M1922M1 Question

[JiminLE]

I'm looking for someone who knows a bit about these rifles. I just picked one up at the Orange County GS for what seems was a very good deal. There are no stamps on the stock and it is the military stock as per Brophy. SN 1134*. Bolt has a different SN etched on it though. The only real question is it has been D&T'd for a scope. Is there any way to find out if this is original or not? Other that that it appears to be in an unaltered state.

Thanks,

Jim

Information

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[Jeff L]

Herschel is your man. It would also help to post some pics of your rifle. Does it have scope mounts or screws in the holes? Congratz on your find. They're nice to have in your collection, especially with ammo prices the way they are. Plus they don't beat up your shoulder the way 30-06 does.

-Jeff L

[RCK]

Herschel is the man to give you a definite answer but pictures would really help. Usually, if the receiver was drilled and tapped by the military, it cleared all the printing on the top of the receiver and was drilled through prior to screwing the barrel in. If you can see barrel threads at the bottom of the holes it probably was done at SA. Herschel can give a more precise answer for you.

[Herschel]

Jim, I would say you have a 1922M1 Issue Type rifle with the original finish. These models with original finish are hard to find as nearly all went through rebuild and refinishing. The bolt would be a replacement but is the correct type. The holes in the receiver suggest it may have been a DCM Club Issue rifle but these had the NRA stock. The rifles on the SRS List in that serial number range don't seem to be DCM Club Issue rifles but there are lots of gaps in the serial numbers on the list. The scope block holes in the receiver ring are in the correct place to have been done by SA but they just don't look right. The discolored blue around the holes suggests it was aftermarket work. Bottom line opinion is that you have a 1922M1 Issue type with original finish and correct type stock. The detracting features are the non-matching bolt and the scope block holes that should not be on an Issue Type rifle. (That is unless it was a DCM Club Issue rifle.) The barrel date is about right to be the original barrel.

[Loy Hamilton]

What is the difference between a MI and a M2? and why didn't they stamp it MII?

[JiminLE]

Herschel, Thank you for the information. I've wanted one on these for a while and it kind of dropped into my lap.
If there are any other pictures you might want , please let me know.

Jim

[Rick the Librarian]

Herschel,

Maybe now would be a good time, either on this forum or the .22 small-bore forum, to lay out briefly, the differences in the M1922 series regarding features and designations. I know I could use a review and I'll bet there are others who could, too.

[Herschel]

The 1922M1 lacks the firing pin nut that is on the M2 firing pin. The early M2 bolts lacked the headspace adjustment on the bolt. The later ones (nearly all that will be seen) have the bolt with the square locking lug that has the headspace adjustment screw. The M2 bolt has faster lock time. The M2 has a stock with less drop than the 1922M1 Issue type magazine. The magazine on the M2 longer and extends slightly higher into the rifle. The M2 stock has less drop and a more conventional looking pistol grip. Any one can change a 1922MI to an M2 Rifle buy changing the bolt, magazine and stock. The lack of the I after model number may mean it was converted by someone outside the ordnance system. It appears that sometimes the staff at Springfield Army neglected to stamp the I after the model number.

[Loy Hamilton]

Herschel,

Maybe now would be a good time, either on this forum or the .22 small-bore forum, to lay out briefly, the differences in the M1922 series regarding features and designations. I know I could use a review and I'll bet there are others who could, too.

U.S. RIFLE MODEL 1922M2 .22 SN# 1
Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. - The caliber .22 U.S. rifle M2 is a magazine-fed, manually-operated, bolt-action, shoulder weapon. This rifle is used for training purposes by all branches of the Armed Service. It has a micrometer type rear sight (Lyman No. 48C) which is adjustable for windage and elevation and has 10 graduations for each complete revolution of the windage or elevating screw knob. The front sight is of the blade type. Blued finish, with bolt, ejector and extractor polished bright. Checkered '03 NM style buttplate with no well. 5-round detachable box magazine feed system. Muzzle velocity 1,130 fps. Maximum range 1500 yards. Weapon weighs approximately 8 lbs. 15 oz. without equipment. Approximately 12,000 of these arms were manufactured. Lyman sight missing and magazine missing otherwise complete and in good condition. Serial number range 1 to 22,000. Weapon was probably blued due to the fact it is serial number one.

Markings:
Receiver: U.S./SPRINGFIELD/ARMORY/CAL..22 M2/1.
Barrel: LONG RIFLE/CARTGE ONLY. SA/ Ordnance bomb/6-32.
Bolt handle: NS. 7. NS = Nickel Steel
Band: U.
Stock & bolt: M2.

