U.S. Military Trainer????

[Moderator]

Ok so I had a thread a couple years back and received no help. I am making a new one with pictures and hope that someone knows something about this. A few years ago I bought this Springfield/Savage model 120A from a friend. He didn't seem to know much about the history of it. What I found odd is that it is marked "US PROP.". I did some googling and I can't find anything about these being used for training rifles. The gun is pre '68 as it has no serial numbers. The guys at my local gun shop think it's at least 50 years old because of the nice brown patina. The only markings I can find on it besides the original factory markings are "US PROP.", "NZ" (could be a factory proof?), and a circle with "40S" inside of it (maybe another factory proof?). I know the basic gun in general was made by the thousands and don't fetch more than $100 or so, but I can't find any others with the "US PROP" stamp. There was no rear sight for it, so I picked one up just so it had one. I am not sure why the original one is missing or why it was removed.

Someone please help me

<Click on thumbs for larger view>

Here is the complete gun


The complete factory stamping


Close up of the "US PROP." and "NZ"


Close up of the circle with "40S" inside of it

 

[mark056]

I am going to take a stab here. I could be off by a country mile or wider...the US Military frequently buys off the shelf items for local use. It could be that this was a local procurement item for some specific purpose, and it conceivably be stamped US Property. The reasons are varied. It could have been used as a trainer, or it could have been used as for recreational shooting as part of the installation's recreation program. I would venture to say, that at one time or another every gun manufacturer of any consequence has had firearms purchased by the US Military for one reason or another.

Or it may be that they were purchased in some quantity and used for training. I remember when I was in ROTC my freshman year at the University of Az (mandatory for all freshman males) we shot .22 rifles in the range in the basement of the gym. Now what did we use for rifles? I don't have a clue, but they were along the lines of your Springfield/Savage model. .22 single shot bolt actions.

It could be too, that it was a lend lease item that went overseas was used as a trainer and eventually came back as surplus. Lend-Lease firearms as usually marked U.S. Property...lend lease to New Zealand ?

I'm sure someone better informed than me will give you a better answer. This is purely speculation.

 

[jasons]

According to this the "40S in a circle" stamp could indicate that it was made in 1965.

http://www.cylindersmith.com/savage24/datecode.html

 

[Moderator]

According to this the "40S in a circle" stamp could indicate that it was made in 1965.

http://www.cylindersmith.com/savage24/datecode.html

It looks like that may have been a standard code for Savage not just on the 24. Thanks for the info.