Clearly not a screw grip, but an extend rib third bite also very commonly produced by Webley as seen in the comparison photo of a Webley similar to the shotgun in question that I provided on a previous page of this thread. Third bites (without a screw grip) and slight variations thereof are illustrated in several Webley catalogs. As far as the checkering, I was simply attempting to point out the high quality of its execution. The exact styles of checkering (English or otherwise) even vary among guns of the same type and maker. Not sure if the butt of any of the Japanese shotguns presumably associated with this gun were left finished "in the wood" in this way. Again, based on my correspondence, Mr. Hamada - obviously an individual of knowledge in this area cannot clearly ascertain that this shotgun is Japanese and has certainly never seen wood of this grade and quality on "older" Japanese shotguns. This is why I was seeking expert wood feedback as to the possible type of walnut and geographic origin - any wood experts out there?