Just completed a restoration...

[bigschuss]

...of the greatest batle implement ever devised.

This began life 6 years ago as a mis-matched, ugly, Greek return mutt of a rifle I bought from the CMP for $295. I've slowly scoured guns shows and Ebay looking for all correct parts for the rifle's serial number.

Some parts were easy to find...the bolt, operating rod, hammer. Some were surprisingly expensive...the rear site cost me $200. Some were tough...it took me 2 years to find a properly marked WWII barrel that was correct for the receiver. The last piece, the stock, took me the longest to find....4 years. I found this one at a gun show last month in a barrel of old stocks. At first it looked to be just a dime a dozen, unmarked, run of the mill WWII era walnut stock. Upon very close inspection I saw the very faint markings on the stock (SA/NFR) that I think the dealer missed. I was thrilled, and paid the guy $35 for it.

With the stock, my rifle is about a 95% restoration of a Springfield Armory M1 Garand that would have left the assembly line in February or March of 1945. And it's a shooter. I dont baby it. I enjoy it and clean it properly....but I also love to shoot it until it smokes!

Hope you enjoy....thanks for letting me share.

A Short Video I Made This Weekend http://vimeo.com/37520817

P7310010.JPG

P7310011.JPG

[bigschuss]

[ATTACH]2120168[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]2120169[/ATTACH]

[bigschuss]

[ATTACH]2120170[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]2120171[/ATTACH]

[bigschuss]

[ATTACH]2120173[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]2120177[/ATTACH]

[bigschuss]

[ATTACH]2120178[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]2120179[/ATTACH]

[bigschuss]

[ATTACH]2120180[/ATTACH]

[Douglas Jr.]

This is the kind of project that you should run with patience.
But it surely worths the time expended. The best part is that you can take it to the range without any guilty for firing a collectable gun.
Have fun!
Congratulations!

[Paul G]

Nice job, your patience has paid off!

PG-

[MauserKar98k]

Great work! Not many people would bother to do this.

[Tony T-S]

That's a great story, she's a beauty. We can't do anything like that on these shores. How does it shot?

[bigschuss]

Thanks for the comments gents. I was beginning to think this kind of thing wasn't appreciated?

Tony T-S....the rifle shoots beautifully. If you watch the vid you'll see that it fires and cycles flawlesly.

Also, the barrel I found came with very little MW (muzzle wear) and TE (throat erosion). MW and TE can be measured with special gauges and collectors look for barrels with low values. Low values mean a barrel has not been fired much. My barrel has not been fired much and thus, it is very accurate. It is no problem to hit a half-silhouette target at 300 meters with iron sights 6 out of 8 shots standing unsupported. Prone, kneling, or off a bench, you would be hard pressed to miss.

That's not so much a testament to my marksmanship skills as it is to the engineering of the rifle by John C. Garand.

[Johnny Peppers]

What serial number range is your rifle?

Restorations of rebuilt M1 Rifles is big time, as witnessed by the time it took to find all the correct parts. Early on it was much easier to find parts, but the supplies have gradually dried up as more and more people got into restoring the old rifles. At the end of WWII there was a massive rebuilt program of both the M1 Carbine and M1 Rifle. The rebuilds use a mix of new and serviceable used parts, resulting in a total mix of parts. The SA/NFR stock is one of the harder stocks to find due to the short time the marking was used.

As with everything else, the demand for original period parts has led to the fakers applying original markings to non-original parts.

[james m]

I know some guys who collect M1s and they go to the annual CMP sale at Ben Avery range every year. One of their essential tools is a throat erosion gauge. That's a nice restoration job you did there.

Quote:
"Early on it was much easier to find parts, but the supplies have gradually dried up as more and more people got into restoring the old rifles. "

I couldn't agree more and this applies to pistols as well. I put some miscellaneous Colt 1911 WW II era parts on Ebay awhile ago. This consisted of a slide,grips and other internal parts. I was very surprised when these brought $600!
Jim

[bigschuss]

What serial number range is your rifle?

Restorations of rebuilt M1 Rifles is big time, as witnessed by the time it took to find all the correct parts. Early on it was much easier to find parts, but the supplies have gradually dried up as more and more people got into restoring the old rifles. At the end of WWII there was a massive rebuilt program of both the M1 Carbine and M1 Rifle. The rebuilds use a mix of new and serviceable used parts, resulting in a total mix of parts. The SA/NFR stock is one of the harder stocks to find due to the short time the marking was used.

As with everything else, the demand for original period parts has led to the fakers applying original markings to non-original parts.

Mine is a 3.3 million.

Didn't know that about the SA/NFR stock?

I went through a CMP Garand kick when Greek Rack Grades were $295 a pop. I bought 4 in a single order hoping for a WWII era receiver in decent condition without the black Greek finish. I got 2 in the order...my 3.3 million and another Feb. of 1943 era receiver. My brother bought the 1943 receiver and restored it.

And yes, parts back then were fairly easy to find and reasonably priced.

Minus the parts that came with my rifle that I sold, I'm into this rifle for about $750 or so. I don't know if you could do that today with rack grades starting at $495.

[MG34NZ]

a Job well done, congratulations!
I did a similar thing with my K98
a lot of collectors turn their noses up at rebuilds and like everything number matching and 100% correct but I think restoring is something you do for a couple of reasons one being the personal satisfaction you get from tracking down all the parts to complete the rifle and secondly returning a historic item to its original condition.
I have a couple of projects on the go at the moment,M2hb and Mg 08 restoration jobs,the parts are around but you have to be quick and for the M2hb its definately a case of shopping around as parts prices vary considerably.And like you i can see these stretching out for years to come as Im working on a small budget!

Enjoy shooting your resurrected war horse !

MG34NZ