Mini 14 oddity?

[WIMinuteman]

Hi all. I came across a Mini 14 which was supposedly a prison guard rifle but does not have the GP stamp etc. What confuses me is that it has a weird mark about halfway down the barrel like it was cut and welded there or some kind of ridge for an attachment? And has threads for a flash suppressor or so it appears. Just curious if other 14's have threads on the end of the barrel it is just a groove with 1 or two turns before the front sight.

[pbrktrt]

Hard to tell from the pics but my guess would be a GB model that someone foolishly removed the bayonet mount and sight and put a standard sight on the muzzle end. A call to Ruger with the serial # would tell you how it left the factory.

[WIMinuteman]

Thanks! I'll give that a try.

[Scorch]

The mark on the barrel is normal, many Minis had a very lightly stepped profile in that area. I am not sure why.

The mark near the muzzla is definitely cut by machine, but is not threads. Possibly a rough or chipped tool when they cut down the barrel for the front sight?

[WIMinuteman]

Thanks everyone for the help. I got ahold of Ruger today and it is just a regular ranch rifle. They are very fast in answering messages, kudos to them. Left a message and they called back within the hour with my info.