1942 winchester m1 garand

hello everyone, new to the site and fairly new to milsurps. i have a swedish mauser 6.5x55, no.1 mk3 enfield .303 brit and an m1 garand 30-06. the question i have is about the m1, grandpa always told me it was a national match rifle but the only part i find stamped with the "nm" is the charging handle. it is a winchester, s/n is 1.2 mil. july of 42 best i can tell. It appears they didnt make national match m1's until after the war but im not sure, just my attempt at a google answer, lol. any help on the subject would be appreciated.

Welcome to milsurps oldranger78 if you could post pics for the knowledgeable ones here they will assist you where they can, what I do is take the pics place them on desk top use Win 2010 in cropping or resizing it has to be under 1.5 meg (I think) or they wont load, then open up a thread in the appropriate forum type what you need then go to the advanced tab and then to up load your pics, grab them off your desk top and then hit attach and then submit easy as. I do recommend resize to large web less mucking around and there is still enough detail.

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Originally Posted by oldranger78

It appears they didnt make national match m1's until after the war but im not sure, just my attempt at a google answer, lol. any help on the subject would be appreciated.

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Welcome Old Ranger,
One of the top authorities on M-1 Garands, Bruce Canfield, wrote an excellent article that will help identify your rifle. You can access it at this link:
http://www.americanrifleman.org/arti...onal-match-m1/

I too have a "NM" Winchester, but, from what I've read, all the "real National Match" official rifles were specially outfitted only on Springfield receivers between 1953-63 and they usually carry paperwork to verify their origin. My "National Match" was outfitted to National Match Grade with a Krieger Stainless Steel Barrel in 308, special NM sights, accurized, restocked, etc. but it is not an original National Match, which command a very hefty premium. According to Canfield: "the term “National Match” is properly restricted only to those rifles emanating from Springfield Armory from circa 1953 to 1963."

Hope this helps.

Under the heading Never Say Never, wait until you see the Winter GCA Journal... the only Winchester SA NM seen in 40 years!

That said, the odds are very high that your rifle is in order of probability (a) a standard rifle with an NM op rod, (b) a gunsmith build, (c) a service team match rifle.

5hanks guys. I am kind of figuring like you say it was a build from some time ago. I'll take some pics and post em up. Thinking I just have a mix master. Also, how do I load the pics? Sorry I'm kinda new to the whole tech thing. Lol

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Originally Posted by bob seijas

wait until you see the Winter GCA Journal... the only Winchester SA NM seen in 40 years!

That said, the odds are very high that your rifle is in order of probability (a) a standard rifle with an NM op rod, (b) a gunsmith build, (c) a service team match rifle.

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I just checked on the Garand Collectors Association Journal website and did not realize Bob Seijas is one of the pivotal organizers and writers for the Journal. He's another one of our resident authorities. Bob -- thanks for your great work, dedication, and attention to detail.

BTW, my NM Winchester is the result of a former Army Colonel who had it set up as a gunsmith build. Just got it, so I haven't shot it, but I expect the finest.

Upon further inspection I do believe I have some sort of mix match m1. H.R.A is stamped on top of the bolt. 1 of only 3 markings I can see without taking the rifle down.

That's not a problem, any bolt that would headspace correctly was used. I have a perfect T2 SA NM with an HRA bolt.

Thanks for the kind words, seaspriter :)

The article on the Winchester National Match by Scott Duff and me will not appear until the SPRING issue. I confused it with an article Scott and I wrote on a newly-found Gas Trap, which will be in the Winter issue. It is sort of a tutorial by Scott on his methods of evaluating a rifle for originality, very informative.

I see where Scott will no longer be selling firearms, just concentrating on his publishing business. I wish him well in his endeavors. His verification/evaluation will be missed. Perhaps he will still do evaluations on an individual basis?

Scott has been easing into retirement for several years. He quit doing appraisals in 2002 except for Gas Traps, now will stop selling guns on consignment, both labor intensive. The books are like an annuity and don't require the same amount of effort. He made a very intelligent retirement plan a dozen years ago and is slowly implementing it. I'm only sorry that I will have to change my advice to my kids that when I kick the bucket "call Scott Duff and sell the guns."

Bob
I had given the same advice to my kids:D I wish him well. Is there anyone on the horizon
that might be a young guy able to step up?

Scott's had/has two big advantages: his extensive client list of what people are looking for and his vetting the guns for authenticity. Buyers could have a lot of confidence they were getting what was advertised. I can't see anybody new developing the same assets any time soon.

That kind of leaves the auction houses. I recently consigned a bunch of semi-auto pistols and military shotguns to Rock Island and so far am very pleased with their handling of the sale (it's going on right now). They do seem to get top prices.

I got a bit of the back story of this gun from my father, as the story goes my grandfather bought this gun 20+ years ago and it didn't start out life as a national match rifle but was converted to be NM some time before my grandfather aquired it. Thanks guys for all the comments, I appreciate the help. I realize a story is just that, but I'm not trying to sell it or anything so a good story is fine with me.

I gave my wife the same advice, "Check with Scott Duff". Now what ??