Here are three 11-43 U bbls proofed the same, making the P look like it has no leg. We talked about this inside another discussion once, about the proof P looking sorta like a punch but finding it would be a trick.

Two of them really do have the leg. You can barely see it on the middle one, but the one on the right has a partial one. The photos isn't the best. The barrel was either rolled during stamping, or the tool was raked or was damaged.

The one 11.43 in front of me is a 3.63m. Seems the one downstairs is 3.62. The other is loose.

I saw a 9-43 around here that still had the stem but suggests it was heading the direction of these.

I got an orig 1.87 (I believe it was) and the P has a clear stem. It's an 8-43 U bbl.

It might even have to Ps. One of my Primes has 2 identical Ps.

It's not a 1.87. It's a 1.82m.

@ Bigheavy,

you probably checked but is there any evidence of a second proof on the barrel?

At the beginning of production it was required that all barrels were to be proof fired at point of manufacturer.

When the carbine was completely assembled it was to be proof fired again.

it was found that by only proofing after assembly would save a significant amount of ammunition.

The Government however was buying the barrels that were sent to prime contractors that utilized the government free-issue barrel program. There had to be some accountability for these barrels so it was decided that for every 1100 barrels purchased there would be 100 that were proofed.

This would mean that some carbines only have one proof P but others may have two proof Ps

this could normally be figured out whose P is whose by observing and comparing. Unfortunately Underwood had several proof Ps, one of which is very similar to the one S'G' used that had a short leg.

For those with the CCNLs and interest see 191-1,2 371-14,15 for the info on proofing and 384-20,21,22 for more on proofing with diagrams and descriptions of the different P proofs observed