Any M1 Garand experts here?

[Father Knows Best]

I've finally gotten around to really closely examing the M1 Garand I bought from CMP a few years back. It was a "Service Grade", with a Springfield Armory receiver serial number 3828xxx. According to the sources I have available, that puts its production in approximately June of 1945.

I've known for a while that the stock is a post-war replacement. It is walnut and has the circle P under the pistol grip, but there is no SA or inspector mark on it. It has RRA stamped on the side, which indicates that it was replaced at the Red River Arsenal in Texas.

Many of the other parts look like they may be original, however, and that's what I'm trying to figure out. Here are the parts that have numbers:

Barrel 3 SA 6 45
Bolt D28287-19SA
Trigger housing D28290-14-SA
Hammer C46008-7 SA
Receiver D28291 35
Op rod D35382 9 SA
Follower Assembly 12
Safety SA 11

The rear sight does NOT have a locking bar. The trigger guard is stamped. The finish appears to be original parkerizing, is thin and worn on the edges.

I can't find my copy of Scott Duff's book on the M1 Garand in WWII (I have the Post WWII book). Looking at his serial numbers and data sheets booklet, though, it seems like all of those numbers above are correct for early 1945 Springfield Armory production.

What else should I be looking for in terms of non-original parts? If I put an SA/NFR stock on it, will I have a complete rifle as it left the Armory in the summer of '45, or do I need to replace some of the parts I listed above?

 

[BADSBSNF81]

Post over at jouster.com in the M1 section. Someone will pipe up and assist in fairly short order.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Thanks. I finally found my book. The bad news is that looks like I have a post-war T105E1 rear sight assembly, durnit. I also have the radiused bullet guide that didn't appear until after WWII. To make my rifle correct for June of 1945, therefore, I'd need to replace both of those parts and the stock.

Thge good news is that everything else checks out as "right" for production in the first half of 1945 at Springfield Armory.

 

[Onmilo]

Having seen enough of these, before you go switching things around on that rifle, consider this,,,,,
According to the parts installed, you have a rebuilt rifle that was in all likelyhood, issued and used during the Korean War.

I know Duff and Canfield get all hot and sweaty over WW2 stuff but I personally consider these rifles just as historically significant.

The majority of Korean War rifles were Arsenal rebuilds reissued, not all correct, fresh from the factory post wars.

Just something to consider,,,,,,,,,

 

[Father Knows Best]

True, Onmilo. But if it's fairly easy to swap a few parts and have this one in true WWII configuration, then I would like to do so. So far, it looks like the NFR stock is going to be the only difficult piece, as the asking price for an SA/NFR is quite high. I've already found the correct bullet guide and rear sight assembly (type III locking bar), and it looks like everything else on the rifle has a very high likelihood of being original to it as it left SA in June of 1945. Considering it probably didn't see combat in WWII, that makes perfect sense. In fact, even the finish appears to be original.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Also, I forgot to mention that I already have a Korean War vintage Garand. It's an SA that dates to 1955, and it is immaculate. So I would really like to have a WWII vintage Garand to go with it. Besides, I need something to display with my pristine Smith-Corona 03A3.

 

[Jeremy2171]

Is the chamber face parked or is there a bright ring right around the chamber of in the "white" metal. If it's parked its been refinished and don't waste your time "correcting" it.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Nope. Not refinished.

 

[Trebor]

Is the stamped trigger guard correct for that date?

I could be wrong, but I thought stamped trigger guards were post-WWII.

 

[Father Knows Best]

The stamped trigger guard is correct. According to Duff, SA started using stamped trigger guards in mid-'44. By 1945, it was all they were using. As this was one was built in June of '45, the stamped trigger guard is correct.

 

[Trebor]

Thanks. I don't have the books in front of me. I usually borrow a buddy's copy when I need to look up parts and it's been awhile since I've gone through them.

Before you make any changes, document the rifle in the condition it is now. Record the info on all the parts as you received it from the CMP. That way you can always return it to it's "as issued from CMP" condition if you wish and at least the history of this particular rifle will not be lost.

 

[Andras]

www.battlerifle.com also has a ton of info about when parts were used building M1s

 

[Lifttech]

FYI...... Slightly OT but does relate to the parts matching game and I'm sure some other have experienced this as well. Just something to consider for future projects; if you change the configuration your rifle it may no longer be a shooter. I tried this once and ended up with a rifle that doubled its groups, mostly caused by the op-rod change. I realize that the parts you are considering, with the exception of the stock, will probably not change much. A tighter lockup on the trigger group may even help you but swapping op -rods and other reciprocating parts may screw up your rifles accuracy, which again I realize you don't have on your list. Accuracy may not be as important as collectability to some (that's OK, it's your rifle) but to me an inaccurate rifle is a tent stake. HTH