John
That gun is a very early Syracuse AE grade; and the very early "V" spring forend fastener would likely date to gun to 1896 or 1897 (I haven't seen the V spring fastener on examples above serial number 7999. Can't tell if the stock is original, but the checkering panels are not those standard on early A SAC guns. Although most early SAC A Grades do feature stocks with a round knob grip, cheek panels are typically not checkered; and early A grade stocks do not feature the oval shaped gold name shield that was standard on later vintage A grades. But graded SAC guns in this serial number range sometimes fall into a grey area; as there are examples of low-numbered high grade SAC frames that were obviously built/finished much later in production; and will thus feature various combinations of early and late production features (remember the CE example, #55XX, that was obviously built in 1903 or '04). As to the ejector on/off device, that feature was not patented until late 1903 and thus was not standard, and therefore is not found on early examples (I've never seen that feature on a SAC gun with the V spring forend attachment). As to the V-spring forend attachment, my experience is that the forend will detach on recoil if that spring is weak.
