pzjgr
EOD - bombs and bullets
The old drop the bolts when surrendered is probably responsible for some, also I have heard returning GI's were required to pull their bolts when boarding the troopships home to prevent any stupidity, then just were given a random bolt out of a bucket when they got off the ship...
Also, heard that pre-68 (before the importer name had to be stamped on the rifle) that when shipping pallets of rifles to the warehouse in the states, shipping them without the bolts allowed them to be shiiped as parts, no rifles, and bolts were just dropped in stateside.
All plausible explanations, and probably a mix of all three accounts for all the bolt mismatches...
Also, heard that pre-68 (before the importer name had to be stamped on the rifle) that when shipping pallets of rifles to the warehouse in the states, shipping them without the bolts allowed them to be shiiped as parts, no rifles, and bolts were just dropped in stateside.
All plausible explanations, and probably a mix of all three accounts for all the bolt mismatches...