M1 Garand Small or Large Pad Trigger Housing

TheBrassMan

I am no expert that is why I am going to ask you gentlemen.

What is the difference between a Small Pad and Large Pad Trigger Housing for the M1 Garand?

I have one listed and have been asked the question which one it is.  It is W.R.A. and from what I have found it

is Large Pad.  But I would like to know the difference when I list others.

Thank you!

mark christian

The first Springfield M1s and nearly all of the Winchesters used what is called the large pad trigger housing. This pad worked with the flat back safeties which were also found is early SA M1s and virtually all Winchesters. The introduction of the round back safety meant the need for a small pad. In order to reuse them with the later safety, early SA trigger housings and quite a few Winchester housings were modified by grinding down the pad to the new dimensions.
Here is a standard Springfield mid-war trigger group with the small pad OEM:

Here you can see a Winchester pad which has been modified. 

This was a HEAVY modification, some pads were not cut back so severely.   
As always, these are my own photos and were not lifted off the net.

TheBrassMan

Thanks Mark.

Here is a link to the auction.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/872313820

Then you can tell me if it is large or small.

mark christian

It is hard to tell from the photos, but it appears that the lower right area of the pad has been filed down at an angle. 

mark christian

I cleaned up your photo as best I could  and enlarged it:
Someone had definitely taken a file- more like a rasp, to the pad and modified it. It sure didn't come out of the Winchester factory looking like that. It appears that just enough metal was hacked away to allow for the use of the round back safety. 

TheBrassMan

So it was basically a Large Pad but someone modified it to work like a Small Pad.

What is considered the "Pad" is that upper corner.  Correct?

Always good to learn something new.

Thank you Mark.

mark christian

The entireTheBrassMan said:

So it was basically a Large Pad but someone modified it to work like a Small Pad.

You've got it. Large pads will only work with flat back safeties while small pads will work with flat or round- 90% of safeties being round.
To be honest, in nearly 40 years of collecting M1s, your pad has the nastiest modification I've ever seen. 

As always, the photo is my own and not lifted off the net. 

TheBrassMan

Thank you Mark.  Now I have learned something new.

The modification I will tell you was probably done by my late father-in-law.  He considered himself a great Gunsmith but

the things I have seen, he wasn't.  He ran a Gunshop first on Long Island then here in Florida.  Was in the business for 45+ years.

He was a better salesman then Gunsmith.

Thank you again for the lesson, It was very much appreciated.

Mike