T marks are still present on the stock but I assume it’s a war time replacement since it’s missing the scope serial numbers? Please let me know what you think and thanks for your support!

Look for the letter S stamped on the front right side action body where the “lump” for the never fitted magazine cutoff axis pin would be located. 

What seems odd to me is that the rifle has the H&H markings but never had a scope fitted. Payne’s article suggests there may have been BSA T’s without scopes fitted, but those did not have the T stamp on the left sidewall.  

If this is a forgery, someone seems to have replicated the typical stamps/markings. 

Can you send a photo of the underside butt stock S51 stamp and also the S on the right front action body cutoff lump, I’d like to compare them to my 1944 BSA. 

If it is a genuine T, without scope, might still be worth the $2000 if it has the reproduction mount and scope which alone is worth about $600.  Has the seller shot the rifle with the scope? 

The odd thing here too is that the scope pads had to be fitted with the bracket and scope that was to be paired with the rifle such that the scope culminated to the bore axis. The No. 32 scope did not have a lot of elevation and windage adjustment to play with.  Look very closely at the top front flat surface of the butt stock, just behind the action body butt socket. Someone may have sanded down the butt stock and removed these markings. 

Ian Skennerton mentions in two of his books, The Lee Enfield Story and The British Sniper that there were an unknown number of Holland and Holland sniper units supplied without a scope and scope mount.  These are believed to be mostly Savage built No. 4 rifles, but perhaps also BSA. They can be identified as being marked S51 on the butt and scope mount pads fitted but no telescope serial number on the butt. 

Reasonable chance it is legit, but without a matching genuine No. 32 scope and mount, it won’t be worth all that much compared to a complete T.   I’d think about  $1000 for the rifle and $600 for the repro scope and mount. 

But the TR (Telescopic Rifle) marking appears where it should on the butt socket, the T stamp on the left flat side of the action body and the D6E inspection stamp on the back face of the action body next to the opening for the bolt.  Unless these are clever forgeries, it appears to be a No. 4 Mk I (T) less scope. 

My suggestion that the value of the rifle alone might be $1000 is in recognition that the wood is not original, as well as possibly some of the metal parts. Worth even less if those scope pads and T markings are forgeries.  

There are some additional markings on the left side of the butt socket that I can’t read. 

I think in all, to me, it would be worth $1500 IF it had a good barrel and the repro scope was reasonably well culminated to the bore. I’d need evidence that it was so before I put down $1500 for it.  But, I’m a shooter of collectible rifles. For a collector, this is probably not the rifle you would want. 

that handguard was 43 production but the grooves do not indicate that as they were producing both the grooved and ungrooved , just depended on which supplier that part came from , 

The action does appear to be a BSA 1943 Mk I(T) from the action body markings. But other bits have been used to build up the complete rifle. And somewhere along the line, the scope got separated with the rifle, or, it was one of the scope-less rifles completed by H&H (perhaps the less likely scenario). 

The one new thing I see on the photos provided on the guns international website is the colour of the mount pads appears way off. I’ve never seen a T with mount pads that colour.  Also, the edges of that front pad are very square looking, not rounded like the original.  It now makes me suspect the entire scope setup is repro, including the pads. 

And here is my genuine T, note the rounded edges. 

Well, it now appears as sold. If nothing else, it looks like a T, and if the claim of a very good condition action and bore is true, then perhaps it will at least be a shooter if not a collector piece.  Usable in the CMP Vintage Sniper matches.

Holland and Holland made a skim cut with an end mill on the inside surface of the left side of the action body. This machined the three front pad screws flush with the body. They should not protrude nor be below flush with the body. 

I’ve replaced the three front pad screws on my rifle (below) because the pad solder joint had broken and that bent the screws and distorted the threads. I secured the pad and screws with high strength red loctite and it’s not worked loose over the 750 rounds since I did the repair. 

It occurred to me that one possibility with this rifle is that it was intended for sniper conversion, stamped TR at BSA (the originating factory put the TR markings on signify it is to be sent to H&H for conversion) then sent to H&H where it was rejected for conversion then reissued as a regular No. 4 Mk I.  The T stamp on the left flat side was only added when a scope was fitted by H&H. Looking closely at that T stamp, it does not look right. It is too small and not the right shape.  The downturned ends of the top bar of the T should be pointed. I suspect a previous owner added the T stamp. 

We had a form member (who is no longer a member) build up a faux Savage No. 4 Mk I(T) using the No. 32 Mk 2 Chinese made repro scope kit. He researched all the T marking and replicated them very well. Obviously the scope and mount was repro, but someone some day may think that it is a legit T rifle that the scope was mounted on. There are a significant number of Savage No. 4 T rifles that were sent from H&H scope-less. 

Unsure where all the No4 went?

Not here.