1884 trapdoor with no Cartouch or Proof mark

[Renatha03!]

Hello all. I recently acquired an 1884 with what I thought was a sanded stock. However, when I received the rifle, the stock showed no signs of sanding as the orginal grain was present and all edges in crisp shape. There is no SWP cartouch or Circle P under the butt. There is a small W or M punched deep and untouched just behind the trigger gaurd. Is this another parts gun from bannerman or perhaps a scraped stock? Is has an 84 block but sn 157xxx

[John S.]

Springfield Armory made tons of spare parts for issue to unit or depot level for repair purposes.
As "parts" instead of complete arms, replacement stocks would not have cartouches or proof markings.

So, not a gun "exactly as it left the armory" but still an honest example of a rifle which was used and kept in service by replacing parts as needed, as was done with many of the rifles. Broken firing pins or springs were routinely replaced; sights were upgraded to newer models; and damaged stocks were replaced.

[Renatha03!]

Thank you Jhon I appreciate your time

[Tony Beck]

The small M/W at the back end of the trigger guard is probably a stock inspector mark. Usually it's 2 or 3 letters, but 1 is not unknown. So it most likely is an armory replacement stock.