In my experience, that's not uncommon...
On mine, the forearm was "sap wood", per the guy who cleaned (was really dark and dirty), refinished and re-checkered mine, keeping the "vintage" look that I wanted (no sanding was done); and he was able to get the colors to be a better match. And yes, the rifle's serial number was on both stocks too.
Here is the "before":
And the "after":
Good luck, and tight groups.
Old No7
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