My WRA Koera M1 Garand

[Joe W]

One thing you must consider is that the stock may not have been on that rifle at time of rebuild, but it seems to be right to me. From what I have read by Bruce Canfield "It may not be JUST a REBUILD" in an early GCA Journal, is that soon after Col. James L. Guion became the C.O. of Springfield Armory (July 1950), the practice of stamping rebuilt rifles with the C.O.'s cartouche was resumed and SA continued production of replacement barrels into 1950 and 51 for use in the rebuild program. Your stock and 1947 SA barrel seem to fit. Hopefully others with more knowledge can give there opinions. To me it's a real nice honest rifle.

[3ky]

Ill take it apart to see who made the trigger guard and internal parts. The bolt is SA. The plug is HR. Looking on the net the bolt numbers place the bolt being made in 1944. Rear sight is from the same year if I remenber. Your right about the stock being from the early 50s. Course the barrel is a SA 1947 dated barrel. Might be the only thing WRA is the receiver. Ill put up some more pictures.
Thanks for the info.
Michael

[campperrykid]

That's a very nice rifle , thanks for posting .
The whole concept of a rifle that is both period appropriate and/or the real deal ( when possible ) as manufactured or as rebuilt really appeals to me . Yours seems like it it might qualify as a true time capsule Garand from the period circa 1947 through at least the mid-1950's. So that Garand seems to be a perfect example the type of Winnie rebuild that might have been in US or Allied use from the Baltic coast of Denmark , to the mountains in Greece , and from the Naktong to the Imjin River or maybe even the Yalu River in Korea .
Could call it an early Cold War Era Garand and , historically , many people in the US have called that type of Garand a Korean War Garand.

[3ky]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments!!
I took it apart today! It wasn't hard to do. The internal parts are SA. Here is some pictures of markings I found:







It was greased up ready to shoot. Can anyone tell how old the parts are by the numbers? Need any more pictures please let me know!

Thanks again!!
Michael

[3ky]

For those that can't make out the op rod markings in the picture they are D65382 SA.

Michael

[Joe W]

For those that can't make out the op rod markings in the picture they are D65382 SA.

Michael

Mike, That's D35382 SA not D65 As per Scott Duff's "Blue Book" - D35382 SA is beleived to have been "made in the late 1940's or very early 1950's and was installed on rebuilt rifles only, not on new production pieces." The -12 Trigger Housing would be late 1943 to mid 1944, not uncommon on a rebuild. The HRA Gas Cylinder lock screw was most likly added sometime after the rebuild. Still looking like the rifle CampPerryKid described.

[3ky]

I agree. It's a rifle rebuilt in the early 50s for the Cold War. Doesn't look like it was a post Korea rebuild. Are these sought after? I know collectors go after correct rifles. Then you have your shooters. Is this just a shooter or is it a hard to find rifle or should I say collector rifle?

Thanks,
Michael

[campperrykid]

I agree. It's a rifle rebuilt in the early 50s for the Cold War. Doesn't look like it was a post Korea rebuild. Are these sought after? I know collectors go after correct rifles. Then you have your shooters. Is this just a shooter or is it a hard to find rifle or should I say collector rifle?

Thanks,
Michael

FWIW:
IMO , historical value and market value are two very different things . That rifle has a high unhumped cool factor , in part because various talented sociopaths have not ( yet ) begun to mass produce fakes or develop weasel worded advertising campaigns for 1947 -circa 1953 rebuilt Winchesters. This site has the honest experts to determine the rough age of the rifle parts. The barrel identifies the earliest probable rebuild time. A combination of the newest part on the rifle ( as found ) wear patterns and other factors will give some solid clues about the latest probable rebuild date.
The rifle is what is and it's been where it's been . The shared detective work of narrowing down dates and historical context is fun , at least to me. 50 years from now a rifle like that may prove to have been a very , very profitable investment , especially if the provenance is rock solid . Or it may prove to have been just a little profitable in terms of dollars but provided a very useful peice of some historical puzzle.
Either way, I like the rifle and enjoy the discussion.

[3ky]

I like your thinking and thanks for all the info! Like everyone else I love finding out about these historical rifles and pistols! Its my only Garand! I always wanted one since I was a kid! Everyone thanks for the help I learned something! Ill buy one of the books in a few weeks to add to my collection incase I run accross another one I can afford!
Michael

[DaveN]

Some call them shooters, and I suppose shooters they are. But the way I look at them (mix masters, arsenal rebuilds,or mutts) is that they did a job,they served an army, mostly ours and the history that my rifles or this particular rifle holds can only be dreamed about.
With the WWII receiver and the replaced parts it has most likely been involved in many engagements (???) could have actually been involved in the saving and/or taking of life or lives and has certainly earned the right to be called a veteran, in this case a war veteran. Enjoy!