Type 1 NM MAYBE

[Mark in Rochester]

No. What mark would you expect to see ??

a partial x

[Bob Seijas]

Recall that DCM began selling NMs in very late 1955, but not many, and most were left over in inventory. Heavy mail order sales began in 1956 with the stated objective "every effort will be made to provide a new rifle." Some of the leftover 1955s were rebuilt and upgraded but a significant number remained in inventory as school rifles and loaners until 1974 when they were given to Greece. Most were well used by the Greeks, but I saw a couple of beauties that looked original while doing research at CMP several years ago. The problem with the Greek NMs, of course, is that there is no DCM documentation and never will be. CMP documentation is visual speculation: they look like NMs, we gave Greece NMs, therefore it is an NM.
On the other hand, I have always said that in the absence of documentation, an NM rifle must stand on its own. If it is minty and has "that look," it probably is an NM.

[Joe W]

a partial x

Mark, I never heard of "X" or partial "X" on the receiver being an indication of a NM rifle.

[Mark in Rochester]

Joe

I have a 4.3 Garand with original barrel.

The barrel is stamped NM back near the receiver.

When showed to a well versed Garand collector he conceded that the barrel was original to the receiver and was quick to point out the x on top of the receiver ring.

Additionally he indicated he had seen a few other Garand's that had an X marked on top of the receiver but could not state what this indicated

[Bob Seijas]

I never heard of it, either, and it is not in the SIP-200, the bible on SA NM marking and procedures. None of my 12 or 13 stone mint NM's has it.
Barrels with NM marked near the chamber but not up front are usually Grade B barrels straightened by SA and provided to service teams. They kept the tighter Grade A's for themselves I remind you that the NM mark at the front was a RIFLE proof, not a barrel proof. It signified that the gun had passed all the NM checks and was done.

[Mark in Rochester]

Bob

Does the SA-SIP-200 cover the earliest NM production or is it a snap shot NM production in 1962?

[Bob Seijas]

They made a new one every year with the latest updates adopted by NBPRP for the coming shooting season. I have several years but not all of them.

[Mark in Rochester]

Bob


do you have a sip for 1953?

[Bob Seijas]

No, don't have that one, not sure if they made one for the first year. The first NMs were made by Springfield's tried and true method of simply picking guns that shot well in test firing, then sprucing them up a little. Interestingly, they made about 800 such guns in 1948 on the assumption that the High Power matches would resume in 1949. The wrangling over how to change the course of fire from the old 5-shot '03 standards to the new 8-shot semiauto M1 delayed that, then Korea broke out in 1950 and it was all put on hold again. Those select guns were put aside in storage, then pulled out and used when SA got the first emergency order for M1Ds in 1951.

[Mark in Rochester]

Bob

Given the 1948 info are these barrels legitimate?


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