I have a Safari in 458 Win Mag. I know that it is a salt wood gun because recently I replaced the old butt pad with a Pachmayr Decelerator pad. The screws were impossible to unscrew. I ruined the slots so had to destroy the old pad to be able to use a pair of vice grips to unscrew the screws. Screws came out but were completely rusty. I bought the rifle about 40 years ago from a customer because he had fired it with very loose action screws. The stock had several cracks in the forend near the forward barrel block. I repaired the cracks and completele bedded the barreled action in Brownell Acra Glass. This protected the metal from the salt wood completely. No sign of rust had started luckily. The serial no. Is 5L32742 on the barrel and 32742 on the action. Where can I find build dates for old Browning guns?
Welcome back Bob... Have you tried talking to Browning directly...? I use to have a link to serial numbers, but cannot find it now. Browning Arms Company ยท Customer service +1 800-333-3288
