Bought a Springfield Garand from the CMP in April.  Great gun, tack driver straight out of the box.  I was reading the article about Garand rebuilds in American Rifleman and looking over my gun.  I can't find a single rebuild mark discussed in the article.  There's just the "P" behind the trigger guard and what looks like an eagle with 3 stars over it on the left side of the stock below the rear sight.  None of the serial numbers match, so it definitely has been rebuilt.  Why would it not have any rebuild stamps?

When you mean the numbers don't match, I take it you mean the barrel date and bolt drawing number do not chronologically match the SN.

It's possible that any lightly struck stamps may have faded out.  On mine, the WW2 era 'circle P' stamps are clearly visible, but the Benicia Arsenal rebuild stamp (from the 50's judging from the barrel date) is barely noticable.  The stamp is still kind of cool though since I actually lived near the Benicia Arsenal for a few years.

Medic --

Your stock is a 1950s vintage stock (DOD Eagle final acceptance mark).  What's the serial number of the receiver?  From the markings this stock has not been thru arsenal clean and repair, also incorrectly called rebuild.  Many rifles didn't need any attention and were merely inspected, marked, and returned to service.

There is one (1) serial number on US military weapons produced in the last 100 years (or so) and it's on the receiver.  Presence of a serial number on other parts is a normal sign of foreign military service.  Note most major M1 Rifle parts have a Drawing Number on them usually prefixed with a Letter (A, D, etc).  Interchangeable parts don't need to be serialed to the weapon.

The barrel should have have the maker and date (MM/YY) stamped on it and visible in the "slot" when the bolt is locked to the rear.

Let us know what you have and we can provide lots of information.

-- Chuck

Here's what I have for numbers:

Reciever:   Springfield Armory 4313290

Barrel:  SA D6535448 9 53 MD36 As well as a DOD Eagle.  There looks to be two "P" stamps, one above the date and one upside down below the date.  There is also what appears to be a horseshoe or "C" stamp to the left of the "SA" on the barrel.

There is also an "87" painted on the right side of buttstock.  

I have all of the other numbers from the individual parts written down.  If it would tell me anything, I'll post them.  The gun is in great shape.  I don't think it saw much service after it was cleaned and repaired.  The bore is very shiny with great rifling.  There is no wear on most of the internals, except the op rod.      

This has fast become my favorite firearm.  (That's probably sacreligious to say on the AR15 site).  I think I've talked my wife into another one for my birthday.  I would like to have several, one for my dad, my brother and brother-in-law, as well as a few to pass on to my kids.  

Any info you can give me on this great piece of history and fantastic shooter would be great.  

Medic --

This could well be an original, untouched 1953 SA rifle, the serial number is post WW2 and in the Sep-Oct 53 period based on the information below.

There's no exact details of post WW2 production dates (which started in 1949), but the stock marking of the DOD Eagle started circa Sep-Oct 1953.  OK for the stock.

Barrel dates usually match receiver dates (within a couple of months), so your barrel matches nicely.  In addition rifles starting approximately in the 4,320,000 - 4,350,000 range had the little Eagle stamped on the barrel on the barrel.  Your's is only a few 1000 off that mark and barrel and receiver production wasn't paired.  Next receiver got the next barrel out of the bin so there's always considerable overlap.  This further suggests Sep-Oct 53 time frame.  First in first out is the production cycle, but folks get busy.

The C on the barrel is probably an inspector's mark, the P is a proof mark.  Two Ps could just mean the guy with the hammer hit it twice!

Major part numbers should be:

Bolt  6528287 SA
Oprod  653582 SA or a subcontractor for SA
Trigger housing  6528290 SA

Common theme for 1950s parts is no drawing letter prefix as in earlier versions.  Too many to list in an Email and there are nice books with all the details.

The 87 is a "rack number."  Painting these was expressly forbidden by the Army, but other services weren't so picky.

-- Chuck

Thanks for the great info Chuck, where did you find it?.  I checked the rest of the numbers and the oprod, trigger housing and bolt numbers match what you posted.  What does this indicate?  Can you recommend a good book or two for increasing my Garand knowledge?  I subscribe to the GCA, which I have found to be a good source but lacks in a lot of the details.

This rifle would be a Collector model at CMP, did you pay Collector pricing for it (about $900 as I recall)?

A good basic source of parts number revisions, dates, etc. is in the M1 Garand 1936 to 1957 by Joe Poyer and Craig Riesch.  They use data from several sources including Scott Duff.

I have the 2d edition, the current edition is 4 year newer.

-- Chuck

I paid $500 for it.  Didn't expect to get anything above and beyond a Service Grade SA.  Thanks for the info Chuck.

I would take a stroll over to www/jouster.com and do a data sheet including everything you can find on the rifle.  Being a collector grade is possible but unlikely.  The armorors at CMP are pretty savy but not to say that some don't slip through.

I bet you think this is your one and only Garand?  Think again!  They multiply!

www.jouster.com

(somewhere).

-- Chuck

Quoted: Here's what I have for numbers: Reciever:   Springfield Armory 4313290 Barrel:  SA D6535448 9 53 MD36 As well as a DOD Eagle.  There looks to be two "P" stamps, one above the date and one upside down below the date.  There is also what appears to be a horseshoe or "C" stamp to the left of the "SA" on the barrel. There is also an "87" painted on the right side of buttstock.   I have all of the other numbers from the individual parts written down.  If it would tell me anything, I'll post them.  The gun is in great shape.  I don't think it saw much service after it was cleaned and repaired.  The bore is very shiny with great rifling.  There is no wear on most of the internals, except the op rod.       This has fast become my favorite firearm.  (That's probably sacreligious to say on the AR15 site).  I think I've talked my wife into another one for my birthday.  I would like to have several, one for my dad, my brother and brother-in-law, as well as a few to pass on to my kids.   Any info you can give me on this great piece of history and fantastic shooter would be great.

Sounds like a nice M1 !

I have SA 4,313,54x which probably came off the line the same day that I got thru the CMP a few years ago, It's been rebuilt at least once but it still has it's orig barrel SA6535448 6 53 A199B with ordnance wheel.

Quoted: I bet you think this is your one and only Garand?  Think again!  They multiply!

I just asked the wife for another for my birthday in April.  I want 5 or 6 to be able to pass on to my kids and nephews.