I've been hearing about these M1's identified as BLUE SKY Imports and understand their value is questionable. Can anyone enlighten me as to the background on these "Blue Sky Garands" and how they came to be? ......Thanks.......:confused:
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I've been hearing about these M1's identified as BLUE SKY Imports and understand their value is questionable. Can anyone enlighten me as to the background on these "Blue Sky Garands" and how they came to be? ......Thanks.......:confused:
"Blue Sky" refer to USGI M1 Garands & M1 Carbines which were imported into the U.S. from former allies that were given these weapons post World War II.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bear57
I am not sure, but believe the first batch came from South Korea War Reserves. But, where they came from for the import process is irrelevant. They were all born in the USA.
Blue Sky refers to the required stamping that the importer must stamp on the weapon. These rifles were stamped with "Blue Sky xxx" (Can't remember if it was Blue Sky Inc. or something else). They were usually stamped on the barrel or in some cases, on the receiver. Since the importer stamped "Blue Sky" on the rifles, folks started referring to these repatriated rifles as "Blue Sky Rifles".
There are two generally accepted schools of thought regarding these rifles:
Thought 1: They are original USGI rifles that were given to US allies and then imported back into the USA. When the importer stamped "Blue Sky" certain magical mysterious changes occurred in metallurgy that rendered these weapons suspect. The exact details are classified. If you are selling one, the Blue Sky Import stamp commands a small premium. If you are buying one the Blue Sky import stamp is the same as a shock sensitive explosives label. Touch it and you may die.
Thought 2: The import stamp is of little consequence. It's an original USGI rifle. If the stamp bothers you, re-barrel the rifle and voila! Instant collector. It's like it never left the country. However, if you do change the barrel, please don't post it on the Internet. There are several thousand folks patiently waiting behind their keyboards to pounce on you for violating federal law for doing so. Me included.
(Shift S engaged) - Since they have been imported, not a single rifle has ever had a barrel change, so your chances of encountering a rifle that was imported as a "Blue Sky" but had its barrel changed is exactly zero.
That's the nickel tour of the Blue Sky saga.
The only things that cause the rifle to be worth less is the "Blue Sky" stamping is usually very heavy, that and it is an import.
I have seen the stampings so heavy they distort the barrel.
One other thing to look at. At one time blue sky struck their import stamp a bit over zealous on the barrel. I believe most of these were carbines. The rumor was because ATF gave them a talking to about how light and hard to see their early mark was. The result was some barrels were struck so hard the bore was oval under the stamp. Some people that were buying a lot of rifles for shooters and parts would take a bore straightness rod with them to check for bore crush under the stamp.
"There are several thousand folks patiently waiting behind their keyboards to pounce on you for violating federal law for doing so." ?????
What does the Federal law prohibit and why is it illegal? Thanks..
F.Y.I., there is a Garand on GB right now ( Auction # 145546882) that has this stamp on the front of the barrel.
Great responses and now have a better understanding.......thank you!.......Barry
I want to know why someone can't re-barrel a Blue Sky myself. If I found one cheap with a bad barrel, I wouldn't worry about changing it. As long as I don't try to chisel a possible buyer by claiming the rifle is all original, I don't see a problem. Now, if 'blue shy' is stamped on the receiver, Federal law says you can remove NO METAL from any semi auto receiver.
That is a *very* good question. Note: I am not an attorney nor do I play on on TV or the Internet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bear57
ATFE is now accepting applicants to test via the court system the applicability and legality of:
Volunteers will need to appear with a visibly altered weapon that violates the "spirit" (ahem) of 922(k) and plead their case before the court. Your argument could well be that an importers name is not a serial number unless ATFE disagrees with you. If so...game on.Quote:
Section 922 <- Link
(k) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to transport,
ship, or receive, in interstate or foreign commerce, any firearm
which has had the importer's or manufacturer's serial number
removed, obliterated, or altered or to possess or receive any
firearm which has had the importer's or manufacturer's serial
number removed, obliterated, or altered and has, at any time, been
shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
ATFE will likely argue that in order to properly trace weapons back to the importer they will need the importers name, without the name, no trace.
I would advise bringing large amounts of cash and time.
By the way, the way this was explained to me by a real honest to God lawyuh when I was in Texas at a gunshow:
"Say you're standing at the border between the USA and [insert country here]. You have a rifle in your hands. You want to come across the border with your rifle. The customs officer tells you "You can't bring that there rifle with you unless you stamp your name on it as the importer. Once you do that, you can legally cross the border with that rifle". Big deal you say. So you drop the rifle on a nearby convenient pantograph table and engrave your name on it. You step across the border and immediately whip out a surface grinder and sand off your name.
The customs officer rolls his eyes, sighs heavily and whacks you over the head with a sap and then handcuffs you. Days later you stand in front of a Federal Judge and say "But your honor, I did what he told me!".
I still giggle when I think of that scenario....
:wave:
That’s what has always been the argument. Does the import stamp constitute a serial number or part of it. ATF has no humor on this. I guess they got tired of being laughed at by the Department of Defense people when they showed up and asked where a certain rifle went by Ser number. :rofl:
Gentlemen.....
Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this topic. It has been very enlightening. Now I can understand why folks stay away from Blue Sky Garands and Carbines. Anytime anyone has to deal with the Government, it seems to turn into a legal nightmare, or at best, a test case (no thank you). Thanks and good shooting.....
What about buying an import marked barrel? These are sold by several surplus houses legally, and belong to no rifle.If You put one on a CMP receiver or whatever that stamp is meaningless.I actually got a CMP US Army rifle with an Arlington Ord stamp on the barrel,The barrel was toast and it is GONE now!
TRhat's too bad. I've never seen a Bluesky that didn't need its barrel replaced.
My club got 5-6(?) Blue Sky imports many years ago. We had to replace each and every barrel. I fully expect the same for the next batch of Korean imports.
The Garands seem to have been in rougher shape than the Carbines . Not a huge surprise given corrosive 30'06 ammo and the humid summers in the ROK. OTOH , both Blue Sky Carbines that I own have excellent tight bores , and shoot well.
The first Carbine had truly horrible oil-soaked , battered wood and had been re-parked in the US.
The second was apparently a ceremonial gun and was 99% like new from rebuild -- including a Trimble TN highwood stock , various blued parts etc , etc. Metal markings and corners were very crisp . I had no idea at the time , but the Carbine was ( in some ways ) comparable to some of the US white bag guns ( after they were cleaned-up) . When I heard "Blue Sky " , my tunnel vision kicked in and I just checked it mechanically as a shooter.
Had no clue about what it was till I got it home and started doing my homework.
We shall see about the spectrum of conditions in the 700 thousand (plus )
Carbines and Garands coming in the years ahead....
Whoops , 800 thousand (plus).
And ammo , tools, accessories , etc , etc....
;)
Charlie,Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie59
Blue Sky barrels: Change 'em if you got 'em. Nobody cares, not even BATF.
No problem here guys. It's saying importer or manufacturer's SERIAL NUMBER shall not be changed. The import stamp does not ADD or CHANGE the existing serial number of the gun. If you feel really bad about it, make sure the "Blue Sky" marking is highlighted in white lettering as you discard the barrel.....:banghead:Quote:
(k) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to transport,
ship, or receive, in interstate or foreign commerce, any firearm
which has had the importer's or manufacturer's serial number
removed, obliterated, or altered or to possess or receive any
firearm which has had the importer's or manufacturer's serial
number removed, obliterated, or altered and has, at any time, been
shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
Mike D
Thank you for that. I have a Blue Sky that I bought sight unseen. I ordered it through a local dealer. When it showed up the dealer was embarasssed. He offered to buy it back. It had to have Audie Murphy's. No other gun could have been beat so much. I steamed out the dents I could, sanded others and just left the worst ones. I was afraid to remove the bbl. I didn't want to be a test case and have the BATF make a project out of me.
Maybe i'll make a donation to Obama and then go for it.
Do what you want with the rifle, but remember that NO rifle should have a serial number obliterated or altered in any way. Barrels DO NOT count. Change 'em all day long. Simple, end of statement. NO one will ever know or care.
Apparently, some folks here can't recognize "tongue in cheek" comments. And, apparently, some of those making those comments can't resist making them, even at the expense of the truth and accuracy.
:nono:
The local gun shop bought about 20 of the Blue Sky M1 Rifles when they were imported. To a rifle they were all virtually worn out. The bullet test revealed that some would take the bullet and part of the case, while a few would only go up to the cartridge case. It was a daily operation to put the op-rods back in their track, as most would jump out when pulled back by customers.
