Near Mint M1 Garand. Authentic?

[GIZMO8Z]

My buddy just picked up this Garand from a local gun shop for $1200. The story behind it was that an elderly lady was looking to sell some rifles that belonged to her recently deceased husband who was a Korean War veteran. Supposedly, he used this rifle during the war, and brought it home. Since then, this Garand sat in his closet. However, we feel this rifle and the story behind it may be too good to be true...

The gun shop owner was able to lower the price from $1,500 which leads us to believe that it was purchased on the cheap from the widow and the gun shop made a decent profit anyway.

So! The question is, is this rifle really a near mint condition Korean War era Garand? or... is it a refurbished/ reproduction and my buddy got ripped off?!

P.S. I used photoshop to block out the 3 last digits of the serial number.



THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION!

[MarkV]

Looks like a nice quality Garand. I'm not as well versed in Garands as I am in carbines - but I have learned to always buy the rifle, not the story.

The trigger group is a Winchester. The SN puts it at a July or August 1944 build. The DAS cartouchis a post-WWII markbut it's probable that the rifle went through a post-WWII rebuild and could have been issued for the Korean War. The stock looks a little too good to me to have seen combat - I can't see and scratches or dings. In any case, it looks like it's in very good condition. Is it worth $1200? I'd guess that at that price it would be at the upper end of it's worth assuming it is a mix of parts. The chamber and muzzle gauges would affect the price - the tighter the better.

In the end, though, I always approach a purchase like this from the perspective of "If I'm comfortable and happy, then the price is good for me."

[GIZMO8Z]

Thanks for your time and response, Mark! I'm sure my buddy will chime in soon.

Is there anything you can see in the pictures, or anything we should look for on the rifle that will disprove the "sat in a lady's closet" story?

[MarkV]

Joe, it looks like a nicely restored Garand. Could well be a post war rebuild that came from somewhere. But, as I noted above, the "pure" look of the stock makes me question that this rifle got carried around the battlefield of Korea. Could the original owner have restocked it after brining it back? Maybe? But without any paperwork showing it was a true bring back, there's no proof either way. Thin about it. If this rifle was carried in combat - as it is - would you not expect to see some dings in the wood? This one looks very similar to one I bought from a well-know restorer a few years agy - the wood is immalculate.

So, again, buy the rifle not the story. It's a nice piece. Be happy with it. Shoot it. It's not rare and there's no way to prove the story. Enjoy it.

[GIZMO8Z]

I feel the same way about it, thanks Mark!

There's no doubt about it, the stock on this rifle shows very little wear. My carbine has so many dings, dents, scrapes and scratches in comparison. If anything, I kind of feel like if the story is at all true, the Vet must have been a rear echelon guy...

[Datrus]

You are right about that. Anyway it does not look to handled much, unless it's all put together by not very used parts. Butt sstock plate looks quite untouched. Rare for a army used M1. Check the screws for wear and signs of repetedly disassembly. Maybe take the gun apart and have look under the stock. The piston chamber looks more worn than the rest of the gun. A often removed part for cleaning. I had one in the army back in the nineties. Nice gun though. Me and my LMG(MG62) buddy had one for back up. Would have been a hell lot better with MP instead.

[Wagriff]

Looks pretty much to me like your normal post-war Springfield Armory refurbished Garand. A nice gun by any standards, but 1200 dollars is really stretching the upper end value.

[Walkwolf]

It's exactly like one I have ( Sept '45 ) - same cartouche on the left side.
The barrel was made in 1950, as shown. A group of later, post-war
assembled M1's fall into an 'unknown' category, according to
some published works.

I think rather than being used in the Korean war, it was made during
that time, but never carried in battle - or even on guard duty
- it's too mint - not even any handling wear !

I've recently seen a couple of modern reworks which are selling
for $2,000 each - so the price was not all that bad, IMO.
Mine cost $700, twenty three years ago.........


https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/firea...arand-98569-4/

[Wagriff]

The serial number of 3113*** indicates a 1944 manufacture date, so I'm thinking that this was almost certainly reworked and re-issued for Korea. If the barrel is marked for 1950, this pretty much tells the story. Here's a good website for checking the serial numbers of Garands: U.S. Military Dates of Manufacture and it's parent website for checking most any US military firearm is: U.S. Military Dates of Manufacture

[Datrus]

Nicely done.