Need help with 2 M1 Garands

[John7]

I see you have gotten allot of good advise from friends replying to your query. Most importantly, have them (the rifles)checked out by a trusted & competent gunsmith.Surplus ammo is available fron the CMP & retail sources, & is the fodder of choice.CMP will be happy to let you have a 280 round can of M2 loaded in 8 rnd clips for about the price of a couple boxes of commercial. I have used US, Austrian, Korean & Greek M2 & M72 ball with great success.AVOID LOOSE SURPLUS, as this can be de-linked MG ammo, producing very high pressure levels.Allot can be learned also by configuration. An "AS BUILT" rifle is a rare breed. Customarily military arms such as these are routinely overhauled, rebarelled,rebuilt and refinished.These are commonly referred to as "Mixmasters", due to the mixture of parts. This in no way detracts from their "correctness"- armorers were concerned with function, not originality. Also, the US "lent" many thousands of these arms to friendly countries, particularly in the period imediately following WW II. Some have been long time coming home-I have 2 Danish "buybacks" returned in 1997.Ea. part is marked by the manufacturer; SA,HR,IBM, etc.Also cartouches & garrison markings on the stock can be very helpfull in determinining exactly what you have.

[Ben Hartley]

Hi, KJD...

I'm going to go out on a limb, just a bit. You wrote:

Originally Posted by kingjohndeere

...On the receiver it shows a date of 10-64 that looks like pencile [sic] but won't wipe off.

If the number appears on the right front receiver "leg" it indicates the month and year that your rifle was rebuilt. There may also be two or more letters which indicate the arsenal or armory which did the rebuild. The numbers and letters were most likely done with an electropencil. It does resemble pencil writing, at that.

Also:

The darker has a stamp of PB on the front sling point and the bolt. I don't know if this means anthing but it is there.

"PB" (for "Pietro Beretta") indicates Danish contract Italian-made parts which mean (probably) that your rifle is one of the so-called "Danish Returns." The Italian parts, by the way, are perfectly serviceable; assuming they have not worn out of spec, they are suitable for shooting purposes.

HTH

Ben Hartley

[kingjohndeere]

I thank you for the help. To enable us to keep things straight I will refer to the darker stock rifle as #1 and the lighter stock as #2.
#1 has a sticker in the stock that I have attached a copy of below. The numbers on the receiver has these numbers on it. R33 D28291-17 with an S above the hole on the right side of the receiver. The barrel has the same S and the number format S-A-9-42 A. The bolt has the number D28287 PB. The front sight and windage knob of the rear sight has the same PB on it.
#2 the receiver has the electropencil 10-64 RRAD and the numbers C16D D28291-3 SA. The barrel has SA6535448 8 64 BU 12 PM with a cartouche that looks like a star with 3 dots above it. When i get a chance to break them down this weekend I will record all the part numbers to see what I may or may not have. Thanks again for the help.

[Orlando]

The electric pencil 10/64 means it was rebuilt October 64 at the Red River Army Depot

[kingjohndeere]

When they do a rebuild what gets changed out? Do I just have to start checking part # and see what matches with dates?

[Orlando]

They change whatever parts that aren't up to spec. Could be a barrel , Op Rod ,stock, gas cylinder, bolt,anything that is worn beyond specs