First M1 Garand (Strange survivor)

[Darkwolfe]

This March saw me finally picking up what will probably be the first of several M1s in my cabinet.

The KC area has seen a rush on Garands lately so even a battered rifle is going for a bit of a premium. That said, I went with a rifle that had seen better days and set out to build a solid shooter out of it. I think I succeeded for the most part.

It's a SA 1.8 mill serial number which puts it in August 1943 as it's build date (Just found that post from Jouster.com ). The barrel on it at the time was a 1953 SA barrel stamped by Blue Sky (a bad sign I know). It had a birch stock that had been sanded down so hard that it was barely the same size as the butt plate on the end of the stock. The forward handguard was equally thin.

The action was worth the money on the rifle though. Trigger release surprises you every time and it appears to be all SA National Match. (I'd be happy to know a way to tell for certain if anyone is willing to pass along such info)

I'm pretty certain that the rifle did service in Europe, got an arsenal refurb in 1953 or early '54 and then got shipped off to Korea. The 1953 barrel shows the usual wear from (ahem) Korean cleaning and is pretty much useless.

This picture is in it's final form. It's not all SA any longer as I couldn't pass up a 1954 HRA barrel with a 1 ME and a 2.5 TE for $125!! The stock on it now I found locally for all of $50 and the grain is incredible. New forward handgrip is walnut from Packrats and at least twice as thick as the one I took off.

It's not "correct", I know. I put this one together as a learning experience and I'm quite happy with the results. Any tips I can learn around here will be greatly appreciated.
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