The M1 Carbine barrels must have been much softer, as was previously posted, some of the barrels were "egged" by the stamping process.
A friend of mine has/had a Blue SKy Garand. The barrel was literally guaging at an "8" on the Stoneaxe. It had that hideous stamping on the side of the muzzle. He had an IHC oprod on it, so we sold that and, at the time, were able to buy a decent USGI barrel & post war oprod. The "new" barrel was at a 3 for both MW & TE. So, he was a happy camper when he got his rifle back.Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Peppers
Do I think the ATF will come after us for replacing a used, worn out barrel with a Blue Sky mark on it. I doubt it. This was over 4 years ago.
MIke
Sure odd how rumors get started. Swap out the barrel, no problem. Swap out the serial number, big problem.
I'm not a lawyer either, but I did sleep in the dumpster behind the county courthouse last night.
We have been given some good information above, but also a lot of not-so-good information.
First, the Gun Control Act of 1968 requires that all firearms imported into the US be stamped with the name, city, & state of the importer. (It takes an act of Congress to import without this mark, & that is exactly how CMP was able to bring in rifles from Greece, Italy, etc without it.)
Second, GCA 68 requires importers to stamp a new serial number on any gun that does not have a serial number containing only Arabic numbers. So, your Russian guns with a SN containing some Cyrillic characters have been stamped with a new SN; in this case, it is the importers SN that cannot be altered.
Third, an import marking can be removed by anyone, once the firearm is in the US. Scratch it off, change the barrel, do whatever you want, it is all good. The fellas with the bulges in the cheap suits have never had a problem with this.
Fourth, "Blue Sky" imports also have the importer's city & state (Arlington, VA) stamped on them. Most, maybe all, were used by the South Koreans. Most were heavily used & abused. The Koreans ran out of many spare parts at some point, & their armorers sometimes made repairs that we would not; e.g., if a carbine bolt lug broke off or cracked, they would weld it. Many barrels were literally shot out. When they did a complete rebuild, their version of parkerizing was poor; it looks like chalk, & you can permanently scratch it with your fingernail (at least, I did on one in a store).
Sure, you can buy an import marked barrel if you want. But, you have to ask yourself, would someone take a perfectly good barrel off a rifle for the heck of it?
You may find a good Blue Sky rifle, but you had better know how to evaluate it before you buy; the odds are against you.
I bought a Blue-Sky Garand a couple years back, except for the shot-out barrel, Korean wonder-Wood and the T105 rear sight, it was a correct 2.25mill SA. A CMP stockset and a good barrel I had in stock solved all but the missing lockbars. It's now my JCG rifle. Shoots into 2" ave. from a bench at 100 yards.
In related news two very senior US officials have visted , or are about to vist , the ROK. The first was the SecDef. The second , later this week will be his boss.
The ROK's have agreed to send more troops and help to A-stan. Maybe that is a way to maintain close ties with the US and most favored nation status.....
:super:
I have Blue sky carbine for many years now. I bought as a shooter and it does just that. It is a Standard products gun with an Underwood barrel. The barrel i straight. I had a dealer offer me 400. for it sight unseen several years ago. I came from Korea.
I have aKorean iport Garand that I had to rebarrel several years ago.I believe the importer was Excel in Mass. i had no idea that it might be illegal to rebarrel an imprt rifle. i t was rebarreled because the threads to hold the gas cylinder lock were worn out and the gas cylinder kept flying off the rifle.
Peter
Back when the Blue Sky Garands first hit the market I ordered 12 for various friends. IIRC they were from S.O.G. Since I was doing this as a favor and was making no profit it was agreed that I would get the pick of the litter. All were present when the cartons were opened.
When we opened them my wife got upset and made us move them to the garage. Most had a fuzzy mold growing all over the wood and looked like they had been taken out of a landfill. All had worn out muzzles from improper cleaning. Needless to say, everyone was disappointed but decided to keep them to rebuild. All had the Bule Sky Productions heavily stamped on the barrels.
