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Mark C Garand Questions

brier-49brier-49 Member Posts: 7,095 ✭✭✭✭
edited June 2014 in Ask the Experts
Springfield Armory with H&R barrel marked 1956. I'm selling it & one man said it's a rebuild that was used in VN. I bought this years ago to shoot military matches at a club here in CT. Were these used in Nam? And would it be a rebuild being made in 1956? No I don't have pics, it's at a gun shop on consignment.
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Comments

  • CDMeadCDMead Member Posts: 2,141 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Not Mark C, but maybe I'll do.

    First off, do you remember the serial number of the rifle? It is quite possible a World War II produced Garand would have been rebuilt in the 1950s.

    Sometimes there are electro pencil markings on the receiver below the woodline indicating date and location of a rebuild.

    Garands were used in Vietnam mostly by the South Vietnamese. It is possible that yours is one of those, but there is no way to verify that.

    My understanding is that even though the M14 was officially adopted in 1957, the changeover wasn't complete until 1965, so it is not out of the realm to see early advisors with Garands.

    As with most firearms, and I know you're the seller, you want to buy the firearm and not the story unless it has ironclad documentation.

    Good luck.

    YMMV.
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  • nmyersnmyers Member Posts: 16,891 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm not Mark, but, well.....he's too young to remember VN. But, by VN, the US Military had adopted the M14 rifle. And, in the late '60s, they transitioned to the M16.

    In the early '60s, some M1 rifles were issued to ARVN troops, but they didn't do well --- big rifle, small people --- not a good idea. They did well with the M1 carbines, so DCM sales were terminated so that they could be given to the ARVN.

    While it's possible that any given M1 rifle was used by someone in VN, it's not likely. SA made new rifles through 1956, but without the SN, no way to tell, but new rifles from that year will have a Defense Acceptance Seal on the stock. The odds that it is a rebuild are pretty good.

    Neal

    EDIT: Receiver made in February 1945.
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  • MIKE WISKEYMIKE WISKEY Member Posts: 10,042 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I was in Viet Nam 1970-1972 and saw a 'few' m-1's, all in used by Arvn's. BAR's to. kind of funny to see a company of Arvns in formation with M-1's and BAR's muzzles well over their heads.
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  • CapnMidnightCapnMidnight Member Posts: 8,038 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm like Mike, I was in country 68-69 and saw ARVN troops with M1 rifles. They had a hard time working the operating handle's, and would set the butt of the rifle on the ground, and jump on the operating handle to chamber a round.
    W.D.
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  • mark christianmark christian Member Posts: 24,443 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    In addition to complete rifles, H&R made considerable numbers of contract replacement barrels so having an H&R barrel showing up on a rebuilt M1 is not unusual. As the others have already said; the M1 did see use in Viet Nam with ARVN units but just how many of those rifles came home is questionable since most were left behind. Are there any markings on the stock? These markings can help to identify a rebuild.
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  • brier-49brier-49 Member Posts: 7,095 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The serial # is 3463355.
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  • brier-49brier-49 Member Posts: 7,095 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thank you sir!
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  • mark christianmark christian Member Posts: 24,443 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by brier-49
    The serial # is 3463355.


    That would date the receiver to around February, 1945. It would not be uncommon to find a H&R replacement barrel on a WWII rebuild but other details about the rifle will be harder to pin down.
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  • brier-49brier-49 Member Posts: 7,095 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks all for the info. I bought as a shooter & selling it as same. One of the young guys at the store is eyeballing it.
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