First M1 Garand (Strange survivor)

This March saw me finally picking up what will probably be the first of several M1s in my cabinet.

The KC area has seen a rush on Garands lately so even a battered rifle is going for a bit of a premium. That said, I went with a rifle that had seen better days and set out to build a solid shooter out of it. I think I succeeded for the most part.

It's a SA 1.8 mill serial number which puts it in August 1943 as it's build date (Just found that post from jouster.com :) ). The barrel on it at the time was a 1953 SA barrel stamped by Blue Sky (a bad sign I know). It had a birch stock that had been sanded down so hard that it was barely the same size as the butt plate on the end of the stock. The forward handguard was equally thin.

The action was worth the money on the rifle though. Trigger release surprises you every time and it appears to be all SA National Match. (I'd be happy to know a way to tell for certain if anyone is willing to pass along such info)

I'm pretty certain that the rifle did service in Europe, got an arsenal refurb in 1953 or early '54 and then got shipped off to Korea. The 1953 barrel shows the usual wear from (ahem) Korean cleaning and is pretty much useless.

This picture is in it's final form. It's not all SA any longer as I couldn't pass up a 1954 HRA barrel with a 1 ME and a 2.5 TE for $125!! The stock on it now I found locally for all of $50 and the grain is incredible. New forward handgrip is walnut from Packrats and at least twice as thick as the one I took off.

It's not "correct", I know. I put this one together as a learning experience and I'm quite happy with the results. Any tips I can learn around here will be greatly appreciated.
Attachment 22990

The front swivel is only the piling swivel. Not for sling use. The sling is later also, like M14. You should be able to find a nice new 1907 sling for shooting purposes. Is the stock group birch or beech? It certainly has figure. If the upper handguard's walnut, it's not too bad looking like that!

Ya I know about the stacking swivel. It's just hooked through it to neaten it up for the picture and I use it that way to keep it from dragging in my cabinet. Good secondary use even if not designed that way! :thup:

I'm snooping the sling. There are some relaticely inexpensive reproductions that would be ok for this rifle and I may go that way. Haven't decided on a cheek piece though. I like that grain too much lol.

As for which wood is on the gun, the main stock is debatable. I got it for a whopping $50 (Theft I tell you, stolen comepletely!) locally and had to do some serious cleanup on it. No stamps of any kind found anywhere. Not even the remnants and it had not been sanded either. It's much larger than the birch stock that was on the rifle when I bought it. Owner said it was walnut, which would be nice, but I have no certainty of that. I'm good with making wood look nice, but rotten at identifying it!

Yes, it's hard to identify that wood in the pics. You should be able to order a leather sling from Brownells or pacificcanvasandleather.com.

TY for the link. Better prices than I've seen on a couple of other sites.

It is extremely hard to tell from the photo, but I think the stock could be maple. It certainly has a lovely figuring.

Patrick
:wave:

Yup! I agree with myself - that looks like maple.

Nice looking gun and you kept is JCG legal too. You should be happy with the HRA barrel. They usually shoot well and it sounds like you got one without much wear.
I never heard of a NM trigger. Usually, the hammer hooks are worked to get you a crisp 4.5-5lb pull and working surfaces of the group are polished so that they work smoothly.
Make sure and check the gas cylinder wear ant the op-rod tip. If it functions they are ok but excessive wear might give you inconsistencies. Make sure that the op-rod doesn't touch the lower band when operating. Also, make sure your sights are tight and give you positive clicks. False clicks and/or moving sights can ruin a good day.

Never thought of maple...It does look like it.

Attachment 23002
Just for fun and comparison, there's the old birch next to the new stock.

Attachment 23003
And a closer look (albeit a tad fuzzy) at the left side of the stock. This was about halfway through refinishing.

TY for the info (and props :D)!

So then the question becomes- Who made stocks in maple?? I've heard plenty about birch, walnut, and the odd ash stock, but I haven't run across any mention of maple before. :confused:

Gulliver- Sights are, thankfully, rock solid. I'll double check that wear you mention on the op-rod though. Hadn't given it much thought and the rifle is cycling as near to perfect as you can get so far. Don't even get any crunched cases! That's good since I reload everything I shoot.

Checked those details Gulliver mentioned. Op-rod clears the the lower by fractions, but does clear. I'll keep a weather eye on that in case it should shift. Gas cylinder has light carbon build up, but the piston edges are quite sharp and appear relatively unworn.

Hello Darkwolfe...good looking rifle! Turner Saddlery makes nice slings for M1's, I have one and I am happy with it. You say in your post that your are fairly certain of your rifles history...where it was etc. Could you say how you were able to determine this? I always thought that information was all but impossible to find out. I have a WW2 vintage Garand and would like to learn a bit more about it. Any info sure would be a help.

First off the 1.8 mill serial number puts it in August of 1943 for it's "born on" date. Given the land forces deployed at the time, that gives it a very high probability of having landed in Europe for the remainder of the war. Secondly, it did get a rearsenal job at the SA as the barrel on it was an SA barrel from 1953. Third is that nasty stamp on the side of the barrel that says "Blue Sky, Arlington, VA". So far as I've been able to determine, Korea was where Blue Sky got all of their re-imported M1's. So by that mark, it went to Korea after the '53 barrel was put on. Fourth and final is the wear on the '53 barrel. The rifling at the muzzle shows the wear common from Korean use. They didn't protect them well when cleaning and literally rubbed the rifling down putting excess side pressure on the steel cleaning rods. From what I understand, that's the primary reason everyone cringes when they see Blue Sky on the barrel. That and the occassional "crushed" barrel when Blue Sky over pressured their stamp.

I realy wish the birch stock hadn't been sanded smooth. I might have been able to gather more data on the rifle to prove or disprove what I've dug up so far. I had better luck with my 1904 Swedish M94 Naval Carbine (Shouldn't have sold that one! :banghead: )

Has any of this been hammered in stone yet? Nope. I may find out eventually that my nosing around has turned up some bad info. It happens of course, but it's still fun to explore the history and see what you find.

Thanks Darkwolf....with the exception of the Blue Sky markings, it sounds like you could be describing my M1, right down to the wear at the muzzle. My receiver has a similar 'birthdate' and judging by the barrel etc, it also was a post war rebuild. Thanks for the info.

The wear on mine was nuts. TE was a 4.5, ME... ate the gauge completely! Thus I snooped a gun show thoroughly and found a good deal on a very nice HRA barrel for it.

I see your from Kansas City. Did you get your H&R bbl. from Yoda. I know he sets up at the KC shows. I got a nice one a year so ago. Bill

Not sure Bill. Small booth with a glass case. Fellow had a 1950s barrelled receiver for $400 at the time too, but my budget wouldn't allow that at the time. Pity too, would have been fun to do a parts build.

I am also a fan of the Turner Saddle Co. sling. I believe they offer rack and "match" grade. The match being a little longer. Correct me if I am wrong someone! ;)
I also got a Sportsmansguide or other "discount" sling. I rate that as good/ fair, against the Turner. My big "dig" against the SG, was the color... However, the Turner was a lot more $$, but I feel that you get what you pay for. The leather from Turner was a better quality and the stitching was better also! Hope this helps!