No cartouche stamps on stock why?

[drfusion]

I PURCHASED AN M1 GRAND BACK AROUND 1988 OR SO FROM THE CMP MY STOCK IS PRETTY ROUGH. ALL METAL PARTS LOOK MUCH BETTER NOT BAD AT ALL ,ONLY THERE ARE NO CARTOUCHE STAMPS ON STOCK AT ALL WERE SOME NOT STAMPED ? SR# 2944###MADE IN 1941 I BELIEVE . I WOULD THINK IT WOULD HAVE HAD TO OF BEEN REBUILT AT SOME TIME .PARTS OF TRIGGER GROUP ARE WINCHESTER I THINK BY MARKINGS.ANY ONE HAVE ANY IDEAS? THANK YOU DON WHITFIELD

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.

[browningautorifle]

Your rifle was made about the summer of 1944 not 41. It was probably rebuilt a couple of times and maybe mixed and matched by civilians after that. The stock was probably pilfered by someone trying to beautify their rifle and they swapped stocks.

[Bill Hollinger]

If it is a 6 digit serial number then it would be a 1941 however you have 7 digits showing so mid 1944. Pictures are a must

BTW take your cap lock off. And, I see you are in Rosamond, CA. I'm in Cal-City.

[drfusion]

Thanks i realized wrote wrong date arter i sent message guess it pays to pay attention june of 44 is correct. so do you think some one at CMP swaped stocks before sending it to me ? came from cmp with no markings on stock, it puzzles me .

[Rick Cummelin]

When the GCA was invited to the CMP in 2004 to "sort M1 rifles" returned from US military service, I would guess that less than 15% of the rifles we sorted had stocks with cartouches. Probably less than 5% of the rifles had their ORIGINAL cartouched stocks.

Stocks issued as spares were NOT cartouched, as the cartouches were ONLY applied at the original factories. However, Springfield Armory rebuilt many thousands of M1s during the 1950s and 1960s and lots of the stocks installed on those rebuilds were cartouched, probably since SA had the cartouche stamps.

Many other stocks were heavily sanded during the rebuild process, which removed cartouches.

So don't be puzzled, as most M1 stocks, maybe as many as 80% or more will NOT have cartouches.

[D-BOMB]

I dont mean to thread jack, but I have a 42' WRA with a VAR barrel and it has the seriel number stamped into the stock, and I understand the Danes did this with replacement stocks. However it has the "P" proof mark still clearly stamped, it also has no cartouches.

[Joe W]

Many original stocks were damaged during use while in military service. The stocks used by military armorers to replace the broken stocks were not cartouched or proof marked. These were field replacement stocks.

D Bomb - If the proof P is enclosed in a circle I believe it was proofed following original final assembly. If the "P" is in a box or without any enclosure at all it is from a subsequent rebuild.
If the P is within a circle and there is no cartouche (DAS) I would guess the cartouche has been sanded off.
All you really know about the stock is that is was on the rifle when the Danes stamped the rifle serial number on it. You do not know if this stock was original to that rifle or changed out numerous times.

[D-BOMB]

Thanks! it is just the P with no enclosure.

---------- Post added at 12:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:16 AM ----------

Just so I understand correctly the Danes never stamped a "P"?

[Joe W]

Thanks! it is just the P with no enclosure.

---------- Post added at 12:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:16 AM ----------

Just so I understand correctly the Danes never stamped a "P"?

Not that I ever heard. That stock was most likly placed on a rifle during a U.S. rebuild / overhaul and, upon completion, proof fired and the "P" applied. Is it still on that same rifle that went through the rebuild ? Who knows ?