Springfield 1922 M2 from Germany

Hello everybody,
i am new to this forum and i live in west Germany. I have read some great threads about the M1922 rifle in this forum so i decided to register.
Not long ago a M1922 M2 found a new home im my basement. I found it in excellent condition with blank and sharp barrel at a small gunstore. The clerk told me it came from a deceased collector. I have never seen one of this rifles in my life before and i am surprised about the good condition of steel and wood. I hope you can tell me some information about its age and maybe where it comes from originally.

It it stamped as US Springfield Armory Cal. .22 M2 with the serial number 5129. The barrel near the front sight is stamped with SA 7-42 and the flame bomb symbol. The bolt handle is stamped NS M2. The diopter is a 48C made by lyman. It came with a leather sling which looks like a 1907 modell and a detachable 5 shot magazine.

Is there a must have spare part kit for this rifle? I thought about getting a spare magazine in the us.

Thank you very much.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dunkelheit

Is there a must have spare part kit for this rifle? I thought about getting a spare magazine in the us.

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Nope , they're built like a bank vault on an action designed for the 30-06.
Be sure to get USGI mags. Commercial copies have feeding problems , so with the time and trouble to get , go original.
Chris

Hello Chris,

do you know a source where i can get them? I send a mail to sarco inc, but i am looking for alternative sources if they reject to export them.

The correct magazine for your rifle will have a small M2 stamped on the upper left side. The 1922M1 magazine will look the same but will lack the M2 stamp. They are not interchangeable as the M2 magazine extends slightly higher in to the receiver. These magazines come up frequently on gunbroker and ebay. They usually sell in the $100.00 to $125.00 price range with a pristine one bringing more. The original bolt will have the serial number of the rifle etched on the bottom. About half of these I see have mismatched bolts. That should cause no problem if headspace is OK. Collectors will pay more for a rifle with bolt serial numbered to the rifle.

---------- Post added at 06:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:38 AM ----------

The M2 Rifle was in production from 1932 thru 1942. There were more than 20.000 produced. I would have expected a rifle with the serial number of yours to have a mid to late 1930's barrel. The 42 dated barrel may be a replacement.

Thanks. This would explain the great condition of the barrel. Henschel you seem to be a 1922 expert. Do you know if it is possible to adjust the firing pin? In a 50rd box of ammo regardless of the brand there is always one or two that would not ignite in the first attempt.

The first thing I would suspect is bad ammo. If it is 100% reliable in other rifles that would not be the problem.

The firing pin nut (knurled nut on the back of the firing pin). Should be screwed in all the way but just finger tight.

Headspace might be the problem. That is quick and easy to check but a set of headspace guages are necessary.

The later type M2 bolts were designed to set heaqdspace by means of a screw running through the locking lug. It was designed to facilitate replacement of a new bolt in the rifle, not to allow the user to change it. Once the bolt has been installed a set screw or copper plug was inserted through the side of the locking lug into the threads of the adjustment screw to prevent the headsace adjustment screw from turning.

The firing pin spring may have been shortened by someone attempting to lighten the trigger pull. The M2 Rifle uses the same firing pin spring as the 1903 and the 1903A3 so finding another one might be an inexpensive way to see if that is the problem.

I have been frustrated trying to fix the same problem on an M2 rifle in the past. Good luck on solving it.

Herschel

---------- Post added at 04:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:47 PM ----------

Correction: I meant to say the headspace adjustable M2 bolt was designed to facilitate the installation of a new bolt in the rifle.

I think ammo is not the reason. I tried Remington, CCI,Federal,Geco and RWS with the same result. I believe your guess with the firing pin nut could be the solution. I disassemled the bolt group for cleaning yesterday and notitced that is was not fully tightened. The pin and the spring are intact and there was no dirt or old grease on them.
Thanks for the hint with the 1903s part, they are much easier to get around there than 1922s. I read somewhere that the front sight blade is also the same. Is this true?

