John, I guess you already know that Savage/Stevens guns produced between 1948 and 1968 were date coded with a small letter and number stamp inside an oval or circle located on the bottom (outside) of the frame either just behind the hinge or just in front of the trigger-guard. "A" is 1948 and alphabet letters following for each year. O and Q were skipped. Does your R&D gun have a date code?...Geo