My WRA Koera M1 Garand

Here is pictures of my M1 I got this year. It came from a vet who had it hanging on his wall. Receiver is WRA built in 1942. The rest is SA some wartime and some post war. Barrel is SA 1947. Doesnt look used much after rebuild. Hope you enjoy. What do the experts think?

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I added a MRT 52 sling and buttstock cleaning kit. Now I need a bayonet!
Michael

Looks verry nice! I also have a 42' WRA except mine has a VAR barrel.

Looks good. I'd say a shooter for sure. I wouldn't do much to it except maybe shoot it. Bayonets are available at gun shows, probably in your own area.

Very nice, looks to me to be period correct for Korean War. I like the stock, looks to be a JLG hand stamp. Do you see any remanents of an earlier cartouche that may not have been completely removed during rebuild ? That is a rifle I would keep just as it is. :thup:

REALLY neat stock - JLG handstamped!! Not sure how many are out there but that is really a tough bird to find.

Don't know why, but lately I have been on a rebuild kick - Garands are neat; you just go from one area to another to another, ...

Nice rifle. Thanks for sharing.

Nice. Congrats.

Don't see any remains of eariler stamps on the stock. I like that its walnut! Has neet marks on the butt. Rack numbers maybe? I haven't taken it apart yet to see if it still has any WW2 internal parts. I plan on keeping it as is. I made a M1 Carbine back correct WW2 but it was easy since it was a late war carbine. This one Ill leave alone! See any WW2 parts on it besides the receiver? Thanks for the kind comments!

The trigger guard is early. You would need to photo the drawing numbers on the major parts for us to tell any more about it.

The rear site is lock bar.

Ill take it apart and take more pictures. I been meaning to do this. I have my PC up and running now! I know some of the parts but others I don't know. To me it looks to be rebuilt once for the 50s. Most of these I see are 60s rebuilds! No import marks and I got it from a vets family. I knew the vet also.

One thing you must consider is that the stock may not have been on that rifle at time of rebuild, but it seems to be right to me. From what I have read by Bruce Canfield "It may not be JUST a REBUILD" in an early GCA Journal, is that soon after Col. James L. Guion became the C.O. of Springfield Armory (July 1950), the practice of stamping rebuilt rifles with the C.O.'s cartouche was resumed and SA continued production of replacement barrels into 1950 and 51 for use in the rebuild program. Your stock and 1947 SA barrel seem to fit. Hopefully others with more knowledge can give there opinions. To me it's a real nice honest rifle.

Ill take it apart to see who made the trigger guard and internal parts. The bolt is SA. The plug is HR. Looking on the net the bolt numbers place the bolt being made in 1944. Rear sight is from the same year if I remenber. Your right about the stock being from the early 50s. Course the barrel is a SA 1947 dated barrel. Might be the only thing WRA is the receiver. Ill put up some more pictures.
Thanks for the info.
Michael

That's a very nice rifle , thanks for posting .
The whole concept of a rifle that is both period appropriate and/or the real deal ( when possible ) as manufactured or as rebuilt really appeals to me . Yours seems like it it might qualify as a true time capsule Garand from the period circa 1947 through at least the mid-1950's. So that Garand seems to be a perfect example the type of Winnie rebuild that might have been in US or Allied use from the Baltic coast of Denmark , to the mountains in Greece , and from the Naktong to the Imjin River or maybe even the Yalu River in Korea .
Could call it an early Cold War Era Garand and , historically , many people in the US have called that type of Garand a Korean War Garand.

Thanks everyone for the nice comments!!
I took it apart today! It wasn't hard to do. The internal parts are SA. Here is some pictures of markings I found:

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It was greased up ready to shoot. Can anyone tell how old the parts are by the numbers? Need any more pictures please let me know!

Thanks again!!
Michael

For those that can't make out the op rod markings in the picture they are D65382 SA.

Michael

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 3ky

For those that can't make out the op rod markings in the picture they are D65382 SA.

Michael

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Mike, That's D35382 SA not D65 As per Scott Duff's "Blue Book" - D35382 SA is beleived to have been "made in the late 1940's or very early 1950's and was installed on rebuilt rifles only, not on new production pieces." The -12 Trigger Housing would be late 1943 to mid 1944, not uncommon on a rebuild. The HRA Gas Cylinder lock screw was most likly added sometime after the rebuild. Still looking like the rifle CampPerryKid described.

I agree. It's a rifle rebuilt in the early 50s for the Cold War. Doesn't look like it was a post Korea rebuild. Are these sought after? I know collectors go after correct rifles. Then you have your shooters. Is this just a shooter or is it a hard to find rifle or should I say collector rifle?

Thanks,
Michael

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 3ky

I agree. It's a rifle rebuilt in the early 50s for the Cold War. Doesn't look like it was a post Korea rebuild. Are these sought after? I know collectors go after correct rifles. Then you have your shooters. Is this just a shooter or is it a hard to find rifle or should I say collector rifle?

Thanks,
Michael

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FWIW:
IMO , historical value and market value are two very different things . That rifle has a high unhumped cool factor , in part because various talented sociopaths have not ( yet ) begun to mass produce fakes or develop weasel worded advertising campaigns for 1947 -circa 1953 rebuilt Winchesters. This site has the honest experts to determine the rough age of the rifle parts. The barrel identifies the earliest probable rebuild time. A combination of the newest part on the rifle ( as found ) wear patterns and other factors will give some solid clues about the latest probable rebuild date.
The rifle is what is and it's been where it's been . The shared detective work of narrowing down dates and historical context is fun , at least to me. 50 years from now a rifle like that may prove to have been a very , very profitable investment , especially if the provenance is rock solid . Or it may prove to have been just a little profitable in terms of dollars but provided a very useful peice of some historical puzzle.
Either way, I like the rifle and enjoy the discussion.

I like your thinking and thanks for all the info! Like everyone else I love finding out about these historical rifles and pistols! Its my only Garand! I always wanted one since I was a kid! Everyone thanks for the help I learned something! Ill buy one of the books in a few weeks to add to my collection incase I run accross another one I can afford!
Michael

Some call them shooters, and I suppose shooters they are. But the way I look at them (mix masters, arsenal rebuilds,or mutts) is that they did a job,they served an army, mostly ours and the history that my rifles or this particular rifle holds can only be dreamed about.
With the WWII receiver and the replaced parts it has most likely been involved in many engagements (???) could have actually been involved in the saving and/or taking of life or lives and has certainly earned the right to be called a veteran, in this case a war veteran. Enjoy!

Nice rifle. I received a almost new over sized JLG stock from the CMP in the late 90's for $15. Have it on my WWII Springfield 3,677,xxx.

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