I just acquired a Remington 48 that was made in December 1949. It has a skeet barrel with vent rib and Cutts compensator (total length about 26". In addition to the barrel date code, there are a bunch of other letters/numbers preceeding it (BK3(V?)XC3). Does anyone have any idea what these might be? Also, is there any way to determine if the Cutts was a factory option or added later? The serial numbers on both the barrel and receiver match. All the parts are there, but the barrel seems a bit wobbly at battery; should I be concerned about this or is it normal for this model? Any help or ideas from the old Remington auto gurus?
PS Someone seems to have hand stamped a "B" after the model number on the receiver. This would make it a deluxe version, but the metal is not engraved and the wood is pretty standard.