M1 Garand Research

[loki33w]

I just purchased an M1 Garand and have spent the past two hours attempting to research the life of my new family member. Surprisingly (or not) this has been almost futile. Based on the Serial number behind the rear sight (178327x) I believe its date of manufacture to be January of 1943. I have been unable to determine anything beyond that, and am not certain that the date is absolutely certain either.

Does anyone know of a way to trace the life of this piece of art?

 

[crazy-mp]

My book says Jun 1943, Springfield Armory.

If your gun is "correct" it will have the following parts
Barrel: 3-S-A-5-43
Bolt: D28278-12SA
OP ROD: D35382 6 SA
TRIGGER HOUSING: D28290-12-SA
HAMMER: C46008-3 SA
OR C46008-5 SA
SAFETY: C46015-9SA

and there should also be 1-2 stamps in the stock either a P with a circle around it or a mall crossed cannons acceptance mark.

Granted this would be a rough guide, IF your gun was factory new, most were not because they were overhauled several times by various armories around the world as well as soldiers doing field maintenance and the correct parts did not always go back to the gun from which they came.

Some of the parts can be quite collectable, and some can be unsafe to use, if they are worn out, chipped or broken. The M1 is a firearms marvel, especially considering the rifle that the enemy was using at the time was a bolt action rifle that held 5 rounds. General George Patton said, "The greatest battle instrument ever devised," in regards to the M1 Garand.

If you have any surplus M2 ball ammo place the round "bullet first" into the bore if the barrel eats the bullet all the way to the brass don't be mad if the gun does not shoot well.

Give us some of the numbers on your gun, it will be easier to determine what kind of gun you have. Just because you don't have a all numbers matching gun does not mean that there is anything undesirable about your gun.

 

[velocette]

Loki;
Here's a place to go for any & all Garand answers:
http://forums.thecmp.org/index.php

Roger

 

[Jim K]

The idea of tracing a millitary weapon comes up from time to time on these sites. Usually, the poster hopes to find the name of the person who carried the weapon in combat or at least the unit to which it was assigned. Sometimes, the desire is to find out the serial number of a rifle issued to a specific person.

Not going to happen. No way. Those records were kept at the company level, on paper, and that paper is long gone.

So shoot the rifle, enjoy a piece of history, and imagine that it might have been at Omaha beach or the Bulge or Tarawa.

Or it could have spent the war at a stateside training camp. Regardless of where it was, it still served the country in an hour of need.

JIm

 

[loki33w]

Crazy-MP

Barrel: 3-S-A-5-43 I HAVE VAR D6535443
Bolt: D28278-12SA I HAVE D28287-12SA
OP ROD: D35382 6 SA I HAVE 6535382 SA
TRIGGER HOUSING: D28290-12-SA I HAVE 6528290-SA
HAMMER: C46008-3 SA I HAVE C46008-3 SA
OR C46008-5 SA
SAFETY: C46015-9SA I did not take it down far enough to observe

The Stock has several markings: It has "AA 5881 5: stamps on one side. A "P" stamped on the bottom. On the left side just under and slightly rear of the rear sight it has "SA" below that an "HC" and behind that either crossed cannons or crossed riffles.

I had a great time field stripping it and putting it back together. I am getting it checked out at a local shop and plan to put rounds downrange the weekend.

 

[Orlando]

Your rifle was loaned to the Danish military at one time as it has a Danish VAR Barrel
Need to check the stock marking closely SA would be Springfield but the HC doesnt make sense
You have a WWII stock
Your rifle has been rebuilt atleast once in its lifetime

 

[crazy-mp]

Your trigger housing and op rod are post war rebuilds.

If your going to take this gun out and enjoy it (Like you should) either get some mil-surplus ammo, or reload some the M1 Garand uses a slightly reduced 30-06 charge.

You can also get an adjustable gas plug, but I just roll my own.

There are also some commercial M1 Garand loads available but the price might turn you off that, considering most gun shows will have somebody selling a bandoleer for 45 bucks or less.

 

[loki33w]

Okay, the stock cartouche may actually be JLC which, if I am not mistaken, would mean that based on the weapons SN the stock had been replaced at some point.

I am really enjoying this topic and appreciate all the input. I am having the weapon inspected today to ensure it is safe to fire then will be at the range on Saturday.

What is the hazard if I fire store bought 30-06?

 

[atblis]

Bent op rod is the usual result of inappropriate ammo in the Garand.

The issue mostly the powder. Too slow = bad. If not shooting surplus (LC, HXP, etc.), you could use M1 Garand specific commercial ammo. Federal sells some. Prvi has some now. Hornady also sells some. Lighter weight bullet stuff (150 gr) is also generally considered okay, but is not guaranteed to be M1 safe.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/95...ngfield-m1-garand-150-grain-full-metal-jacket

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=AP3006CAN

 

[Jim K]

"Bent op rod is the usual result of inappropriate ammo in the Garand."

Please watch those generalizations. The M1 op rod is supposed to be bent in a certain way and I don't think we want to see a bunch of people with hammers trying to straighten them.

Jim