welded reciever, is all hope lost?

I visited the SGK gun show this weekend and showed my garand to Gus Fisher. The gun is malfunctioning, a local gun smith checked my headspace and it was 1.969, 0.19 over his field gauge! One of Guses work associates checked the reciever # and the drawing number. After examining several small irregularities in the metal (very hard to see) they told me I had a receiver that had been cut up and rewelded. My heart sank.. where do I go from here? Sell the gun, make it some other poor saps problem? (had a bunch of offers at the show)... can it be re-barreled? I feel the best coarse of action, if I were to fix the gun, Legit reciever, new barrel, any input? besides the obvious," know what you're buying before you buy it!" Had I a few inexpensive gauges, and some GD common sense I would have walked the other way on this one.:banghead: - Eric

If the rest of the parts are in good condition I would find a good receiver and start over, or I have seen a few pics of guys that had made junk CAI cast recievers into cool lamps with a painted ammo can for the base.

I wouldn't do anything with that receiver.

CMP has good USGI Garand receivers for $200.00

Is it possible to return the rifle to the seller? How was it represented? If the seller represented the rifle to you in such as way that you belived it was unaltered, I'd ask for my money back. If that is not possible, then get a receiver from the CMP & make that one a paperweight.

You may also have a barrel that was an 03A3 barrel that was sleeved into the stub of the chamber end of a demilled M1 barrel. I would replace the barrel and receiver.

Maybe there's someone who you could donate it to that would like to do an overload destruction test on a Youtube video. At least we could learn something about M1 receiver strength while giving that receiver it's final send off.

I got hooked with a welded WRA back in the 1980s, it's a bad feeling. What to do with it is a matter of conscience. Most people try to pass it on, but I was lucky in being able to turn it in to the Rock Island exchange program before I had to wrestle with the problem. Even if you sell it cheap with the disclosure that it is welded, the buyer will probably mark it up and resell it as legit.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bob seijas

Even if you sell it cheap with the disclosure that it is welded, the buyer will probably mark it up and resell it as legit.

---

I have one now. I thought the same about reselling with a disclosure but this one was welded short and the safety bridge doesn't retract the firing pin properly. I will keep it as a wall hanger for now.

return it if possible and get your money back. this gun is a liability issue for the seller and now, you, as well. i have replaced two of these receivers so far, and both had sleeved 03a3 barrels on them. they also both had cast trigger housings as well. if the seller won't take the piece back, consider going to small claims court, where your chances are very good at having a judge grant you your money back. if this is not a possiblity, consider a cmp receiver and a new cmp barrel. essentially you will have a rifle you can shoot safely, and you will have learned a valuable lesson.

so how can i tell if it has a 03a3 barrel? I might as well learn something, the guns coming apart anyway.

Fulton Armory has some info about welded receivers & sleeved barrels. http://www.fulton-armory.com/%5Cfaqs...AQs%5CWeld.htm

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kirk

Fulton Armory has some info about welded receivers & sleeved barrels. http://www.fulton-armory.com/%5Cfaqs...AQs%5CWeld.htm

---

The bottom of the referenced document may provide a clue as to the cause of the recent M1 destruction shown on youtube and widely discussed on the forums:

"There is one more point on the rewelds other than the ones you mention. If the receiver is shortened in the cut/weld process, the firing pin may be able to reach the primer before the bolt is locked, that is when it is not yet in the safety cutout in the receiver. The result could be nasty."

That drama had not occurred to me! Makes sense, though.

my barrel reads: 1-s-a-3-43

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by E.Hall 43 m1

my barrel reads: 1-s-a-3-43

---

The date tells you when the original barrel was made. It remains on the stub of the demilled M1/03A3 barrel combos.

I looked at the fulton armory link and, yes I too have a 1903 barrel sleeved into the old M1 barrel stub. crazy

Yes, it does seem that way. I have never heard of one of those sleeved barrels letting go. I did see a photograph of a barrel that was split in the chamber area and it appeared to have been sleeved. There was no description of what happened so I can't say for sure that the barrel was sleeved or what caused the failure.

Before I knew what I had, I fired my own welded receiver, sleeved barrel rifle frequently. Some of the ammo was 50's FN .30 M2 AP that really flattened primers. It digested those rounds and everything else with no problems.

I've had several different malfunctions probably associated with the weld job. It wouldn't fire some m2 ball ammo the previous owner left me. I noticed that it looked like the firing pin barely struck them. Then out of those rounds one fired, the op-rod de-railed and the shell didn't eject. the next time out with different ammo it fired each round great. The time after that the shells kept getting jamed. In a few cases the thick end of the brass was ripped off.

The welded Garands sometimes do have issues. Mine came with a cracked trigger, an out of spec follower and a rough surface inside the magazine area of the receiver. It had a hard time getting through a full clip without a stoppage. One by one I figured it all out and it worked great from then on. I learned alot about M1's from that rifle many years ago.

The welded receivers have tons of issues. They are commonly made up from out of spec receiver stubs. Pass on it. Buy a new receiver from the CMP and good luck.

at this stage of the game, it would be prudent to get a good receiver from the cmp, and a replacement bbl as well. assuming that the rest of your parts are "real", you would then have a like new shooting m1 garand. btw, most of the sleeved bbls were 2 groove 03a3's sleeved onto an original m1 stubb and reprofiled, milled and threaded. no m1 that i am aware of ever had a two groove bbl.

Orion 7 has receiver barrel bolt combo top grade USGI receiver,withbrand new 1950's Korean war dated USGI barrel indexed and chamber reamed to 30-06 NM spec and complete WWII head space bolt. On sale month of May for $525.00

Just seen that CMP has receiver barrel bolt combo for $350

Where did you guys see these deals, I was just on the CMP e-store and couldnt find and barrel reciever bolt combos, same with orion 7?

---------- Post added at 04:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:34 PM ----------

nevermind me and my big mouth just saw the updated page at CMP

I would call either one of them "deals"
CMP's receivers are grade B and will have pitting. I have seen some of them and they can range from very good to pretty rough. IMO the better deal is a $625 Service Grade

I have a welded receiver I took parts from and put on Orion 7 Korean combo. Receiver is a November 42, barrel S-A-6-52, bolt D28287-18SA. Barrel and bolt new, receiver refinished.