Milsurp After Hours

I picked up a T99 Arisake made at Kokura arsenal. It does not have a monopod and the rear band does not have the fittings for a monopod. The stock is not a last ditch stock and has metal buttplate, it don't show any marks on the forearm wood that are usually made by a monopod My question is, were there T99 made without the monopod feature? The rifle does have the anti-aircraft sight.I'm a Mauser collector and my knowledge of the Japanese rifles is limited. I appreciate any input. Thank you.

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Just ran across this post. From sometime around 1943 T99's began being made without pods. They continued to use the middle band that was made for the pod till all were gone. Some T99 with pods still in storage were stripped of pods for the metal to be re-used. riceone.