This M1 Garand was built by Springfield Armory and carries serial 26455xx, which places the receiver at about March 1944 on Springfield’s published month by month production figures. The barrel is a Springfield barrel dated 4-50, April 1950, so the rifle was rebarrelled six years after the receiver was made and served on well past the war. The operating rod is D35382-9-SA, the trigger housing is D28290-12-SA, and the bolt is D28287-12SA in heat lot S-B7. The stock carries a faint cartouche shaped like a six pointed asterisk, struck on the side of the stock and again underneath the pistol grip. The bore is bright with sharp rifling, and the rifle comes with its original sling.
The M1 Garand was adopted in 1936 and was the first semi-automatic rifle to become the standard issue arm of any army. It was designed by John Garand at Springfield Armory, is chambered in .30-06, and feeds from an eight round en bloc clip that is pressed into the magazine from above and thrown clear with the distinctive ping once the last round is fired. Springfield Armory and Winchester both built the rifle through the Second World War, with Springfield making the large majority, and around four million had been produced by 1945. Rifles that stayed in service afterwards were overhauled as they needed it, and a wartime receiver wearing a post-war barrel is the ordinary signature of a rifle that kept working rather than one that went straight into storage.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Springfield Armory
Country of origin: United States
Model: U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 (Garand)
Action: Gas-operated semi-automatic
Caliber: .30-06
Serial: 26455xx
Year: Receiver about March 1944
Barrel: Springfield, dated 4-50
Operating rod: D35382-9-SA
Trigger housing: D28290-12-SA
Bolt: D28287-12SA, heat lot S-B7
Stock: Faint six pointed asterisk cartouche on the side and under the pistol grip
Bore: Bright with sharp rifling
Included: Original sling
