Swedish Mauser wood

[Battis]

When I bought the Swedish Mauser, the description on the store tag said that the wood and the barrel ring were not matching (the handguard looks to be a replacement). At the range the other day, a shooter who owns 20 or so Mausers said the only way to know is to take the rifle apart. I took it apart and the handguard has the same serial number as the rest of the gun.
Just curious - would they (whoever "they" are) have stamped a serial number in a replacement handguard?
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/pohill/DSCF4826_zpsb98b56ad.jpg

[lefty o]

the swede's were very thorough, and stamped everything. i believe they stamped replacement parts with the rifles ser#, but dont take my word for it. looking at your pic, its hard to tell(too far away), but it looks as though the handguard could be original to the rifle.

[Dutchman]

Yes generally replacement handguards were numbered to the rifle.

The coloring of the stock & handguard is just enough off to make me think it's a replacement. Both are beech.

Dutch

[Battis]

While I had the rifle stripped down, I gave it a good cleaning inside and out, something I should have done before, and now the wood seems to match better. I'll call the handguard a "second generation" instead of a replacement.
What a great shooting rifle.