M1 Garand questions
I have been doing some bullistics research and it appears that for a very versatile caliber, the 30-06 takes the cake. My research lead me to the M1 Garand. I have always wanted a vintage WW2 gun (actually, the thompson submachine gun) but the People's Rebublik of Kalfornia wont let me buy a tommy gun. What I am wondering is, would an M1 Garand be a good deer rifle? And could I temporarily mount a scope to it for that purpose without altering the look of the rifle? Is it accurate enough at the great distances that deer tends to stay? Any help is appreciated.
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I just inherited an M1 and it came to me in pieces, I am putting it back together and noticed that the trigger assy. has the numbers C46025 W.R.A. (Winchester?) And the reciever has U.S. Rifle cal 30 M1 Springfield Armory 2944203 and the top of the trap door has the numbers D28287-12SA below that RE6B Do I have a mongrel here with all different part numbers??
Thanks in advance!
Marc0 -
Virtually all currently available Garands are really "parts guns" They have been repaired and rearsenalled by the army many times without regard top origin of parts. As a matter of fact, it is my belief that the ONLY ones that seem to be matched for manufacture are those that have been deliberately and artificially restored by collectors. Don't worry about it too much.
Have fun, be careful!
Morty0 -
If I can remember my brother entered some "lottery" to get one of these guns from wherever they came from, surplus army?? I do not remember it was almost 10 years ago and I was not too interested then. I got it all together and will try it next week, any recommendations on ammo etc.. and what kind of value would be placed on this?
Thanks,
Marc0 -
Yes, the trigger guard is Winchester. The weapon and buttplate are Springfield. The big thing to look at is the barrel. If you pull back the charging handle, you can see a group of alphanumerics on the barrel. Look for an "SA" and an obvious two digit year. If you have a Springfield barrel, it would probably be worth searching for a SA trigger guard. If your weapon is WWII and the barrel date is WWII, MOST DEFINITELY find the proper trigger guard. There are others here who specialize in Garands that can guide you better than I. Perhaps they will come on... Good luck! 0 -
The M1 Rifles are still available from the Civilian Markamanship Program.
They come in two grades and I believe the better grade is $500 plus shipping. That pretty well sets the value. Of course certain criteria have to be met to qualify for purchase and many might want to pay a little more to get a rifle without going through the CMP purchase procedure. Go to odcmp.com then click on rifle sales to learn all about it.0 -
It says 1 SA 3 44 on the barrel and it looks to be all Springfield except for the trigger, but he never changed anything, what gives??
Hmmm.
Marc0 -
You do indeed have a Winchester trigger housing in your Springfield Garand. Your bolt however is correct for your serial number range. The D28287 is the drawing number for the bolt assembly itself and the -12 indicates the 12th revision to the bolt design. I bet you already know that the SA indicates the bolt was made by Springfield. The final number: RE6B is the heat lot number and manufacturer of the steel used to make the bolt. What you really want to check is the date stamped on the rifles barrel. Pull the action open and look just ahead of the chamber and there should be a date stamped on the barrel. Your rifle was made in around July 1944 and the barrel date should reflect this by no more than a month or two. Are there any markings on the stock? What does the rear sight look like (is there a small bar along the windage knob)?
There are many other items to check over on your M1 and if you would like to e-mail me personally I would be happy to help you out. I am now doing this for 12 people but I can take on a few more and still manage to earn a living so feel free to contact me. I have collecting M1 rifles for over 20 years and I have learned a few things about them...but I get a chance to learn more by studying other peoples rifles so this all works to my advantage in the long run.
Mark T. Christian0 -
OK....I'll tell this story again.
Back when I went thru Navy Boot in '55. Along about the 3rd week of Boot Camp, we had "Service Week"...where everybody had a week of "KP".
I was assigned to the Rifle range, where the guys further along in Boot had to "qualify" with the M1.
After the day's firing, we had the dubious honor of "doucheing the M1's" (as the Gunny called it).
We'd detail strip them, put all of the various parts in baskets and lower them into a 55 gallon drum. Then we'd put the barrels & receivers into the drum and run bore brushes thru em, pull them out and do a toothbrush job on the receivers and set them to one side. We'd swish the baskets up & down a few times, then bring them out and set the baskets on the table. After a cigarette break, we'd take an airgun and blow dry the parts, oil them, and put them back together....with total disregard for what parts came out of what gun. After all, the parts are interchangeable, right?
I went thru Boot in Bainbridge, MD, but I have no doubt that the Boot Camps at Great Lakes and Dago did the same....as probably did the Army, Air Farce, and Marine Camps.
Sooooooo.....if anybody out there has an original, all parts matching, "just as it left the factory" M1, God has smiled on you.
P.S.....the guys who did Service Week at the pistol range told me they did the same thing with the M1911A1s.0
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