Questions about my Garand...

[Kestrel]

I have a Garand with a Springfield receiver (GI, not commercial). The receiver, bolt, barrel, stock, etc. are in very good condition for a rifle this old. The barrel has some markings on it, one of which is "DK". Is this a Danish suplus rifle?

The stock is a nice dark brown - kind of an old, rich look to it. Of course it has some minor dings, but is in very good shape.

Has it probably been refinished/refurbished? Are these good models of the Garand? The bolt does not have an "SA" or "Springfield" on it, so I'm guessing it's not a Springfield bolt, but I don't know (I don't know much about Garands).

Can anyone give me info about this rifle?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[M.A.]

Congratulations on a fine rifle. Most Garands went thru a rebuild sometime in their lives, but depending on the condition of the finish, it could be the original Parkerized finish, I would have to look at it to determine if it has been re-finished. Most rifles had barrels and other parts replaced after WWII, so few are original configuration.
Springfield bolts usually have an SA stamped on them, Winchesters have WRA, International Harvesters have IHC, and Harrington and Richardson have HRA or H&R. There are some G.I. bolts that do not have the manufacturer stamps, some evidently slipped thru without being stamped.
I'm not real sure about the DK barrel, most Danish barrels have VAR stamped on them, but there may be some other manufactures in Denmark.
Here is a link to to jouster.com, one of the best places to find information on the Garand rifle.
[http://www.jouster.com/cgi-bin/garand/garand.pl]

 

[Kestrel]

MA,

Thanks for the help. The barrel does have VAR on it and says 11-81, I guess the date it was installed or manufactured.

The stock is stamped PB, so it may be a Beretta Garand - I don't know. I guess there's always the chance someone just built a frankenstein...

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[M.A.]

Steve,
VAR barrels are known for their accuracy, and are excellent barrels. 11/81 is the date it was manufactured. Sounds like you have a fine rifle. There are quite a few great books that will provide information about shooting, care and maintenance, and collecting Garands. The only problem with the Garand is that one is never enough, and you will want more of them. I have 6 now, and still want more.

 

[Kestrel]

M.A.,

You're right. (Great looking rifles you have there.) I do have another that I bought at the same time. It is one that was built by Ron Smith at Smith Enterprises to match specifications. It has a Douglas barrel. I don't think it has been fired since Ron built it.

Great rifles. I'm just trying to rectify all the info I've been reading about lately about proper ammo in them. I'd like to be able to fire stuff like Federal Ballistic Tip ammo in them, but a lot of people say don't use any commercial ammo in them - only GI mil-spec. Pressure curves are wrong for them and will break the op rods, etc...

I'm getting conflicting reports, though. Some say it is okay to shoot commercial ammo, as long as you don't go over 165 gr. Well, I called Clint McKee at Fulton Armory and he said the commercial stuff was okay, as long as you stayed with 165 gr. or lighter bullets. He said the 180 gr.+ ammo had slower burning powders and would damage the op rods. I figure he would know, but an awful lot of people say don't do it.

If I decide I can't shoot commercial ammo in them, I'll probably sell both of them, along with my M1A Bush rifle. I got them for defense and pig-hunting rifles.

Sigh...

Steve

 

[M.A.]

Steve,
I have shot a lot of commercial ammo in my Garands, and my M1A with no problems. Pretty much stuck with 150gr bullets, and some 165 gr bullets. I reload quite a bit now, and that saves a lot of money, if you don't count your time. I consider it a hobby. It's the hot loads and/or heavier bullets that cause most of the problems in military type rifles, so if you stick to standard loads with 150 or 165 gr bullets, you shouldn't have any troubles. Andy