Dr. Brown:

Thanks for sharing the photos. The R suffix question comes up about once a year on the L.C. Smith site - to date no one knows for sure what it signifies.

Are you in England? If so, does the gun sport British proof marks?

If you haven't as of yet, visit the L.C. Smith website for more information.

http://www.lcsmith.org

Best wishes on getting the gun back in the field.