Picked up a Quality HMC carbine today but the serial number starts 1,983,xxx. My book says this isn't a QHMC number. A mistake in the book?
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Picked up a Quality HMC carbine today but the serial number starts 1,983,xxx. My book says this isn't a QHMC number. A mistake in the book?
I am guessing your book says it is a Std Products receiver? Do you have a picture of the serial number and maker name?
that's right, Riesch's book. Sorry, can't do pictures. The number is plain as day. A type 2 rear sight covers up the name but I can make out the first 3 letters QUA by looking under the edge of it.
Simply stated, is it a springtube model or not? A QHMC in that range could only be a springtube.
Its a spring tube type.
Could the serial number be 1,933 instead of 1,983? A three instead of an eight?
Reason I asked for a picture.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce McAskill
Bob, slide a piece of tin foil between the rear sight and the receiver. Then take a piece of dental floss and drag it back and forth across the the tin foil with downward pressure until the receiver stamping is transferred to the tin foil. This will give you a perfect impression of the stamping. :thup:
Tried the tin foil trick. Was able to raise the word Quality. In looking at the numbers, the 8 has a larger rounded bottom and a smaller rounded top. The 3 has a larger rounded bottom and the top has a flat top with a angled right side. Quite a different style.
The numbers are very clear, crisp, and easy to define.
Does the carbine have a type 1 rear sight or is an adjustable type? If adjustable I would suggest to try and remove it for more possible stampings under it.
Looks like they overran thier serial number block , then. Cool. Pics are a must , now.
Chris
Type II rear sight.
Finally got it figured out.
It has a type 2 rear sight and I was looking at it debating removing it. Didn't like the looks of those big stake marks though. Was looking through a magnifying glass and noticed something unusual about the ser. number. The second number, the 9, had a funny angle at the bottom. It also had a blemish along the left side. What had happened is that it was an 8 stamp and a small piece of it broke off and it stamped a perfect 9 instead. With the naked eye and even a 4x glass, it looks like a 9. The number should have been 1883xxx instead of 1983xxx. That would put it back in a Quality block.
I wonder how many people, including the govt., misread the number during its lifetime.
That brings up another question. What is its correct ser. number? The one stamped on the carbine or the one Quality was trying to stamp on it. Don't think I want to open that door.
Someone with a Standard Product carbine might have an identical ser. number out there.
Thanks for all the help, everyone.
To me, the correct serial number would be the 1.8. With a broken off part of the stamp. That makes it look like a 1.9.
Just checked the number of my Quality carbine, 1,880,445. The sales slip from the dealer I bought it from wrote the serial number as 1,980,445. I had to double check mine when I was doing a data sheet. It looks like that stamp had been used for at about 3K carbines at least.
Chuck
The numbers were rolled stamped onto the carbine so a bad number could have been used for a long time before noticed or changed.
Looks like you QHW guys have really discovered something about the 9/8 question. I wonder if the CC has any info on it?
QHMC had a lot of broken stamps that were in use. I sent a few pictures of them into the carbine club a few years back , and it made one newsletter asking for guys to check their numbers , wonder if anyone followed up on that ?
cool post a pic--that is worthy of reporting