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Posted: 12/19/2002 12:01:05 PM EDT
| I bought one the other day for $594. It has Springfield receiver, walnut stock that somebody put a sling stud on it. So what can you guys tell me about this rifle? This is my first M1 rifle. |
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Springfield the government armory or Springfield, the company that makes the M1A? If it's an actual military Springfield receiver what you have is a frankengun; a firearm built to a non-existent specigication and sold as a "Tanker" or "T26" If it actually functional, you are OK, but run a couple hundred rounds through it soon. The geometry of the shortened M1 oprod is rarely correct, and there ar often function problems with these guns. |
| If it says "Tanker" on the side, it is something that someone or some company made by cutting down a full size Garand. There are a number of sites out there that discuss this situation, as well as the unique problem the modifications cause. Do a search on Garand Tanker and read up on what potential problems you could have. Some of these sites may also provide additional information regarding the company who modified it. |
A lot of these were made back in the 60's from slavaged cut and weld receivers. Do some research, compare the heat lot codes to the Mfg. Post the numbers on the right side of the receiver below the wood line and the Mfg. and serial number on www.jouster.com and ask some questions. Give it a close examination along the middle of the receiver and look for abnormal tool markings and signs of welding and grinding. What caliber is yours? I'd like to have one in 7.62mm NATO just for fun. |
I too, have a "Springfield" Tanker M1, 30-06, IIRC the receiver was manufactured in 1942 (check'd the serial #), it was re-manufactured into a "Tanker" by Fulton Armoury, turns out they did alot of these re-armoury assembled M1s, both full-sized and Tankers. If the stock is not inletted properly, or like mine had a fancy walnut installed by the former owner, you could run into the same problem I found w/ mine. The previous owner failed to realize that a Tanker stock and a M1 Garand stock are not the same and when he took it to the range and fired it, the op-rod got bent, (due to the stock not being inletted "properly"). He then turned around and sold it, to me, (which is probably why I got a decent price for what was a re-arsenal'd M1). I found the problem the first time I fired the rifle and ended up sending it to Smith Enterprises in AZ for repair. They did a great job and actually found that the barrel installed by Fulton was defective and returned to them to have the barrel replaced. I ended up w/ a nice new barrel and a Tanker that is 100% reliable and still in 30-06 caliber. I love mine. Hope this info might help ya avoid the same problem I had. Mike |
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I took a "Blue Sky" Springfield import with a sewer pipe for a barrel(I kid you not, I dropped a .30cal. bullet into the bore & it fell half way down)& had Orion7 convert it to a .308 18.5in barreled Tanker, It works great, It gets a real lot of attention at the range! The only problem I have with it is it kicks like a mule! |
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A M1 receiver marked TANKER on the left side of the receiver under the rear sight will probably be made by Federal Ordnance in CA and will be so marked on the right receiver leg. You have to separate the rifle into the 3 main groups to read this. Federal Ordnance used a special "middle band" (where the slighg swivel mounts) and no little wooden upper handguard, at least for much of their production. The operating rod will show under the barrel. Tankers have been made by many folks, the idea has been around since the ordnance shops played with them for airborne troops (not tanks) during WW2. Only two (2) official T26 rifles were produced at Springfield, but I'd guess hundreds were produced in the field as experiments. Cutting rifle barrels down was a common WW2 ordnance shop experiment. Several hundred M1903 rifles were "chopped" in Panmama for jungle use and were known as Bushmasters. Smith Enterprise will convert a M1 to a tanker. They converted mine from .30 to 7.62mm NATO and tuned the system. The main reason for conversion was -- once I got the bugs worked out of the rifle in .30 -- it was so much fun to shoot I was going broke at 25 cents a shot for good M2 Ball. Surplus 7.62mm NATO is a cheap as a dime if you look aroung and 15 cents without effort. Ron also placed a block in the magazine so .30 cartridges won't fit. There are several different spring arrangements based on who did the conversion. Mine came back different than I sent it. Don't expect interchangeable parts in the operating rod spring area. In .30 my tanker was a "hobby rifle" meaning I spent lots of time getting it to shoot well. Tight rough chamber didn't help nor did excessive amounts of gas. This combination caused the bolt to rip the rims off cartridges and leave the cases in the chamber at times. Not fun. Elbow grease and grinding compound in the chamber, and a variable gas vent in the gas cylinder plug got her going well. As I said, she got too expensive to shoot. Anyone with a non-historical M1 Rifle receiver looking for a handy carbine should look at having Ron Smith build them a tanker in 7.62mm NATO. -- Chuck |
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