Thaddeus Posted January 10, 2015 Share #1 Posted January 10, 2015 Hello Everyone, Today for display is my M -1 Garand. Ever since I started collecting WW2 era memorabilia in the early 2000's I had a hankering to get my hands on one of these rifles. Band of Brothers had just come out and living very close to Camp Toccoa, about 15 minutes away, really stirred my interest in the subject. When I first started collecting I made myself two promises. The first would be that when I joined the Army, I would serve in the 101st Airborne Division. The second was that I would work hard and buy myself an M - 1 at some point when I could. So when most kids were buying Pokemon cards and video games, I was saving my money up. A few years went by and I finally had enough to buy myself the rifle, but everywhere I looked, they either didn't have any or they were selling them for a crazy amount of money. I found MY rifle when I was traveling on a vacation with my family. I achieved my first goal when I picked up my rifle in Deland, Florida in 2008. I couldn't be happier with it. It was built by Springfield Armory and has a relatively low serial number. I believe that it was rebarreled in 1946 or 1948, I could never really distinguish. On top of the bolt housing, along with the other numbers, it looks like the number 426 was etched on. I have never seen another rifle with that and I'm curious on what it means. Out of all the rifles I own, the M - 1 is still my favorite to shoot and always draws attention at the range. About 7 years later I achieved my original goal. I found out last week that I will be stationed in Fort Campbell working with the 101st Airborne Division starting in June. I could not be more excited. If you have any information on the rifle, I always love learning more. Please comment!!!! Thaddeus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted January 10, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted January 10, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hink441 Posted January 11, 2015 Share #4 Posted January 11, 2015 Nice looking Garand. Your bolt was made in Italy by Breda. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted January 11, 2015 Wow thats neat! How can you tell it was made by Barretta? Any idea what era it would have been made in? Thaddeus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hink441 Posted January 11, 2015 Share #6 Posted January 11, 2015 Wow thats neat! How can you tell it was made by Barretta? Any idea what era it would have been made in? Thaddeus It was made by Breda, not a Barretta. It was probably made in the 1950s. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share #7 Posted January 11, 2015 I've never seen another bolt made by Breda. Is it very common? I guess after the Second World War the US donated a lot of rifles to the European countries. Thaddeus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ad82recon Posted January 11, 2015 Share #8 Posted January 11, 2015 And by serial number a late June 1943 production M1 Rifle Regards Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share #9 Posted January 11, 2015 Thank you Lloyd! I always wanted to know what year it was built in but never had the resources to. I wish I could find out more history on the rifle! Thanks again, Thaddeus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccyooper Posted January 11, 2015 Share #10 Posted January 11, 2015 Your rifle was most likely provided to the Danes after the war and it went thru one of their repair programs that is why it has the Italian bolt. They obtained new rifles and spare parts from the Italians in addition to the rifles provided by the US. What is interesting is that when it left Danish service the stock remained with it. While the stock is most likely not original to the rifle it has definitely been with the rifle a while because the serial number stamped in the bottom of it appears to match the serial number of the rifle. While not considered rare by any means it is somewhat uncommon to still see these matched up. Most were separated by importers prior to sale or during the inspection process prior to release by DCM/CMP and most of the time the stock numbers will not match the rifle. No big deal just another data point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share #11 Posted January 11, 2015 Thanks for the information ccyooper! Thaddeus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linedoggie Posted January 11, 2015 Share #12 Posted January 11, 2015 M1 - 4.jpg June-July 1943 manufacture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ad82recon Posted January 14, 2015 Share #13 Posted January 14, 2015 8-46 on the barrel....new barrel on it...barrel is august 1946 dated Regards LLoyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share #14 Posted January 14, 2015 I appreciate it LLoyd! Thats what I always thought but its got a small scratch or blemish that kind of makes it look like a 48. Thaddeus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ad82recon Posted January 14, 2015 Share #15 Posted January 14, 2015 I agree with ccyooper...I think your rifle is a Danish rebuild return.....nice looking rifle though...just needs a Lock Bar sight and your good to go Regards Lloyd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKYLINE DRIVE Posted February 3, 2015 Share #16 Posted February 3, 2015 That's a nice Garand with an interesting history! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share #17 Posted February 3, 2015 Thanks Skyline! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ashooter Posted February 3, 2015 Share #18 Posted February 3, 2015 You might want to vist if you haven't the CMP.org and check out their forum. As a vet you can add more M1's to your collection around $600 Yankee Dollars from the CMP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share #19 Posted February 4, 2015 I've seen the website before! It looks very good. I might get one more M-1 but I would want the numbers all matching. Thaddeus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thengr Posted February 5, 2015 Share #20 Posted February 5, 2015 Not much of a pic; but I have your close brother. Serial #1759044 June '43 I think. Barrel date 10-47. A Dane also. 12th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share #21 Posted February 5, 2015 Very cool! Thanks for sharing Thaddeus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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