New guy from AZ, help woth first M1 please.

[AZ Trooper]

Hello all. I am a Army Vet 04-10. I was active duty and did two combat tours to Iraq. Now I am a State Trooper here in AZ. I just purchased my first M1 Garand from a estate sale for $700. There was no information provided with the purchase, but I figured I'd take the risk, I always wanted an M1. I have tried to use my limited internet skills to try and found out more about this rifles history but could use some additional help. I have not fired this rifle yet as I want to take it to a M1 gunsmith to insure it will function safely. I have field stripped it and took pictures/wrote down any and all numbers or stamping I found. Any and all help with the history of this rifle or where I could take it in Arizona would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


U.S. RIFLE CAL 30 M1 SPRINGFIELD ARMORY

Receiver: 1,555,054 / (May 1943)
Drawing Number: D28291 27 and just above the drawing number is: 0 37 B (diamond) / (Date Range: April 1943 to July 1943) (Serial # range: 1,500,001 to 1,765,200) correct to rifle?
Barrel: SA6535448 10 65 BU31 / no idea
Bolt: D28287-12SA (W10B) / (Date Range: July 1943) (Serial # range: 1,710,013 to 1,786,469) replacement part?
Trigger Housing: D28290-12-SA / (Date Range: Dec 1942 to Nov 1944) (Serial # range: 1,010,001 to 3,300,000) correct to rifle?
Hammer: C46008-5 SA / (Date Range: Jun 1943 to Aug 1944) (Serial # range: 1,630,001 to 3,100,000) replacement part?
Safety: C46015-6 SA / (Date Range: July 1941 to Aug 1942) (Serial # range: 290,001 to 750,000) older replacement part?
Bullet Guide: S 189 / no idea
Op Rod: D35382 SA / no idea
Follower and slide: 13 / (Date Range: March 1945 to Oct 1945) (Serial # range: 3,650,001 to 3,888,081) replacement part?
Stock: The only thing I found on the stock is the number 62 on the left of the buttstock, looks like a rack number to me but I am not sure.

Have I missed anything? Did I get something wrong? Can you help with what I am missing? And most important, was this rifle worth the $700?

Thank you again for any and all help. Look forward to getting evolved with this forum.

[zeppelin5000]

All my information is from the book The M1 Garand Rifle by Bruce Canfield. Some of your serial numbers are a little off from mine, but I mention those below ;-)

Receiver - Correct drawing number for the receiver (1,435,000 - 2,069,000 range)
Barrel - Re-barreled October 1965. That 10 65 denotes that.
Bolt D28287-12SA actually has a serial number range of 550,000 - 3,200,000, so yours is good since it falls in line with your serial number.
Trigger housing is correct
Hammer seems to be a replacement, your serial number would have used a C46008-3 SA
Safety looks to be a replacement. Yours should have a C46015-6 SA safety with a 750,000 - 1,800,000 range
Bullet Guide - got me stumped with S 189. Your serial number range should have an unmarked bullet guide.
Op Rod: D35382 SA is a post-war rebuild op rod, 1946 - 1951. Should have a factory relief cut.
Follower and slide - You're correct this is a late war part.
Stock - That 62 is painted? Most likely a rack number. There's no cartouche on the left side below the receiver?

Keep in mind that most M1's are just like yours. Mix matched and rebuilt. A very high percentage. Finding a 100% original M1 from WWII is almost impossible. The M1 went from WWII onto Korea and in some cases Vietnam. They saw a lot of use, so of course parts will be swapped out. For $700, I think its a great deal. I haven't heard of many M1's being that low. Post some pictures!

[RDS]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your service. Sounds like you have a nice rebuild at a great price. Please feel free to post photos.

[AZ Trooper]

All my information is from the book The M1 Garand Rifle by Bruce Canfield. Some of your serial numbers are a little off from mine, but I mention those below ;-)

Receiver - Correct drawing number for the receiver (1,435,000 - 2,069,000 range)
Barrel - Re-barreled October 1965. That 10 65 denotes that.
Bolt D28287-12SA actually has a serial number range of 550,000 - 3,200,000, so yours is good since it falls in line with your serial number.
Trigger housing is correct
Hammer seems to be a replacement, your serial number would have used a C46008-3 SA
Safety looks to be a replacement. Yours should have a C46015-6 SA safety with a 750,000 - 1,800,000 range
Bullet Guide - got me stumped with S 189. Your serial number range should have an unmarked bullet guide.
Op Rod: D35382 SA is a post-war rebuild op rod, 1946 - 1951. Should have a factory relief cut.
Follower and slide - You're correct this is a late war part.
Stock - That 62 is painted? Most likely a rack number. There's no cartouche on the left side below the receiver?

