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- Feb 12, 2010
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My first M1 Garand was bought as an FTF, it is a January 1945 Springfield, 3379xxx. Most of the parts are date correct and mfg correct, except for the bolt, which is a Winchester. The only other anomalies are the op-rod is a D-35382 SA, which doesn't seem associated with a specific date, and the stock seems field-worn, but no visible cartouches. Obviously the rifle was rebuilt at some point in its life.
Now, when I bought the rifle... I bought the rifle, not the story, which the seller claimed that he brought this rifle back with him from Germany. It didn't matter because the price was so low and the condition was so good I would have been a fool to not purchase it (including 200 rounds of Lake City '65 M72). I knew the seller well enough that he story was feasible, but he has since passed away. At the time I didn't realize the value of a genuine GI bring-back rifle and the requirements for proving it.
Before bastardizing the rifle with Midway parts and Fulton upgrades, I wanted to fully vet the history of this particular rifle before shooting the value out of it. I started with Scott Duff's Serial Numbers book and date coded as many parts as I could. I then contacted the CMP to see if they had any record of this serial number (they did not, but warned that their records are not complete).
So now, my question is, are there any other references or resources that I can access that might confirm if this is a CMP rifle, a genuine bring-back, or something else?
What would you do? Restore it with a replacement stock and parts as necessary? Clean it, Oil it and Revere it from the front row of the safe? Or Reload with upgraded parts? Since I never intend to sell the rifle, is it worth it to seek and swap matching date coded parts?
BTW, I've fired about 100 rounds, the rifle functions perfectly and shoots 2 MOA for this 4 MOA shooter (a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean).
Now, when I bought the rifle... I bought the rifle, not the story, which the seller claimed that he brought this rifle back with him from Germany. It didn't matter because the price was so low and the condition was so good I would have been a fool to not purchase it (including 200 rounds of Lake City '65 M72). I knew the seller well enough that he story was feasible, but he has since passed away. At the time I didn't realize the value of a genuine GI bring-back rifle and the requirements for proving it.
Before bastardizing the rifle with Midway parts and Fulton upgrades, I wanted to fully vet the history of this particular rifle before shooting the value out of it. I started with Scott Duff's Serial Numbers book and date coded as many parts as I could. I then contacted the CMP to see if they had any record of this serial number (they did not, but warned that their records are not complete).
So now, my question is, are there any other references or resources that I can access that might confirm if this is a CMP rifle, a genuine bring-back, or something else?
What would you do? Restore it with a replacement stock and parts as necessary? Clean it, Oil it and Revere it from the front row of the safe? Or Reload with upgraded parts? Since I never intend to sell the rifle, is it worth it to seek and swap matching date coded parts?
BTW, I've fired about 100 rounds, the rifle functions perfectly and shoots 2 MOA for this 4 MOA shooter (a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean).