What color were Garands from the factory?

[Amsdorf]

What, what a beautiful finish/stain.

[Redleg]

I have a good selection of old wood and wood that has been cleaned.

The wood that has had the bathtub soak with detergent and left for two-three years to darken naturally, with only one thin coat of BLO, tung or danish, looks comparable to my old '03's/17's and krags in color.

Leave the stain for something else is my opinion. Time and aging is the key. Impatience does not pay--no instant gratification.

Years ago I used to play with the leather dyes, french stains, etc but was never really satisfied--- especially after they went very dark after a few years.

The natural walnut oil still left in the wood after cleaning will slowly come out and darken/color the surface, along with some help from oxidation from the air. Time will provide a really good color and authentic military look.

[daveboy]

Mix them!

What he said...seriously.

daveboy

[Bill Hollinger]

Dave, I've done just that and had them come out perfect.

[Bob Seijas]

Beautiful, Johnny, but NRA guns always get me mad... when I was looking for just one '03 to show what the M1 replaced, I found a beautiful NRA at the Stratford, CT. show for $200. It had a Redfield sight, however, and I wanted a regular GI. When I mentioned this to the seller, he said he had another one at home that was perfect and in the box that he would sell for $250. I offered to follow him home and buy it, but he said no, he would bring it to the Allentown, PA. show next weekend. I offered to pay him now, but he also refused that, saying, "Don't worry, it's yours, I'll hold it under the table."

The next weekend I set out for A'town, but Murphy's Law decreed a traffic jam on the way, and I arrived a half hour after the show had opened. I raced around the room until I found the guy and asked for the '03. "Oh," he said, "I thought you weren't coming, so I sold it." If he were not so old, I would have punched him in the teeth.

Larry Kaufman had bought it and he showed it to me later -- mint perfect and gorgeous, nicest '03 I've ever seen. That was 30 years ago and I still get angry when I think about it.

[Amsdorf]

OK, I will ask for a cherry/brown combo.

[campperrykid]

Hi Charlie,

I don't fool around with any kind of stain. I use linseed oil exclusively, and let time take care of the coloration.
Charlie

The time is 0655 local on a Sunday morning . The sun's not up yet but it's good shooting light , given local conditions and a good Dutch scope.

The date is 11 Sep 2011.
Please run a search of my posts on this forum ( milsurps .com ) going back 6 months , a year , 2 years , whatever floats your fishing boat.

News you can use. Special Comparted Infomation etc.

Zaytun , dude.

I hope this thread does not get locked.
Gotta go.

[Joe W]

As Bob mentioned, this is an NRA Sales rifle from 1916. Never saw any cosmoline.

That is beautiful. I would sure like to see a picture of the whole rifle. Joe

[Johnny Peppers]

That is beautiful. I would sure like to see a picture of the whole rifle. Joe

I'm not really set up to do full length shots, but here goes. The rifle is a 1916 Special Target sold to NRA members. It was a service rifle with a star gaged barrel. The barrel does not have a star gage record number, and doesn't have the star gage mark on the muzzle. Those markings did not show up until 1922.