular part? What would this be?  A late 51?

Should I perhaps hang on to this? Hours of TLC went into it...but I am starting to have FSBs stack up around this piece....but I would also hate to spend the cash on yet another unless this is something special.

[running-man]

That lug is off a '52 Justin. '52s were the year they transitioned from straight to angled and the one you show (straight eared lightening cut) was what was briefly used before the changeover to angled ear lightening cut was finalized. No idea if they had a bunch of straight bayo collars in inventory that they needed to use up or what the real reason is. One of those unknown things we might never know.   

The correct FSB for a '49 would be a straight eared solid like this one off a '51:



90% of people wouldn't notice it out of place on your gun I'd think. Only you know how much it would bug you though...

[Justin Hell]

At least I have access to the correct one, and I am just out the time and effort refurbishing it....I already have to send a trigger group back.
Another concern is with the FSB that far back, is the bayonet handle not meeting up with it up front.....aside from it driving me absolutely nuts. Even with the correct one, I will know that there is that tiny shard of metal missing from the barrel underneath...and I have to live with that. 

Today's adventure was possibly discovering the mystery behind the golden bayonets...I have to duplicate my 'experiment', but, for a time today...I had a golden 50 receiver cover.

Thanks for confirming it is from a 52, I am sure the seller will like to know.