MArk iv question....

[Brad]

I aquired a nice Savage made Mark 4 a few years back, put it away and never paid much attention to it until recently.
I was showing it to a friend and noticed there was no stacking swivel. There was a screw, but no swivel.
I was at a gun show this weekend and was looking for the missing swivel.
Here i found that I saw several similiar rifles, and none had these swivels?
Should there be stacking swivels on these rifles?
Mine says US PROPERTY on it.
Thanks
Brad

[John Sukey]

ONLY the 1934 No4 Trials rifle had a "piling swivel" As for as the U.S. Property mark, that was a fiction resulting from "Lend Lease" Since you could not lend what you didn't own. After Pearl Harbor it was no longer needed.
Theoreticaly we should have also sold munitions to the Germans since we were not at war with them, but they never showed up.

[Sunray]

"...Savage made Mark..." That'd be a No. 4 Mk I. Might be a Mk I*.
"...no longer needed..." Still used though.

[tlvaughn]

Should there be stacking swivels on these rifles?

Only if it was used by the Turkish armed forces, they modified No4's with stacking swivels.

[jona]

Turks used stacking bars, not swivels. Made to duplicate the system used on their mausers.

[tlvaughn]

Turks used stacking bars, not swivels.

After I logged off last night, I realized my and intended on correcting it this AM. Even though I have seen it referenced incorrectly as a stacking swivel, jona is correct, it is a stacking rod.

Brad, I hope I did not confuse you to much, the correct answer to your question was answered by John -- only on the No4 Trials rifles.

[John Sukey]

I do have one of those Turkish rifles with the stacking bar. While it is removeable, I left it on as that clearly identifies it's origin. However I did cut off that grotty RAG that they called a sling.

[JB White]

I have seen at least two grainy photographs of troopies with offset piling swivels on their No4's. Apparently some unit somewhere was still 'old school' and retrofitted with swivels to practice the piling of arms. Pictures seemed to indicate a rear guard unit or perhaps policing action towards the end of WW2.

[John Sukey]

If it's an offset piling swivel, someone got into the parts bin for the No1Mk3. The only reason the piling swivel was offset was to clear the volley sights.