I ended up picking out a 6 digit SA that had grown one hell of a culture on the wood. After stripping and cleaning it the metal didn't look too bad. The bore looked pretty good except for the muzzle wear. I killed and removed the culture and soaked in oil from the wood with Easy Off oven cleaner and had to sand some soft wood off the stock. I rubbed in a couple of coats of Tru Oil and it didn't look bad. Of course the lock-up was now loose so I glass bedded the action.
When I test fired it at 100 yds. I got a nice tight 12" group. lol So I was prepared to re-barrel. The rifle ended up as a wall hanger for a couple of years.
I then got the idea of counter boring but didn't have the correct equipment. After some thought on this I decided to use a chamber reamer in the muzzle. I figured what the hell, it was toast anyway. I ran the reamer in as far as I could till the reamer shoulder started to cut the crown. It looked much better. I then lapped the cut shoulder with some fine grit lapping compound on a tight patch to remove any burrs. Success! When I have a good day she will now group just under 3" at 100 yds. with my handloads. Not a match rifle but acceptable accuracy.
I now have 9 Garands but due to its lower value this one has become my main shooter. She still has that ugly stamp though. :(
One plus was that it had an HRA bolt, op rod and trigger housing. Last year I swapped them with a CMP HRA field grade that had SA parts.
So my suggestion is... if you have a barrel that gauges bad try counter boring before rebarreling. Unless you're dead set on a new barrel.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...MG_1645a-1.jpg
Great information, thanks alot!
As I recall............
Back in the day when you could buy a Garand from the local Woolworth store............
Blue Sky imports were UGLY AS SIN.
Aloha. Mark
I purchased a Blue Sky M1 from a dealer at a gun show in K.C.M.O back in 1989. $350 in the box. It was an Anniston arsenal rebuild with the electro-pen markings of 3-66 on the receiver leg.
It was a total mixmaster. 5.4M SA receiver, but with a complete WWII trigger pack, uncut Op rod, Winchester bolt, Win.gas cylinder and Win.buttplate. The entire gun except for the bolt was redone in a light gray park. The bolt was parked black and appeared brand new. The barrels bore was a pitted up sewer pipe and shot minute of barn door at 100 meters.
While the metal work externally was in like new condition, the stock was complete crap. I had the barrel replaced in 1991 and a Boyds walnut stock replaced the beaver chewed birch stock set in 1994. After firing less than 200 rounds, it went in my safe where it remained until earlier this year. I have ordered a correct 65 series bolt and gas cylinder that will replace the Win. bolt and an unissued USGI birch stock set was just installed. I have another WWII era M1 that I use for blank-fire reenacting and I'm planning on using the 5.4M for range/competition shooting once it's 'restored' back to it's arsenal rebuild look of the 1960's.
Woolworths in North Miami had racks of the Blue Sky Garands and the Carbines....back in the day. Every Garand barrel was belled out at the muzzle by excessive cleaning rod use. The wood was ugly as well. New stocks and barrels made the guns quite nice. I had 2 of them rebuilt and enjoyed them.
But to the point of the M-1's;
The Blue Sky M-1's and later, carbines, were bought commercially from the South Koreans, by a firm owned in large part by Wayne LaPierre (Blue Sky). This was the first batch of surplus rifles that were imported due to the change of law in the GOPA of 1986 (which also banned more MG's), and the first large batch of M-1's ever introduced into the market. At the time, these were the only game in town, as far as M-1's were concerned, and shooters and collectors swarmed on them. Many were in beater condition, but a very few were correct and in good shape. As stated, they had an obnoxious stamp on the left side of the barrel. It was only later when DCM became CMP, and the "one per lifetime" rule was lifted, that the Blue Sky's became the leper of the M-1 club. But back in the day......
Re-barrel away. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Costas
A few months ago I picked up a Inland (blu-sky) marked for $240.00. Shoots great but the stock is kinda dinged up and that's my shooter. It was in the shipping box with the Blue sky instruction book.
For those of you who do not know the story of "Blue Sky Imports", you need to.
