Good afternoon guys, longtime lurker here but it was finally time to get account and open myself up to humiliation by the arfcom world. Long story short I grew up shooting with my dad but he passed away five years ago when I was 22. Fortunately his firearm addiction continued with me and he left me with a pretty nice collection. The one firearm I know little about and am looking for some insight is his m1 garand. I can post pictures when I figured out how but here's the information off of a slip of paper I have in his firearm folder:

Serial 1796449
Letter of receiver 1.21
Lock bar sight, battle range on adjust knob, punch mark on front of rear sight
Stock matching walnut
371 behind receiver
SAF crossed
FM&F cannon
Small crossed cannon on trip
Circled P on grip
Trigger D 282902SA
Barrell looks like R 2SA843
Bolt D2828719SA

As I said I apologize for the lengthy post but this was all of paper, just looking for some information about it. It's in very good condition and was shot very little, I will get pictures up when I figure out how. Thanks!

Garands are amazing guns.  Cant wait til i can find my own someday...  im super jealous about your garand!

That said, there are places to find the info and i hope someone drops in here soon to give you that info.

Thanks for sharing.

Welcome!

There is a lot of great info on the web about M1's, and Scott Duff's info is considered one of the best sources of info.

Some links you might find helpful:

M1 Garand Serial Numbers: http://fulton-armory.com/faqs/M1G-FAQs/tea/m1serial.htm

Looks like yours is probably August of 1943 if it is a Springfield (the Receiver will say "US Rifle Caliber 30, M1, Springfield Armory" on the heal behind the rear sight).   If so that matches up with the barrel which also shows 1943.

If you can post pictures you might even have the correct 1943 stock for the rifle, which is really cool!  Yours should be an "SA" over "GMcF" in a box just in front of the cross cannons.

Link to stock markings:  http://www.trfindley.com/pgsnstmpsm1.html

More info:

Bolt heat codes:  http://myplace.frontier.com/~aleccorapinski/id12.html

Your bolt should have a S -06 <> code.

Same site, but more drawing numbers.  http://myplace.frontier.com/~aleccorapinski/id14.html


I have a 1943 Garand that is really close in number to yours.  1.56M serial number, 1943 barrel, etc.

You guys are top notch here. Thanks for the info, I'll be doing some reading and get pictures up soon!

The best thing you can do is take that old girl out and shoot. If you want to shoot for cheap, learn to reload.

Go to the link and verify the parts codes to the date.  You may have something fairly correct.  Usually I'd do the leg work for you but I'm feeling lazy.  Either way, I'm jonesing.

US Rifle Cal M1 parts...

Anything special I should look for or if it's fairly correct does that make it more valuable? If what I have is something that's somewhat more sought after I'll make sure to take extremely good care of her and be careful how often I take her out.

As far as being correct, unless it is documented and verifiable as an actual "original" correct rifle, it won't significantly increase its value, other than it will be more desirable to a collector if you ever sell it.  Lots of Garand guys (myself included) like having a rifle with all period correct parts for when it is built.   Otherwise the value of a garand that isn't a documented collector item is really the sum of its parts ... i.e. what each of the individual parts is worth.

A few things on yours that will add to its originality and value:

- The correct stock for the rifle as noted earlier and identifiable by the stock cartouches.

- An "uncut" operating rod (semi-rare)

- Lock-bar rear sights, and you said these are on it

- Any other identification that might link it to a soldier that carried it, such as bring back papers from the military, or perhaps a name tag or other means of identification in the rifle itself.


The M1 is a sturdy rifle, and shooting it won't hurt it at all as long as you use ammo designed for the M1 gas system.  DO NOT use modern 30-06 hunting ammo as some can be hot enough as to damage the op-rod.  Surplus M2 ball is still relatively easy to find, and there are new ammo manufacturers that make M1 safe loads.  Reloading is also a viable options.

Do not do any sanding of the stock.  If you need to clean it use some mild detergent and wipe back down with tung oil or boiled linseed oil, both available at many furniture stores or home improvement stores.  Get the actual stuff, not the imitation or synthetic "tung oil finis" or "BLO finish."   Both are natural oils that will help keep your stock in great shape for years to come.

The right receiver leg should be marked below the woodline with D28291-29.  That number starts at serial number 1,765,201.  Yours was made Septemeber of 1943, which means the barrel could be original to the receiver.  The bolt is a postwar bolt. A bolt proper to your gun would be marked D-28287-12SA.  That is the most common bolt number, and used on almost all WW2 built Garands. However, do not rush out to change the bolt.  The -12 bolts(called "Dash 12) are shorter than later made bolts.  Many of the later bolts, -18, -19(what you have), and the postwar series "65" bolts are made longer, to deal with the receiver wear on the  heavily used WW2 guns.  So, if the gun headspaces properly with a -19 bolt, be very hesitant to change it for the shorter -12 bolt as you might increase the head space and create a problem that didn't exist before.

Do not rely on that web site, it has inaccurate information

Here's some pictures. Thanks for all the help and info guys!

Well...I certainly approve!  

Looks long me it has been well taken care of with some character as well.

Very nice!

The stock appears to be correct for the receiver and barrel date.   Trigger group is post war, so it doesn't appear you have a "correct" rifle, but it still is a nice rifle that should be a lot of fun to shoot!

Can you get some pictures of the op-rod?

Here you go. Sorry it took me awhile because I know nothing about these rifles. It looks like my father put in a new one because I think I have an original uncut one as well? You guys know better than I do haha.

Yep, you have an un-cut op-rod which would have been correct for that rifle.  Some had a small radius cut into them (hence the term "cut" and "un-cut") and the final version had a larger radius incorporated like you see in the op-rod in your rifle.  That is the best plan if you are going to be doing much shooting.   The original "un-cut" design was prone to fatigue at the sharp corner, which acted as a stress riser.


Here is some good info from one of the well respected authorities on M1's, Scott Duff.

http://www.scott-duff.com/oprods.htm

Sorry but that oprod is a postwar -65 series SA.  Nothing wrong with it but not correct for the rifle. Also, it does have the relief cut as manufactured.

The stock cartouche is SA over EMcF not the other ones mentioned.

Parts is parts ...

The one laying next to the rifle is an un-cut as far as I can see....but yes the one on the rifle is a post war.

Can you guys give me a ballpark on what the value is on this rifle?

At a Gun Show in my area, a dealer might give you $400-$500 max, for a non-collectible mixmaster.  

That doesn't mean yours is junk. It just means the dealer will try to low-ball you so he can "flip it" at the next show for, like, $1,500.  Sad part is, he'll probably swap out every in-spec part in your rifle for a corresponding out-of-spec junk part from his own M1 stash before it ever hits the Gun Show table at that tripled price mark-up.

That, in itself, is an object lesson for why you should never buy M1s, nor M1 parts, at a Gun Show.

It is worth the sum of its parts if not a documented original.   So for a quick ball park I'd recommend getting on the CMP forum and scouring for prices for an EMcF stock, Un-Cut op-rod, etc. and you'll start to get a general idea.    For a good working order M1 mix-master you're generically talking someplace between $700-1000 depending on the parts on the rifle.