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She handles very well and in playing with it you can understand why they have a reputation for being a quick to operate bolt gun!
In looking at the photos it would appear that perhaps it was repaired in the past and the repair chipped? Wood looks different in the photos than it does in person. Are these hand guards available if I wanted to try and replace it or better left alone?
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Absolutely not. They're unique to the RIC Carbine and you will likely never find another. Even the RIC itself was unable to source any more and used them without it when it broke. It's fine, let it be. Be happy you even have it, most RIC carbines do not.
$900 is probably the bottom end for these, I'd agree. However, it all depends on timing. These aren't high-demand items; they're only interesting to a small subset of Enfield collectors, and if you try to sell yours when one isn't watching, it won't pull big money. RIC carbines aren't all that rare in the US, either - most of them are here and most of them survived. They appear quite often on Gunbroker and other milsurp sites. Unmodified LECs and LMCs are incredibly rare in the US.