There was a sharp businessman, long ago in a far away land, who discovered that the South Koreans were interested in selling their old rifles, in order to get some new stuff for their military. They had lots of rifles, both m1 garands, and m1 carbines,... and m2 carbines. Lots of spare parts as well,...... just like when the U.S. government sells military aircraft to a foreign country, or "lends" them to them, they also give lots of spare parts, so the planes can be maintained and serviced. Same thing with weapons...... so, I just read that someone said that "if you find a blue sky import, it will always have the original barrel in it"...... bla bla bla. WRONG. It can, and will, have a hodge podge of parts. many had shitty worn out barrels on the garands, and yes, many of THOSE, were original barrels to those receivers. Any of you that have been in the U.S. military, or most other military's as well, know how gun cleaning after a day at the range or in the field goes. They are all completely disassembled, and all the bolts go in one pile, all of the trigger groups in another pile, the stocks in another pile, and the barreled receivers in another pile. One guy or two guys clean each of the piles,... and then when everything is clean, they are reassembled. So.... that being said,...... think about it. 30 or 40 bolts in a pile.... some Winchester, some Springfield, some International Harvester, etc...... do you think they are all sitting around, trying to match them up by maker's marks, or get them all slapped back together, so they can lock them back up in the armory and get the hell out of there?? Not rocket science folks.....
Next, "Blue Sky"....... and back to the sharp businessman. The sharp businessman didnt have enough money to buy X number of M1 Garands and carbines all at once, so he borrowed money from a bank,... knowing that they were worth a **** load of money, proved it to the bank officer, who granted the loan, and he made the deal. When some sharp U.S. CONGRESSMEN FOUND OUT,...... they started scheming on how to profit off of that huge profit margin, and it just wasnt fair, that some businessman, not in THEIR FRATERNITY,.... could pull off something like that, and they came up with "These are lend lease weapons.... they were GIVEN to the South Korean Government, on loan,... and so they do not have the right to sell them. If they do not want them, they can give them back, but they can not just "sell" them to some American Businessman", so, they formed "Blue Sky Corp", and when the rifles landed on the docks in California and were ready to go through U.S. Customs, they froze them on the docks and tied them up in paperwork issues. The bank wanted it's money back, and those Congressmen put leverage on the bank, so that it would demand the money back from this guy, who had already spent it by giving it to the South Korean Government. He had to sell them fast, on the thought that he was going to loose everything if he didnt, he didnt have the millions of dollars he owed the bank, who was demanding or calling in the loan. So, "Blue Sky" bailed the poor bastard out. He ended up making a LITTLE money,... and those Congressmen then shifted the laws or rulings they had made to freeze them on the dock and not let them be imported,... then THEY turned around and sold them.
THAT IS THE BLUE SKY STORY. Blue Sky screwed the little guy, and made a **** ton of money themselves. Dont believe me? Ask some of the old time gun importers or gun dealers who dealt in military firearms. They will tell you the same story. I was just researching something, and saw this old thread, so thought I would enlighten you guys on what Blue Sky really means. Blue Skies for a few rich elitist pigs......... death to a small time, hard working, scrounging guy. :yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes:
Actually I spent 35 years in the infantry and I NEVER saw that happen, not from recruit training to mature troops in the battalions. Everyone was responsible for their OWN weapon. Even machine guns were done by their crews, although stripped into a wash basin perhaps, they would be done by the men responsible for them. I didn't serve in a closet either. Lots of different armies and countries and places...so that part of the story is bunk.Quote:
Originally Posted by mightythor101
The rest, well, we weren't as in the dark as you think. That's why this thread died 7 LONG years ago...we usually leave them that way and start a fresh one...
Hear, Hear! My thoughts exactly.Quote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
BEAR
Rifleman's Creed
This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.
Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will...
My rifle and I know that what counts in war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit...
My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel.
I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...
Before God, I swear this creed. My rifle and I are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life.
So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy, but peace!
We did it at Ft. Dix in 1960... two guys would collect everybody's trigger group, take them into the latrine and blast them with blazing hot water, then come back and pass out the totally clean and air dried assemblies.
