Old or New M1A Please Help
I recently purchased a 7.62M1A springfield. This gun has supposedly been put in storage for the past 30 yrs. ON top of the receiver it says u.s. rifle, 7.62-mmm1a, springfield armory. serial number on this gun is less than number 000060. This gun has floated receiver on it and to my knowledge, it is basically a m-14, has walnut stock, and appears to be near new. Gun has flash suppresor and bayonet mount. Any clues or info concerning whether this is newly manufactured or an early piece would be greatly appreciated.
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Are you sure the letters on the receiver are in lower case? I have an early M1A and the receiver letters are in upper case. I have never seen one with lower case letters like you have related.
It sounds like you may have a very early M1A. Look on the bottom of the barrel near the gas plug (may be partially under the gas plug). If it is hand-stamped RTI BOX XXX (can't remember box number)DEVINE TX (no puncuation and the letters and numbers are run together, not like I have separated them for clarity), you have one of the earliest M1A rifles. (The route number is supposed to be number One, but an "I" stamp was used for the "1")
It may also say SAN ANTONIO instead of DEVINE. If it says SAN ANTONIO, please set out the rest of the markings EXACTLY as they appear (letter case and puncuation or lack thereof and spacing if possible) because I have been trying to determine if any of the early M1A rifles were marked as made in San Antonio, and, if so, exactly how.
I would like to know more about this rifle. What do you mean by "floated" receiver?0 -
The numbres on the barrel are (12108 RADIUM SA TEX 78216) BY FLOATED I mean like a barrel with apoxi the stock looks two long where the back of the reciever has been filled in. I was told that this work was preformed in the arsonal. I don't know what to think. What was the first year this gun was manufactured? all letters are in upper case. sorry about the confusion there will most likely be more.
thanks0 -
Hello Mr Lugnut
Please drop me a line sometime, I would love to hear the story on your M1a. Thankyou beltfed ghubbar@bellsouth.net0 -
lugnut, thank you for confirming what I have long suspected. Over the years, I have come to believe the absolute earliest M1A rifles were made in San Antonio (SA), before production was moved to Devine. Apparently, your rifle is one of those. I do not know how many were made in San Antonio, but now we know at least about 60 were. I believe early production began in 1974, but perhaps earlier in San Antonio. As I recall, the current Springfield Armory's predecessor bought the rights to the M1A in 1977 and moved production to Geneseo, Illinois. (The Reese family went broke with the first Springfield Armory, Inc. and reorganized as Springfield, Inc.) My "Devine" rifle has a serial number in the 0003XX range, so the number of San Antonio M1A rifles is probably under 300, maybe as few as 100 or so.
I am not sure what you are describing with the epoxy. I think you may be describing the selector cutout that was filled by the manufacturer with a reddish epoxy on early rifles. I guess it could be said that the cutout was filled in by the arsenal as you were told. Because the cutout went to the rear of the stock, to me it would appear that the stock is too short, not too long, so perhaps I am still not understanding what you are describing. (Because the M1A was semi-automatic only and had no fire-mode selector, the selector cutout on the surplus M14 stocks used on early rifles was filled in with the reddish epoxy.)
I too would like to hear the story on your M1A rifle. Perhaps you could share it here for all to read. (John and I both have Devine M1A rifles, and have exchanged information as far as we can.)
If you have any more questions about the early M1A rifles, please ask them and we will see if John, other early M1A fans or I can answer them. Howver, as stated, I think we all would be interested in hearing the story on your rifle, if you have any history on it.
Edited by - JudgeColt on 08/24/2002 23:08:270 -
the story on the M1A is really unknown to me. i got it from a friend who wasn't interested in having it anymore. he said it had been in storage for around 30 yrs or so, that he had purchased it appx 5 yrs ago from a friend of his. unfortunately, that's as much of a story as i have on it at this time. i will be attempting to find out more about it now. would anyone have any idea what this M1A might be worth. my wife was not happy when she found my check book.
i think i will keep it anyway. thanks for the info. i will keep you posted. lugnut0 -
Glad to hear you will keep the rifle. Too bad your wife is unhappy. If it comes to a choice, just remember: old Springfield rifles like you have are very hard to come by. :-) 0 -
Your rifle is not only rare, but probably valuable. I've never seen one, let alone seen one offered for sale. So, it's pretty much impossible for anyone to accurately appraise it.
I would expect the Devine TX rifles to sell in the $1,500-2,000 range, although I've seen asking prices higher. Since yours is much rarer, it wouldn't surprise me to see it sell in the $2,500-3,000 range, maybe even higher. But, again, that's just a wild guess; the only way to be sure is to put it up for auction.
Neal0 -
You could possibly have it appraised and insured as antique and irreplaceable.I have seen a few of these antique shows where they appraise older classic firearms.When you have it appraised they will give you some history on it and will dig up the whole story if you request it.Just a thought.You no doubt have a rare firearm and I think worth it to find out just how rare.You never know who may have owned this Rifle.Keep us posted.
Eric S. Williams
Edited by - E.Williams on 08/25/2002 08:18:17
Edited by - E.Williams on 08/25/2002 08:28:090 -
Hello Mr Lugnut
As far as putting a value on your devine, it's a tough thing to do.Since thier is no book listing just on devines, it's a matter of finding someone who wants just a devine and what thier willing to spend. In my experince I have seen most devines sell between 1.000 and 1.600 dollars. That is also the ballpark I paid for mine. It's kind of a niche market thing. Is it any better than a brand new springfield? I do not the knowlage or experince with M1A's to tell you.Mr Judgecolt might but not me.Would I buy another one you bet!!!! If you put yours up for auction or sale please!!!!! let me know. If you happen to find any more info on the gun or pricing please let us know.Please keep me informed on the status of your devine. Thankyou Beltfed ghubbar@bellsouth.net0 -
I agree with beltfed except that lugnut's M1A is NOT a Devine, it is a San Antonio, where apparently a few were made before moving to Devine. When I spoke to Elmer Balance, the "E" of E&R Gun Company, the original maker of the M1A, he could not or would not tell me how many were made in San Antonio and Devine. He did say that the serial numbers were not necessarily consecutive in build date, meaning some earlier serial numbers could have been assembled on a date later than some later serial numbers. 0
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