Keep in mind that most M1's are just like yours. Mix matched and rebuilt. A very high percentage. Finding a 100% original M1 from WWII is almost impossible. The M1 went from WWII onto Korea and in some cases Vietnam. They saw a lot of use, so of course parts will be swapped out. For $700, I think its a great deal. I haven't heard of many M1's being that low. Post some pictures!

Thank you for the great information. Great news about the bolt. I will post a picture of the bullet guide, along with other pictures. The number 62 on the stock is painted and very worn. I can find no other cartouche or circle P on the stock. Glad to here it looks like I got a good deal. Looking forward to getting it check out soon so I can put some rounds down range. Pictures to follow. Thank you again.

[AZ Trooper]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your service. Sounds like you have a nice rebuild at a great price. Please feel free to post photos.

Thank you for the welcome. Pictures to follow.

[AZ Trooper]

[AZ Trooper]

[AZ Trooper]

[zeppelin5000]

Thank you for the great information. Great news about the bolt. I post a picture of the bullet guide, along with other pictures. The number 62 on the stock is painted and very worn. I can find no other cartouche or circle P on the stock. Glad to here it looks like I got a good deal. Looking forward to getting it check out soon so I can put some rounds down range. Pictures to follow. Thank you again.

No problem! Glad to help! Make sure you give her some oil and hit all the grease points before firing for the first time. Make sure the firing pin is free-floating too. Also, make sure to get ammo specific for the Garand or use surplus M2 ball.

Here's a good link for greasing the M1 ;-)

http://www.garandgear.com/m1-garand-grease

[AZ Trooper]

No problem! Glad to help! Make sure you give her some oil and hit all the grease points before firing for the first time. Make sure the firing pin is free-floating too. Also, make sure to get ammo specific for the Garand or use surplus M2 ball.

Here's a good link for greasing the M1 ;-)
http://www.garandgear.com/m1-garand-grease

Thank you again, I ordered some grease today. I ammo going to order some 150 grain M1 ammo soon. I still need to find a gunsmith that can check it’s headspace and te/me. Thank you for the link as well.

[zeppelin5000]

Thank you again, I ordered some grease today. I ammo going to order some 150 grain M1 ammo soon. I still need to find a gunsmith that can check it’s headspace and te/me. Thank you for the link as well.

Good deal! Not sure if you already did your research on M1 specific 30-06, but PPU, American Eagle, Sellier & Bellot, and Hornady all make that ammo. All great with PPU being the cheapest. Hornady is a bit high in price for my taste...

[AZ Trooper]

Good deal! Not sure if you already did your research on M1 specific 30-06, but PPU, American Eagle, Sellier & Bellot, and Hornady all make that ammo. All great with PPU being the cheapest. Hornady is a bit high in price for my taste...

The cheapest I can find in stock is S&B for $14 for a box of 20 rounds.

[zeppelin5000]

The cheapest I can find in stock is S&B for $14 for a box of 20 rounds.

Yeah, that's about right... You usually have to keep searching ammo websites for it and check back periodically. I like using Lucky Gunner.com for my ammo. Decent prices and they only post the ammo if it's in stock. None of that scrolling though ammo selections with "out if stock" written under it lol.

[Jersey Devil]

Welcome aboard from NJ!!

As far as ammo is concerned, have a look at Joe's thread here:

https://www.m1garandforum.com/forums/classifieds/for-sale/12968-ammo-and-reloading-components-available-for-sale

He's a great guy and an ammo expert. Feel free to ask him any questions you have on any Garand ammo.
Cheers,
--Brian

[TJT]

Some of your serial numbers are a little off from mine,

There is ONLY ONE serial number on an M1 rifle--the number on the receiver heel. All other numbers are drawing, or part numbers.
Jon