I remember when the Blue Sky M1 Garands came back in to the US. I remember going up to Navy arms and going through just about everyone of their M1s to pick out those that could be rebuilt into serviceable rifles. I got ten friends together who wanted M1 and explained to them the more we purchase the cheaper the price. I also told the that if they purchase a brand new Douglas M1 barrel 30-06 or 308 Winchester I would put it on their rifle or rifles free of charge. I went through all of their M1s and picked out 20 M1 Garand rifles that other than the barrels and the springs looked pretty good. The barrels on all them were toast, very worn and unserviceable, several of which a loose 30 caliber bullet fell all the way out of the bore after being dropped into the barrel. All of the M1s were reparkerized to make them look "new". Of the 20 M1 Garands that I purchased 15 were rebarreled with new Douglas M1 barrels. I purchased 4 of the M1 Garands for myself, a Winchester, a H&R, a real early 4 digit Springfield and a International Harvester. I rebarreled two rifles to 308 Winchester and two to 30-06. Eventually all were ungraded to National Match standards. I still have these four M1 Garands and several others that I purchased over the years. When I purchased these M1s the word was that these M1s came from the South Korean basic training units and had excessive wear on the muzzles from the over use of steel cleaning rods. I seem to remember that I paid about $125.00 US dollars for each of the twenty rifles and the new barrels were $150.00 uninstalled for the 15 individuals who wanted new barrels installed which I installed free for the purchasers. as I remember the overall condition of the rifles were not too bad with very little rust or pitting but the barrels without exception were toast.
Cheers
--fjruple
Neat, I did hear you speak of it before. Seems it more that a bit isolated though. That way you're not responsible for your own weapon...how professional.Quote:
Originally Posted by bob seijas
Hi All,
An interesting subject that could possibly be solved.
I wrote to one of the members on the House Appropriations Committee, the one that controls this importation legislation requesting that that part of the import law ( Imprinting) be retracted before the return of the next batch of Garands took place.
I don't know if it will end a good result but if you don't say anything we will continue to have imprinting. I know that one will not make a difference but many might.
My two cents worth!
"you're not responsible for your own weapon"
True enough, but these were "school rifles" and not what you would be issued after Basic. Some were truly awful, one guy's was held together with tape because the trigger group would not lock up. Mine was not bad, but I'm still astonished that I qualified Expert with such a beater. We had no idea that things like that mattered, every trigger group was the same to use.
I bought a Blue Sky M1 Rifle at a Gun Show back shortly after they were brought in (mid-90's?). I got it for really cheap because the owner was completely disgusted with it because it would not function at all. I am always up for a challenge, so I figured Why Not?
Well, a new IN-SPEC Gas cylinder fixed the not functioning bit.. Still not out of the woods, though.
Next: Trigger group lock-up was very sloppy. New trigger guard (with good lugs), and replacing the oilsoaked stock which was 'smashed down' on the receiver locking surfaces and if not for that would have given firewood a bad name anyway. Boyd replacement wood set. Check.
Next problem: It would keyhole about half of what it was fed. Yes, you COULD lose a bullet down that bore. In this case it stopped about 3/4" behind the muzzle. New barrel.
Third problem: The ejected clip just barely cleared the receiver. New clip ejector spring.
The rifle now functions perfectly and is probably the best-looking Garand of the three I own.
Total Cost: still a bit less than 'gun show retail' for a fully functioning rifle at the time.
When they're wore out, they're wore out. Time for a rebuild.
My buddy got a Danish return at Perry years back. It would swallow a 30-06 cartridge all the way to the case shoulder, when dropped into the muzzle. He sent it back to CMP and they replaced the rifle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BEAR
SEMPER FI
Now THAT'S shot out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Calif-Steve
I was an FFL through the 80's and into the early 90's and sold several Blue Sky M1's and carbines. None were ever returned but most looked well worn. I kept a Quality Hardware carbine that was all original and brought it to Colorado with me. Shoots well.
I bought a Blue Sky M1 rifle and have had zero issues with it. Receiver dates to Sep 1944 and the barrel is dated 1954. It was in a post war Birch stock and I replaced that with a CMP stock set. Since the finish was in great shape the rifle now looks super. And, it shoots well too.
Birch stock:
Attachment 85062
CMP Walnut stock set:
Attachment 85063
First 8 shots @50 yards when I received it in 2009.
Attachment 85064
Al
I too had a Blue Sky barrel for M1 carbine and it was fine. The marking wasn't too deep either, maybe that was why...Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Diehl
Deleted post, just realized this post started 8 years ago and I was answering a very old question.
"Blue Sky Garands"
I can remember seeing them in barrels in the Cornet Store (or Woolworth Store) in Downtown Honolulu. They were ugly.....heavy importer's bbl stamp and with really bad gray parkerizing. I was too young to buy one. BTW, it was the 1960s.
Anyway, that's my story.
Aloha, Mark