Edit:

I found the War Departments technical manuals and compared the order numbers . The front sight blades seem to be interchangable.

The springs seem to have different numbers, mabye just other numbers for the same part?

1903s B146871 TM9-1270
1922s B147303 TM9-280

Dunkelheit

The Model of 1922 Springfield and the Model of 1922M1 Springfield have different firing pin springs than the M2. Here is a quote from Brophy's book The Springfield 1903 Rifles. From page 296 "Captain Woody's new M2 bolt design also eliminated the special M1922M1 main spring. He used the regular main spring of the service '03."

Today i was on the range again. I had 3 fail fires from 70 rds of different brands of ammo.
Is there something i can do to fix the headspace problem?
I am also looking a replacement spring now, but wouldnt a incorrect spring cause much more fail fires?
I dont really want to give the gun away, it might be the most accurate rifle i own, but im getting more frustrated after each range tri
I forgot, when i had a fail fire the cartridge could not be ejected in two cases, maybe this is a hint?

I attached a picture of a cartrigde which didnt ignite at the first try. The second impact which ignited the cartridge seem to be a little deeper.

Have you had headspace checked? I am not a gunsmith so my logic here may be faulty. If the headspace was excessive the extractor might push the round into the chamber instead of slipping over the rim. Perhaps that would explain the failure to extract. You said failure to eject but I believe you meant extract.. Does the headspace adjustment have the soft metal plug over it or can you see the slotted head or allen wrench hole? If the screw head is visible perhaps the set screw or plug going in through the side to lock the plugs is loose or missing. If the headspace adjustment screw can be turned it will be easy to adjust headspace but you will need headspace guages. I may be all wrong with my theory about the problem. Whatever is wrong can be repaired.

You are right, of course i meant extract. I can not see the screw, there is a plug of copper or brass above it. I took the rifle to a gunsmith today. He checked the headspace with a headspace gauge, there is a small space left, but that may be normal to keep all kinds of ammo running. First of all he told me to replace the main spring. If this will not solve the problem the told me that he would taper the firing pin and then he would recommend to adjust the headspace.

Thank you for your continuous support.

Disclaimer again. I am not a gunsmith but I believe the shoulder on the front of the firing pin hits the inside of the bolt and that would limit firing pin protrusion through the face of the bolt. Removing a very little from the shoulder on the firing pin might allow it to go forward enough to make the difference in firing or misfiring. I suppose tapering the firing pin would concentrate the force of the firing pin going forward in a small area. The gunsmith probably knows that would work. A little trash or perhaps dried grease in the front of the firing pin chanel in the bolt could cushion the firing pin blow or limit it's forward protrusion. M2 firing pins are easy to find and a replacement can be found if yours gets damaged in the effort to fix the problem.

Dunkelheit, Follow the link to a thread that discusses the problem. I have only experienced the problem with one M2 but apparently it is not unusual. I hope the comments on the linked thread give you some useful information.

need help with my 1922 M2...

Yes, thanks. I´ll let you know when i found the solution.

Funny how those rifles appear in Europe. If I may ask, how much did you pay for it? I have two M2, while one being a "born M2", the other is a converted M1922 M.I. Both originated from the Austrian Army.

Great news. I finally received my rifle back from the gunsmith, after 2 rangetrips and about 150rds i didnt have any fail to fire. The gunsmith reduced the headspace at about 0.03 inches and i asked him to polish the chamber. Firing pin modification was not neccesary.

Before i took the rifle to the gunsmith i replaced the firing spring with a new one from a 03 with even worse results. They seem not to be identical, neither in length or wire thickness.

I took a pic with my cellphone, so sorry for the bad quality. The upper spring is from the M2 and the lower one is the new 03s spring which came new in oilpaper.

Bad luck or did someone try to "improve" my gun earlier?

I think someone may have tried to "improve" the rifle by exchanging or shortening the firing pin spring.

Don't give up on that gem!