NPM Carbines and Umderwood parts

[ewall]

My 5.6 Winchester is all W and as made. It has one non W part: an AU recoil plate. Winchester received 5,000 recoil plates from Underwood in Nov 43 and my carbine was made Mar 44. There is another near mirror carbine in the data base with an Underwood RP, made at about the same time. Another way to tell if the RP is native to the stock is to look at the etching in the wood under the plate. There will be matching marks in the wood for every machine mark on the plate. If it is original to the stock it will be VERY hard to remove as well.

Thanks. In looking at the interior of the stock, it looks pristine around the area of the recoil plate. No scuffs or deformation around the recoil plate, just indentations where the plate resides. I am pretty confident this piece is original from the factory as the S/N is consistent when Underwood was delivering parts to NPM.

[painter777]

Ewall,
Remember me saying to check wear patterns BEFORE CLEANING.
Take a look at this old post of mine, it will show you wear patterns to look for.
Mostly from page 3 on.
I try to do this at first tear down/inspection.
Harder to ID some patterns after cleaning.

This will also show scars from the original recoil plate impressed into the stocks RP seat.

FWIW,
Charlie-painter777


https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=38393&page=3

[ewall]

Ewall,
Remember me saying to check wear patterns BEFORE CLEANING.
Take a look at this old post of mine, it will show you wear patterns to look for.
Mostly from page 3 on.
I try to do this at first tear down/inspection.
Harder to ID some patterns after cleaning.

This will also show scars from the original recoil plate impressed into the stocks RP seat.

FWIW,
Charlie-painter777


https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=38393&page=3

Charlie:

Unfortunately, I was not on this site when I first secured my M1. Nor was I looking to become a collector. I wanted to replace a rifle I happened to sell 46 or 47 years ago for a shooter and a mild shooting gun to teach my grandson how to shoot. I did initially consult with a few collectors on the AR 15 Armory forum and they directed me to the Carbine Club and from there to here...

I read the suggested file and for the most part my National Postal Meter has come through quite well. I'll have to be a bit more deliberate in photographing EVERYTHING with my next M1. I still want a shooter as I will most likely be very careful with my early NPM.

Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

[painter777]

ewall,
After reading back thru my reply............. It reads BOSSY.
Surely not my intention.

Regards,
Charlie-painter777

[ewall]

ewall,
After reading back thru my reply............. It reads BOSSY.
Surely not my intention.

Regards,
Charlie-painter777

LOL! Never took it that way... I have had a ton of helpful comments, including yours! And as a result of this, I now have this "collector's" habit under my skin....

[martin08]

Just picked up an as issued NPM from very late in the first block. The sear stamp is only part which doesn't jive with most references. It is not a BI sear, but instead a B1 sear.

From the evidence and condition of the rest of the gun, I think it is a 99.9% chance of being original. I can't imagine that a near mint specimen would have had only a sear replacement post-WWII. The gun is not upgraded, and a Korean War bringback.

The recoil plate has no visible outward marks, BTW. I won't be removing it to check, though. I think you will see why I choose to leave it alone.

[browningautorifle]

The gun is not upgraded, and a Korean War bringback.

Nice little carbine, if truly a bringback and untouched then it becomes a time capsule of information. It shows us the early features that I knew they were carrying at that time, not all converted to bayonet lugs, round bolts and adjustable sights. I had the chance to buy any amount of these unmolested carbines in the '70s when they meant nothing to anyone and were just being released by their thousands. You could find any manufacture and any features you desired. This one's classic and very nice...virtually all early features.

[martin08]

I bought it from the daughter of a recently deceased Korean War Army Veteran. Her statement was that her dad came home from the war and hung it on the den wall, and it didn't come down until last week.

It did have about a ten year window from DOM to date of return, so there is a chance that something could have been changed out. But the condition just screams, "As-issued".

There is a little pitting on the bolt face, so it is not un-fired since issue. But it saw no hard service, nor any apparent post-WWI upgrades.

[deldriver]

Just so you'll know, NPM used some type two recoil plates that had no markings on them. I have 1.511xxx that while not a mirror image to your carbine, it's very close. The finish on mine is better, but the stock and handguard on mine were both wrong; I've found both items recently along with a better sling. Your sear is odd, but I have heard of a few sears that have a similar marking to yours. I'd think a possible integrated part from someone, but I am not going to say that with any certainty to I look into it a but more. I prefer carbines like your that have a complete or near complete matching patina. It adds a certain authenticity to it that cannot be denied. Nice purchase!

[martin08]

NPM did incorporate small outside orders of sears into original builds, but the source of the B1 sear is tough to track down. I can only find one other reference on the net which has a similarly marked item. It is also in an NPM trigger housing with correct hammer and mag release markings.

It is also possible that other B1 sears are mistakenly identified or reported as BI. There may be more of them than we think.

On the patina, I do believe that it is mostly dried oil. There is likely a near pristine finish underneath. In order to show maker marks on items such as the rear sight, I needed to take a q-tip and oil to clean, or the letters would not show. The S-stamp on the left sight base is a good example. You can see a very decent finish around the cleaned area.

I'm a stickler for leaving things alone, though. So the dried oil will stay. The stock had been finished with BLO by a local gunsmith just before the sale, and I did strip that with hand rubbing and soapy water. The raw linseed oil finish is ten thousand percent better. Here's a before and after.