Help with M1 Garand history?

[Steelharp]

Guys and gals, I just got a Winchester M1 Garand. (No camera at the moment, so no pic.) I was told it is 1943 manufacture, and that it was re-barreled in 1947. I would assume that means it saw quite a bit of action. Is there anyway I can find out anything about the history of this particular rifle? Maybe a source of where it went, and when.

Thanks for any help, Mikey D...

 

[Kevlarman]

Check out battlerifles for everything you'd want to know about the M1 Garand.

 

[Sunray]

And www.jouster.com. Then into the Garand forum. Unfortunately there is no record of what rifle went where. Those records were just not kept. The only thing you can get is when your action was made. Plus where and when it may have been rebuilt. Most of 'em were.

 

[Jagermeister]

Hope this will help: If you need the disassem W/photo, or the accurizing instructions I can email them to you.

LM

 

[Steelharp]

Jagermeister thank you for the offer. As I have no idea about Garands at all, that would be a terrific help! This is the first one I've ever even looked through the sights of!

[email protected]

Thanks so much... Mikey D...

 

[VG]

Short answer as others have indicated is that serial #'s were kept at the unit level and generally have not been preserved. Springfield Research(I think) has tracked certain serial #'s, and sometimes soldiers recorded theirs, but that's it. Also, most parts are not serial #'d like Mausers, so it's often impossible to tell even what the original configuration was.

You can find detailed assembly/dissaembly info at http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/

Also at: http://www.surplusrifle.com/garand/index.asp

Lots of books available, my recommended starter for history and tech info is "Hatcher's Book of the Garand."

 

[Steelharp]

VG, thank you! Just what I needed!

Mikey D...