The trigger guard on this rifle is a rather complicated piece of machinery..It actually hinges on both ends and the rear extension unlike most rifles sets on top of the wood. When the rear pin is removed the guard drops down like the lever on a Winchester. The reason for this is not known for sure. Could be so the triggers can be removed without removing the guard.. The rear extension is also hinged and consist of three parts and a screw..Again why? Could be he was correcting a problem with the rear end or making it easier for the guard to confirm to the curve of the stock.
I thought it was a bit strange to inlay the two brass bars in the toe plate then engrave the plate as though they weren't there. He cut right across them . There was an area of engraving on the side plate that was mostly gone and what was there made no sense to me ..It didn't relate to the shape of the plate and since I couldn't figure out what he was doing I left it off..
As Guy said there are several things on this rifle that I have never seen on anything else. I don't know who the maker was but he certainly had a mind of his own.
With a bit of help later today I am going to post photos of the old trigger guard and a shot of this rifle in the white which I think will give you a better view of the trigger plate ..Also a shot of the barrel tang that was ask for and the guard in the down position.
When I started to make the trigger guard I couldn't remove the old one..I wouldn't force it for fear of damaging the gun. I thought I had figured out how it was made and attached . Then after filing for several days and handling the old gun the triggers came loose ..Needless to say my ideas were completely wrong and I was quite surprised at what I saw..
If you have any questions I will try to answer them ........Louie
