Looking at a Garand, and have a question...

[F75gunslinger]

First of all I'm a complete FNG when it comes to these rifles. Never owned or shot one, but have always wanted one. I found one a guy has for sale, but what throws me is the lack of a makers mark on the back end of the receiver, only a serial number. There are no lines visible to show the receiver as a cast part. Overall it's in good shape from what I can tell, but that lack of a makers mark kind of makes me nervous about what it actually is. It does have an LMR barrel on it if that helps.

Any help you guys can give would be appreciated!

[RDS]

Be very careful. Can you post photos. Check left side of receiver for marks. During the 1960's there were companies that took two halves of a demilled M1 Garand Receivers and welded them together.

[lapriester]

Century Arms Cast receivers were marked like RDS indicated. Marked with a very small CAI and city if I'm not mistaken. Avoid buying it unless you get it REALLY cheap and have the knowledge to determine if the sum of the worth of the parts is equal to or greater than what you pay. Just remember that the receiver "might" be good and the rifle function fine or it easily could be bad and worth nothing more than being a paperweight. Buy an M1 from CMP. You know what you're getting when you do. Buying private, unless you're qualified to evaluate what your buying or there's positive proof of authenticity, can be dangerous and expensive business. Some of the early M1 "copies" were real crap. Even from the same company some would function and some would never function.

[F75gunslinger]

Here's a pic of the receiver

[Jersey Devil]

It appears to have a line of casting voids (bubbles in the metal) going diagonally across the upper heel. Are there any marks on the left side of the receiver? Or the right side for that matter?? There may appear to be the remnants of the "D" presumably in Springfield. I'm guessing either Century manufacture, or a home job from one of those 80% receivers that came out of Australia a while back, or perhaps a scrubbed heel from a re-weld project.

[F75gunslinger]

Thanks for the help guys! I started asking questions and the seller disappeared, so even though I had already decided against it, that sealed the deal.

[lapriester]

Good. The temptation really wasn't worth the risk.

[Prince Humperdink]

I saw the "D" that Brian referred to as well,that's very odd.

[RDS]

Looks like a scrubbed GI receiver heal. Also has the look of an angled weld across heal. I would like to see what the underside of the receiver looks like. There were a lot of scrubbed receivers back in the 1960s most were two halves welded together.