28 Feb 2023 Garand Picture of the Day

[Mark in Rochester]

John Garand with the last M1 rifle off the production line, in 1957.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[CINDERS]

Wonder where that one ended up!

[Bob Seijas]

In the early days before the Garand Collectors Association, a reader would periodically write to the American Rifleman magazine and ask about the last M1 Garand. Their answer was always that the last M1 rifle, serial number 6,084,405, was completed on May 17, 1957 and was accompanied by an elaborate ceremony that was attended by John C. Garand. This was universally accepted until another reader wrote to say, “You said the last Garand was 6084405 but I have one numbered 6090234.” The NRA would respond with the information that they were not assembled in serial number order and that it is likely that higher numbers were made before the last one on May 17th. They then stated that the highest serial number used was 6099905. We all took that as gospel for years… until Chuck Clawson turned up 6100212 at the Ohio Gun Show! Examination showed to be a perfect National Match M1 that was obviously original. Now what?

It inspired me to wangle an invitation from Joe Casadei, head of the DCM Sales and Donations Section at Rock Island to research their records. These were typed 3x5 paper slips in file cabinets and were arranged in drawers in serial number order… LOTS of them. However, I learned a great deal from examining these records over three days. Directly on point here was the discovery that a block of 500 receivers were numbered from 6100000 to 6100499 and most of them were used to build National Match rifles. The highest was sold to Robert Miner in October 1958.

[browningautorifle]

So this was just a ceremony then...

[CINDERS]

So the one in the pic is the last from the production line and those others made up the 500 from 6100000 to 6100499 were made up from receivers and not the production line, at least that's the way I'm looking st the information Bob supplied.
So yeah the last production line one would be pretty special I should think, bit like our last GM Commodore and Ford cars made in Aus.

[RCS]

I was offered this rifle about 25 years ago for the price of $2500, no, I did not buy it - but made a rubbing of the serial number.

[Bob Seijas]

Yes, ceremonial and symbolic. IIRC that rifle is in the museum collection. The high numbered ones were built by the NM program that made guns until 1963.