rs51085 136 Posted June 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 What's garand thumb? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fallschirmjager667 729 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 What's garand thumb? you'll find out one day when you are loading enbloc clips into the gun 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Arik 565 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 What's garand thumb? you'll find out one day when you are loading enbloc clips into the gun Or when youre cleaning it or inspecting it! Garands have 2 positions for bolt hold open. 1st is all the way back when last round is fired. The 2nd is when i insert the E block. At that point the bolt will come forward slightly and will need a light palm tap on the charging handle to fully close. When youre inspecting the rifle make sure that the bolt is ALL THE WAY BACK, your other hand is holding the charging handle firmly and you dont finger fuck the internal machinism to hard. (Mostly done with thumb) if yoi forget all of this the bolt will slam forward with force and close on your rhumb. If youre lucky it will only hurt for a day or two. If youre unlucky youll break your thumb or cause some other serious injury to it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storm6490 2,768 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Come on! It's M1 Thumb! LOL! Make sure not to shoot it much or you dad will be screwed out of a really cool fathers day gift. Looks like you got a really good deal from a really good guy. Congrats! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrThunder88 912 Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Yep, when it comes to M1s and thumbs, it's usually once bitten, twice smarter! If you keep your fingers extended on the right side of the rifle while pushing in clips or the follower with your thumb, even a well worn Garand will be unable to unexpectedly close its bolt on you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
U.S. Pratorean 1,234 Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) Yep, when it comes to M1s and thumbs, it's usually once bitten, twice smarter! If you keep your fingers extended on the right side of the rifle while pushing in clips or the follower with your thumb, even a well worn Garand will be unable to unexpectedly close its bolt on you. What you gotta do is this: position your hand like you are saluting, depress the follower with your thumb and at the same time keep the heel and little finger of the same hand against the the cocking handle. When you depress the follower the handle will release but your heel/finger will keep the bolt from slamming home. Practice this alot and then when loading a mag your thumb will rest on the loaded clip instead of the follower. Also the Garand op rop IS slightly bent. It is made that way. Check to see if the cocking handle has a relief cut in it. It most probably does not if not, get one that is. A non cut rod is WW2 issue and I would keep it for historical purposes but most were changed out to cut rods due to non cut rods prone to breakage. 99.9% of all ww2 Garands are comprised of different parts because of various U.S. armory rehab. Usually the barrel and receiver stay together. If your numbers match on the other parts and I bet they don't It is worth $$$$. Lastly check the date and proofs on the barrel it should be the original with the receiver and dated to match. They are superb rifles. Edited June 13, 2012 by U.S Praetorian 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs51085 136 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 us praetorian, can you tell me a little more or show me some pictures of where the relief cut you are talking about is? i'm not sure which one is on the gun? also i really don't understand how to match the numbers up on the parts to the serial number. Are the numbers on the barrel supposed to match the serial number? i will have to do some more research. also ill take some better pictures and maybe someone will be able to tell me more about it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
U.S. Pratorean 1,234 Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) The numbers on the barrel will not match the receiver but it does have a date, proof marks. The date should match the receiver range date. You have to look that up. Here are some things to look at. Springfield parts will be marked SA. The receiver number is on the back the part designation # is under the front op handle lip. The parts are all stamped with a number they won't match because it is a different part but the #'s should be close in series and end with SA, if it is all Springfield. The top op rod handle is not cut the bottom is. The trigger group is HRA, Harrington & Richards not SA. Edited June 13, 2012 by U.S Praetorian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs51085 136 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 (edited) ok so i just learned how to break this thing apart. and here it goes with the numbers RECEIVER - 3757xxx puts it somewhere in 1945 BARREL - D6535448 45 MD 34 SA 12 52 ? BOLT - D28287-19 SA A-8 TRIGGER SET - D28290-12-SA RECEIVER SIDE - D28291 35 OP ROD - 6535382 SA none are the same but they are all Springfield parts. the numbers are close in series except for barrel and op rod. the op rod is notched but is bent a little. here is a pic of the op rod. Edited June 13, 2012 by rogers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs51085 136 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 a better pic of the rifle. honestly i am a little concerned about the rod being bent, don't really know if this is really bad. do i need a new one? how much? should i just return it? It doesn't rub or bind when rack the action. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
U.S. Pratorean 1,234 Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 The best I can tell from the info is: The barrel is not WW2 but Korea conflict era. It was made in Dec. 1952 and most likely rebarreled for that conflict. Not uncommon. Check for mirror bore or frostiness in appearance since corrosive was used then. The bolt and trigger housing is WW2 era but came after the SN on the receiver. They are not the original pieces. The hammer, trigger and safety are also numbered but most likely came with that group. The receiver is WW2 also but like I mentioned it is very rare to have a WW2 M1 with all correct numbering as many were refitted after the war. Lastly, I mentioned the OP rod is suppossed to be bent they are made that way. Put it in the action without the wood and you will see why. It goes from thicker at receiver end to tapering upward toward to the muzzle. It is also not original to the gun, most likely Korean era. If the rifling is sharp and the bore mirror finish and the rest of the gun tight and bolt face is good as is headspacing $800 is a good price but if bore is dark, rifling worn and no-go gauge fits (worst case scenario) , depending on varying degree of barrel condition $400-650. I have an International Harvester M1 that has all matching numbers that were originally made with the gun and the barrel like new BUT the IHC m1's were made for the Korean conflict but never saw action so it is like new. I also have a late Springfield Armory and a WW2 Winchester but the parts are not original to the guns but each match their respective parts from the era. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shandlanos 1,470 Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 No offense, but your prices are several years out of date. If it is a functional rifle without missing parts, there's hardly such a thing as a sub-$600 M1 Garand. Rack-grade CMP Garands with no finish left and some pretty nasty throat erosion are going for $600. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
U.S. Pratorean 1,234 Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 None taken. That was just a range estimate that I personally would pay meaning if the barrel was totalled and needed a new one I would not pay more than $500 because once you replace the barrel you will be back in the range you're thinking of and there are plenty with good barrels available. The OP's provided gun pics looks like it is probably in pretty good shape. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs51085 136 Posted June 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Got some more pics if I can figure out how to srink them. As for the rifleing it is strong and brite. I also did a bullet test in the muzzle and it stopped about an 1/8th of an inch from the casing so I think it is around a 3 maybe? When I had it torn down I did not notice any excessive wear on any of the parts so I think it will shoot really well now that I understand that the op rod is supposed to be bent. Seeing as I only paid 700 hundred for it I fell like I got a great deal. Thanks again for all of the very valuable information, I appreciate it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rs51085 136 Posted June 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 My dad loved it. He ended up showing me a lot about how to shoot and handle the rifle he learned in the marines. So no garand thumb here! The gun shot great with no problems. Thanks every body for helping me make this happen. Here is a pic of the old man shooting it. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrThunder88 912 Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Sounds like a you got a good one, and Garands are great to begin with! Congrats! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storm6490 2,768 Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Awesome! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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