hey guys,
just picked up an m1 garand for $550.00. wood is original and near perfect.all hardware and parts are stamped sa with dates of 8-43. the question i have is the serial number is higher than most i have seen in the 500,000 series. serial number is 1083288. someone on another site said these higher serial numbers are dangerous to shoot, that it might even blow up. all parts are tight and clean and everything looks in order. the only other peculiar thing is it has the nomber 41 painted on the bottom of the pistol grip and stamped in the but stock. have you guys heard of the higher serial numbers being dangerous or is this just a lot of b.s..thanks

Quoted: hey guys, just picked up an m1 garand for $550.00. wood is original and near perfect.all hardware and parts are stamped sa with dates of 8-43. the question i have is the serial number is higher than most i have seen in the 500,000 series. serial number is 1083288. someone on another site said these higher serial numbers are dangerous to shoot, that it might even blow up. all parts are tight and clean and everything looks in order. the only other peculiar thing is it has the nomber 41 painted on the bottom of the pistol grip and stamped in the but stock. have you guys heard of the higher serial numbers being dangerous or is this just a lot of b.s..thanks

It's BS.  It's an M1.  It's fine.

ETA:  It's still a very good idea to have it headspaced and checked out by a competetent gunsmith.

1083288 should be Springfield Armory from between December 1942 and January 1943.

Receiver drawing # should be D 28291-17

If it is not, it may be a reweld.

Is your stock stamped:

SA/EMcF with a small ordnance emblem?

That's an ENORMOUS load of BS.
If anything the later rifles should be safer, being built during peace time.

You're liable to hear anything on the Internet from some fool or jerk.  
You have to learn how to filter it.
In this case, does it sound reasonable that the United States government would issue UNSAFE rifles to GI's?

The numbers painted on the rifle are rack numbers.
In training, it was easier and faster for a soldier to ID his rifle in the rack by the painted number than it was looking at dozens of rifles serial numbers to find his.

the reciever drawing number is exactly as you said, same with the stock number. i knew i came to the right site...wow!!!!!!!!

Your receiver should be fine, then, provided there's no weldment in it.

I'm a little envious of your find.  That sounds like an excellent buy - seriously.  Old beat-up M1s go for more than you paid.  

EMcF is Earl McFarland, who was the ordnance inspector for that period of time.  It sounds to me like someone did a restoration job on your rifle.  It'd be very unusual to find one that had not been rebuilt and had all manner of parts on it.  Either way, it's still worth great money.

One question - does it have a lock bar sight on it?

As far as higher serial numbers, I have an HRA in the other room with a 5.600,000 S/N made in 1956, so yours is a pretty low number.  Still, the end of 42/beginning of 43 puts you square in wartime production and late enough that Springfield and Winchester had the production lines down to an art.

You got a great rifle for a great price.  Enjoy!

Cheers,

kk7sm

i just picked it up today after work so i haven't had enough time to really take it apart. this sunday will be the day. however everything i have seen so far matches. wood needs to be stripped and tung oiled and the parkerizing is very dark and only worn in the right spots, so i am anxious for sunday to come up. i feel like when my first kid was born, take the baby home and look at it and play with it...and take it to the range and feed it....

You're going to think I'm nuts, but easy off works great on stripping old walnut stocks.

There are a few methods people use to clean them up that are listed on Culver's Shooting Pages.  I use the Walt Kuleck method to strip and then use a custom combination of beeswax, tung oil and turpentine I cook on a hot plate.  I'm single, so nobody complains that I'm stinking up the house!

Anyway, you can spend your time until Sunday reading articles there, as well.  I know I've wasted a ton of time there!

Quoted: You're going to think I'm nuts, but easy off works great on stripping old walnut stocks.

ONLY USE THIS METHOD IF YOU WANT TO DESTROY YOUR STOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quoted: ONLY USE THIS METHOD IF YOU WANT TO DESTROY YOUR STOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's odd.  I have about six stocks I've already done this way and never destroyed one.  

If your stock has an EMcF cartouche on it, don't refinish it at all!!!  Does it have two proof P's on the pistol grip or just one?  Is there a crossed cannon next to the EMcF?  Are there any other marks stamped into the stock anywhere?

In short, if you do anything to the stock other than clean it up a bit with mineral spirits, you would be hurting the value of it.  If you don't care about the markings, get a new stock from the CMP or anything off Epay or Dougs Stockpile.  Sell that one and make some money back from it.  It's worth more to a collector if it's unmolested.  

Does the rifle have a lockbar rear sight?  Does the oprod have a relief cut in front of the drawing number?

the stock has 2 p's one above the other and it has a lock bar however the stock hasnt been refinished  and is very dark so its hard to see if there are any other markings. should i just use mineral spirits to lighten it up?

Yeah, probably in that case, cleaning up the stock with mineral spirits will help.  The stock probably has some cosmoline or something on it.  I'd agree with trying that first for sure.

I wouldn't do anything other than mineral spirits.  Even with 2 proof P's people would want it.  Post some pics if you can.

Check out www.jouster.com or battlerifles.  The guys on there can tell you anything you want to know about your rifle.  I would recommend against saying anything about stripping your EMcF stock, though, unless you want to be raked over the coals.  

The only weak spot I've ever heard of for a garand is the rear section of the receiver were the serial number is. If using a grenade launcher and the reciever is not lead dipped on the '43 and older recs. there is a change of them cracking. Here is my lead dipped rec.




Fulton Armory's know how on stock refinishing

A little denatured alcohol works wonders on an original stock. Then once that's done you can take some boiled linseed oil and rub that in. Two EMcF stocks just sold for over $600 ea. on ebay. Like me, your stock alone is worth more than you paid for the entire rifle. I got mine from CMP and all I have left to do now is get a -6 SA oprod.

ebay EMcF stock

Quoted: Quoted: ONLY USE THIS METHOD IF YOU WANT TO DESTROY YOUR STOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's odd.  I have about six stocks I've already done this way and never destroyed one.

Only time will tell.  

The active ingredient in oven cleaner is LYE.  Lye eats organic compounds.  What do you think the stock is made of?  You guessed it, an organinc compound.

Tim

Did you get this from CMP?