Weapon transferred to the Museum on 1 April 1933. At that time weapon was appraised at $48.40

This weapon was exhibited at the Eastern States Exposition in 1935.

ANNUAL REPORTS:
AR, 1932 - "Another new type ordered was the improved caliber .22 rifle, Captain Woody's design, known as 'M2.' Orders for complete M2 rifles and for the bolt and magazine which are of design different from the M1 for the Army, Navy, Militia Bureau, and N.R.A. were sufficient in quantity to absorb almost all the costs of initial tooling, so that these articles will be manufactured by full quantity-production methods. Tools, fixtures, and gauges are fully designed and about thirty per cent fabricated. Manufactured of components of unchanges design is under way. All this work is up to schedule."

Notes: Modifications to the cal..22 U.S. rifles M1922, M1922MI, and M1 have been made to convert these rifles into M2 rifles and when these changes were made the markings were changed. In addition to the above changes in marking, the letter "A" is added after the serial number of the M1922M2 rifles and the letter "B" after the serial number of MII and the M1922MII rifles. The headspace of this rifle can be adjusted by means of a headspace adjusting screw and setscrew located in the bolt handle.

"Based on prototypes developed by John Garand, this had a simplified bolt with a one-piece 'short fall' striker and a modified extractor. The stock retained a finger groove in the forend, but had a shallower pistol grip with a deeper thumb well. Guns made after 1934 had a headspace adjuster-screw in the locking lug; this was originally retained by a small transverse set-screw, but later by a copper pin. The last M2 guns had a distinctive Allen-head adjuster. Production amounted to about 7540 guns to the end of 1940 fiscal year, though work continued into 1942.
Earlier guns upgraded to 'M2' standards were stamped 'M1922M2' or 'M1922M11,' depending on whether they had originally been M1922 or M1922M1 examples, and their serial numbers were given 'A' and 'B' prefixes respectively." - Walter

"The M2 rifle differs in many regards from its two predecessors. The barrel was set further back into the receiver and a new bolt, stock and magazine were used. The barrel was set further back into the receiver and a new bolt, stock and magazine were used. The bolt was redesigned to eliminate the locking latch and the cuts needed in the safety lug to support it. The M2 bolt head locked into the bolt via a cut ground on the forward edge of the safety lug and a raised rim at the rear of the bolt head. Two types of M2 bolt bodies were used during M2 production. The first, in use until 1934, was not adjustable for head space, while the second, used after 1934, was. A set screw adjusted the spacing between the bolt and bolt head.
A nut secured the firing pin in the bolt. The nut had a flared Markings are more complicated in this series. Those M1922 rifles not having been previously upgraded now received the M2 bolt, firing pin/striker assembly and magazine and were stamped 'M2' after the 'M1922' marking. M1922 rifles upgraded to 'M1' and now upgraded again to M2 status has 'MII' or 'MI1" stamped after the 'M1922' marking and an 'A' was added to their serial number. M1922 M1 rifles had an extra 'I' or '1' added to their marking and a 'B' added to their serial number.
An estimated 3,800 M2 rifles were built using the first style of M2 non-adjustable bolt and the balance with the second type of M2 in 1938 and ended in 1940. Production of M2 parts continued into 1942 with all of the post-1940 production going to the military service. Barrels manufactured in 1942 were 23.5 inch long, 0.5 inch shorter than the pre-1942 M2 barrels. The muzzle crown was changed in early June 1942 to a countersink, as it was on the service rifle .30 caliber barrels. Barrels dated 1942 were used in large quantities to rebarrel rifles returned for repairs or refurbishing during and after World War II. No production figures are available for M2 rifles manufactured after 1942 but receivers as high as serial number 21,181 have been observed. M2 Receivers and other parts were sold through the DCM after World War II.
The production of the M2 rifle was discontinued as it proved cheaper to purchase the Winchester M75, Stevens 416 and Remington M513T rifles for gallery practice. It also freed up production and assembly space at Springfield Armory for higher priority work." - Poyer

"Serial number range approximately 1 to 22000 which includes the M2A1. (A sub-caliber, stockless, .22 caliber barreled action, mounted on anti-tank guns for gunnery practice.) Major differences from M1922M1: Firing mechanism in bolt changed to give faster lock time; knurled cocking knob added; bolt throw shortened to 1-3/4"; magazine modified to improved feeding; extractor claw reshaped; latch mechanism omitted from locking lug on bolt; butt of stock has less drop; pistol grip reshaped; head space adjusting mechanism installed in locking lug after approximately 3,800 were produced." - Flayderman