I recently purchased an older CMP Winchester manly as a shooter and because Ive always wanted a Garand. Still being very new to Garands please bare with me a bit on a few questions and clarifications. Please correct me if I’m off. The Rec. SN 1216324 puts in June of 42, the codes on most of the FC group and bolt are also WRA (they are stamped WRA followed by drawing #). The bbl is SA 5 44 dated, the op rod, Gas Cyc are all SA. The stock is scrubbed with a P on the grip being to only thing left legible. The rear HG has what looks like a rack number. Honestly for my shooting purposes it seems about perfect, has a 1MW and 0 on the TE. The crown and bore are very nice and the Gas Cylinder is nice and snug. For personal historical purposes I’m still a little lost. It seems like it’s mostly WWII parts including the scrubbed stock. (Not sure about the rear sights) but I can’t find any rebuilt marks or stamps on the stock, bbl or Rec. Leg. There does seem to be a strange stamp on top of the drawing number on to of the barrel but I can anything that looks similar. By chance is there any other way of telling when this one was rebuilt? Also is there any way of knowing if it went to Europe, Pacific or set on a rack somewhere during the war? Thanks!
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To answer your last 4 questions, No, No, No and No, respectively. Sorry. Being that you're new to the M1 rifle, how do you KNOW the gas cylinder is SA? If you reference the flat on the ring, SA, HRA and IHC all have the flat on the ring. MOST Garand people refer to the Trigger group as the TRIGGER GROUP, not the FIRE CONTROL group, just a frendly fyi.
Welcome to the world of the M1. To really learn about the rifle, one needs to buy the books and READ, not just hope for everything on the net. I've been at this game for 40 years. There was no internet when I started. I got it by reading, writing letters (and hoping for return answers) and just doing a lot of sleuthing and asking questions of the WW II vets I knew, including my father.
Be forewarned--M1 rifles reproduce. Ask me how I know that.
The rear sight is NOT WWII lock bar type. A Winchester sight is going to be very expen$ive. As for the stock, only it, the rifle, and God know how long they've been together. How many times has the stock been swapped over the last 75 years?
JonLast edited by TJT; 06-26-2018, 12:14 PM.-
I figured as much with last two questions, I thought maybe being a CMP M1 (originally bought in 2002) there was possibly a rebuild ID I was missing or a lack of rebuild ID that could put it in a certain time frame considering the parts used. As for the gas cylinder I assumed it was was SA going by the flat ring and narrow front sight & base, again I’m still very new and very much open for correction! As for shooting, it does that job very well 😁 no complaints there.
Thanks for the reply!
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When a rifle arrived at a depot for rebuild, it would be disassembled with the barreled receiver and bolt staying together at first. All the other parts would be inspected and gauged as appropriate. The good parts would go into bins of the same parts. If the barrel was rejected, then the bolt and receiver would be inspected and also put in bins. New rifles would then be assembled with parts pulled at random from the bins. The rifle would be test fired for function, and possibly sighted to be at least on the paper at 100 yards. The huge majority of Garands went through this process at least once and possibly more. The "hodgepodge" of parts wound up being a safe, functional rifle ready for issue to a soldier.The thief may possess something he stole, but he does not own it.
The owner has a right to take his property back from the thief.Comment
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The odd stamp on top of the barrel is the reminate of the Ord wheel.Comment
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Is the gas port on the barrel chrome plated?Comment
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I see a scratch but under that is the Ord. wheelComment
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If the gc has the flat on the ring AND it is narrow-based, then yes--it is SA. HRA and IHC were all wide-base gc's.
JonComment
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I looked on www.USRifleCAL30M1.com M-1garand Registry and did not find any information on your Garand. You can go on there and add your Garand to their registry. It's up to you to each his own. Myself I'm not worried about it I registered my Garand. I'm also reworking my Garand. I just got " The M1 Garand Complete Assembly Guide" by Walt Kuleck with Clint McKee. very good book with lots of photos. Phipp
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It is possible it was rebuilt during WWII post 5-44 or rebuilt shortly after WWII. Nice Winchester receiver.Comment
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Thanks for the replies! I had planned on swapping the SA parts out for WRA but I might save that as another project. It shoots very well as it is right now and that was my main goal. As far as a historical context , with all these mixed up WWII parts, there’s a chance at least some part of it saw some action somewhere right. 😁 this is still a very different from the serialized world of German & Russian guns I’m used to. Again thanks everyone!Comment
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Be careful with that site. Unless they've recently upgraded it, it has lots of, shall we say, mis-leading, or, not-quite-true information in it.Originally posted by Phipp13 View Post
JonComment
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TJT Thank You for the info. I'm new to the Garand forums. I've owned one for 4-5 years now. I shot it a couple times cleaned it and it has sat too long on the rack. Now I'm doing a rebuild on it. New Criterion Barrel and New CMP black walnut stock for starters. I'm DOD Aircraft Modelmaker & Welder by trade. I have time now to do it up right.Comment
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To each his own, but I would far rather have a US Army ordinance cleared mixmaster Garand then an "all correct" one. The rebuilt mixmaster had to be safe, reliable and meet required accuracy standards. It would be an "official" military configuration.
The "correct" rifles have multiple parts swapped, including barrels and bolts with possible reject parts. You risk headspace problems, reliability and functional problems and poor accuracy.The thief may possess something he stole, but he does not own it.
The owner has a right to take his property back from the thief.Comment
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