M1 Folding Stock

Recently purchased a M1A1 folding stock as the price was OK and it appeared original to me.

As I'm not familiar with M1's so far I was wondering if the number on the grip could be the S/N of the rifle it was originally equipped with? And would you think that it is original?

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...8/M1A1_1-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...8/M1A1_2-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...8/M1A1_3-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...8/M1A1_4-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...8/M1A1_5-1.jpg

So far I know that only Inland manufactured M1's were used as M1A1 paratroopers. But were there any specific S/N ranges or could I just put in _ANY_ Inland M1?

€dit: And is the normal M1 Carbine oiler also "working" with the folding stock (it's missing with that one)?

Thanks,

Georg

Ciao Georg; Yes the standard oiler works. The numbers were put down there because when in a secure rack, they could be checked for accounting purposes. In the beginning Inland built the M1 A1s but by Korea every manufacturer could be found wearing folding stocks.

Jim,

Hell, You're fast :) .

If I understood you correctly You're saying it's indeed the S/N of the rifle, but it was being added when being put into racks? Did Every manufacturer had it's own S/N range starting from 0001 or did they Share the whole Block? If it's the Second Thing, would the above S/N be Inland?

And sorry about some Capital letters, iPad generates it's own words ;)

The number on the bottom of the grip is a Inland serial number that could have possibly been orginally an M1A1. It is impossible to determine when and who stamped the number there. It is also impossible to determine if that 5 mil gun was original to the stock. It was not done at the Inland factory though. Post a picture of the right side of the stock, that will tell us if you have an earler "highwood", cut down highwood or a Lowwood stock. Also, not just any Inland will work to make it correct, certain # ranges are correct for certain stocks. Highwoods are worth more $$$ and harder to find. Looks like a nice and real stock.

The stock has been through a rebuild so any manufacturer would be correct.

It is lowwod stock, but I'm not sure if it was cut down. Nevertheless the wood on the OP rod side is thinner than on the other side.

Serial numbers came in assigned blocks. Each manufacturer had a different set to avoid confusion and double numbering. I thnik you can find those numbers here on this site.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Promo

It is lowwod stock, but I'm not sure if it was cut down. Nevertheless the wood on the OP rod side is thinner than on the other side.

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No offense intended, but do you know what the terms 'highwood' & 'lowwood' mean? Your last sentence makes ne believe you actually have the more valuable highwood stock. Post a pic of the right side if you can. I don't know if I can verbalize a good comparison of the the two stock types but someone here has a side by side pic that maybe they will post.

You're right, had to look up what high- and lowwood is :) . But didn't find any answer upon how to identify a cut down stock, so I just said what I could identify. Well, see yourself:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...8/M1A1_6-1.jpg

Considering the value, if I distract everything else it came with paid about 150 Euros (~ $ 215) for it.

Looks like a Low wood

Promo, it looks like you have a very nice original M1A1 Paratrooper stock there. Welcome to the boards and enjoy.

So.. Is it now cutdown or lowwood?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Promo

So.. Is it now cutdown or lowwood?

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Without a clear macro photo of the area shown in post #9 its hard to say for sure. From the blurry photo, i am leaning towards an as made Low wood and not a cut down.

Can someone post pictures showing the difference between made lowwood and cut lowwood?

Here are better pictures of my stock.

Attachment 26292Attachment 26293

It is a lowwood stock.

I dont have any cut down stocks to photo for you. Yours is an original LowWood and not a cut down one,IMO.

Promo, if the milling marks from the cut down are the same as the rest of the right rail, then it was made as a low wood and is not a cut down highwood. HTH.....Frank

Promo, these are highwoods. The wood covers up most of the right hand side of the slide. It was a fragile part of the stock and was often damaged. When and if, that happened, the remaining wood was often cut off making it a low wood. A careful examination of the area will normally reveal saw, rasp or sanding marks, differing it from the normal factory low wood. I've seen a few otherwise nice I Cuts that are now low wood. Hope this helps. Mike.

they don't do a very good job. I have a nice I cut high wood cut to low wood Inland stock on my NPM. It looks like an indifferent government worker did the cutting. From a practical standpoint, I don't think I'd like to have a highwood stock on a carbine I'd be using, it is a weak point for sure.

Can someone post pictures comparing the cutdown lowwood to normal lowwood? Looked everywhere but didn't find any good picture at all.

See this pic: Hi vs Low Wood Carbines picture by WRA342 - Photobucket
Not my pic but a good one from the cmp forum it is member WRA342's pic

Thanks, I know that already, that was the easier part. But never saw a cutdown lowwood. So someone ... ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by usgicollector

It is a lowwood stock.

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I agree.

And what Inland serial number range would be correct for that stock?