Being marked that way post-war definitely makes more sense to me than anything else, but I'm going off of Anthony Vanderlinden's FN book, in which he explicitly mentions that the stamp was not used post-war. The stamp is not of an arrow, but the noted 'Perron,' a tower like monument in Liege. It was stamped horizontally on other rifles, too.
Here's the run-down on the stamp: It was used as an intermediate proof on the barrel in the barrel proofing process, but was eliminated on the barrel in 1919. On receivers and bolts, it indicates the final proof. "The Perron proof was eliminated from the bolt after World War II, giving a clear indicator if a bolt was made pre- or postwar."
Having Czechoslovak inspection and acceptance stamps and Perron stamps on both the receiver and bolt certainly suggests post-war application of the stamp on a rifle left in Belgium or imported there after the war. Vanderlinden has had access to former FN employees and their records for many years, so this one begs some questions. In any case, that is a nice looking rifle!
Pat
Here's the run-down on the stamp: It was used as an intermediate proof on the barrel in the barrel proofing process, but was eliminated on the barrel in 1919. On receivers and bolts, it indicates the final proof. "The Perron proof was eliminated from the bolt after World War II, giving a clear indicator if a bolt was made pre- or postwar."
Having Czechoslovak inspection and acceptance stamps and Perron stamps on both the receiver and bolt certainly suggests post-war application of the stamp on a rifle left in Belgium or imported there after the war. Vanderlinden has had access to former FN employees and their records for many years, so this one begs some questions. In any case, that is a nice looking rifle!
Pat
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