How to Evaluate an M1 Rifle

Many times I’m asked, “how do if I know the rifle I’m looking at or intend to buy is complete, authentic or has all the right parts.” The two word answer is “you don’t”. “Ok,” you say, “how do I go about evaluating the rifle I’m about to buy?” Good question, The answer lies in education and experience! Buy the references that will increase your chances of knowing your subject, study them and get out into the crowd and take your lumps with the rest of us. My personal choice of references would be those turned out by Scott Duff followed by those of Bruce Canfield. If you are interested in the nitty gritty details and part numbers, Duff is your man. For a more relaxing read, Canfield is a great fireside book.

While the detailed answer(s) to the above questions would fill a fair sized book, there ARE some things that will increase your learning curve exponentially. One of these things is to find an experienced M1 Collector, befriend him (or her), buy your mentor a bottle or two of their favorite “hooch”, start a conversation on the subject of the M1 Rifle, then sit down and pay attention.

In the meantime, I will try to give you a few tips that will increase your chances of surviving your initial plunge into the pond without getting pneumonia or dying of hypothermia, even if you haven’t yet learned to walk on water.

When you are looking at an M1 you intend to add to your “stable” the easiest way to evaluate the piece is to take a tip from your medical friends. Look up the word “triage” in a medical dictionary. Quick and dirty, “triage” is a way to evaluate incoming patients (more especially in a situation with multiple patients swarming into a medical facility at the same time). The medical folks take a look at the incoming individuals and essentially decide who has the best chance of living and who is a cinch to “croak”! Those with the greatest chance to live are treated first, and those who are in worse shape are treated in descending order of their calculated survival chances. What you can do when picking out the M1 of your dreams is to essentially “triage” the rifles available to you at the time.

How would I go about this? Assuming that you are at a gun show and don’t have permission to take the action out of the stock, here’s the way I would approach the problem:

1. First I would check the serial number and manufacturer on the receiver. This will tell you whether it was made by one of four manufacturers; Springfield Armory, Winchester, International Harvester or Harrington & Richardson.
   
   

2. I would have at my fingertips, a list by month and year of the WWII M1 Rifles, and an assigned serial number range for the Post WWII Guns with contract dates. The WWII guns are much easier to pin down, as better records were kept of such things. The Post WWII guns are fairly easy to identify using a combination of serial number range, barrel manufacturer, barrel date, hints as to the probability of the gun being a rebuilt WWII or Korean era rifle. There are subtle hints from each era that can save you much time and grief if you know what to look for.
   
   

3. After I had discerned the manufacturer (easily done by the most casual observer – just look at the manufacturer on the “horseshoe” of the receiver), I would then check the serial number against my list.
   
   

4. I would then pull the operating rod to the rear and make sure it was locked (you don’t want an “M1 Thumb or Finger” here). A quick glance into the breech will allow you to view the aft end of the chamber. If the end of the barrel is shiny and bright, the rifle may have the original barrel still in the receiver. Rifles that have been refinished with the barrel still screwed into the receiver will have a dark or Parkerized finish to the breech end of the barrel matching the finish of the receiver. This doesn’t mean that the rifle doesn’t have all the original parts, but it will indicate that the rifle has been through some sort of a refinishing process. This process may have been done at one of the Government rebuild facilities or been privately done by someone who didn’t remove the barrel before refinishing the “barrel and receiver group”. If the barrel was still in good shape, they were often left in the receiver. On the other hand, some rifles that did go through the rebuild process may well have bright breeches, most especially if a well-worn barrel was replaced by the arsenal. Isn’t collecting M1s a marvelous (if sometimes mystifying) hobby?
   
   

5. If the breech has the darkened finish, it would be a tip-off to check the stock cartouches. If the original stock was left on the rifle during the “rebuild”, there should be an additional “circle P”, or a “plain P” stamped on the forward portion of the pistol grip either under or over the original acceptance proof (circle P) of the rifle. If the additional “P” is present, either the rifle or the stock has been through an arsenal rebuild process. Why would the stock go through the rebuild process without a rifle? The answer is that it wouldn’t, but may have been bought or acquired by someone looking for a nice looking stock for their rifle that may have sported a well worn stock. More on the stock cartouches is covered below.
   
   

6. With the Operating Rod in the rearward position you should be able to check out the barrel date that is normally covered by the operating rod on the right hand side of the barrel in the chamber area. The barrel dates are normally written in a format indicating the manufacturer and date the barrel was made (a – g below are generalizations, and actual barrel inscriptions vary! I cannot emphasize too strongly, get yourself a good book):

a)     S-A-2-43 (Springfield Armory mfg. In February 1943) Drawing numbers for the WWII Springfield barrels are under the upper handguard. Early barrels may have the date stamped upside down.

b)     SA (Drawing number) 9  54 (1950s Springfield Armory barrel mfg. in September 1954).

c)      W Proof Mark on side of barrel  (Winchester Barrels normally not dated, and the WRA drawing number is on the top of barrel under the handguard).

d)     HRA (followed by drawing number) and date 12-55 (HRA Barrel dated December 1955).

e)     LMR* (followed by drawing number) 11  55 (LMR barrels were the more or less standard barrel for the IHC Rifles). The LMR barrels were mfg. by Line Materials Corporation of Birmingham, Alabama and even occasionally used by manufacturers of other rifles. The asterisk following the LMR simulates a “punch mark” added to each barrel indicating a firing proof. Original equipment LMR Barrels will (almost) always have this pin punch mark. Barrels without the pin punch are usually replacement barrels.

f)        During WWII a program was in place to test the interchangeability of parts between Springfield and Winchester. Thus it IS possible to find some WWII rifles that are correct with Springfield parts (most especially barrels) on Winchester Rifles and vice versa. Be careful here though, as this information is almost a license for a forger to turn out “gen-u-wine” originals that “ain’t”! Enlist the services of a real expert on one of these rather than placing your faith in your fellow man!  

g)     To add further confusion to the equation, LMR Barrels were sometimes used as original equipment on H&R and Springfield Rifles.  

7. Once I had accomplished the above inspection, I would start from the muzzle down to complete my inspection of the rifle.
   
   

8. I would check the muzzle for dings, dents and bruises. If the muzzle is pristine, I would look at the gas cylinder. If it is a WWII gun and has not been rebuilt, I would expect the gas cylinder to be getting a bit thin on finish, since most of the early gas cylinders were finished with baked-on black enamel paint – this finish is prone to wear off and the gas cylinders tend to be a bit shiny. Some WWII gas cylinders were slit (or sawed) either straight across or on an angle to salvage loose gas cylinders.
   
   

9. Gas cylinder locks were of the rounded and unhardened variety with a slight rearward bevel on top of the lock. Some (but not all) late WWII gas cylinder locks may be hardened and perfectly round to enable the use of rifle grenades. Most WWII gas cylinder lock screws will be of the single slot design, with possible exceptions for the hardened gas cylinder locks which may have the cruciform screw with poppet valve. The exact date of the incorporation of the hardened “round” lock is unknown, and this configuration is unusual. Check with your duty expert on this one.
   
   

10. Korean era M1s had the hardened “high humped” (grenade launching) gas cylinder locks on them. Korean era M1s also had the gas cylinder lock screw of the “poppet valve” (cruciform/crossed slots vice the earlier single slotted lock screws) variety for launching rifle grenades. Some (but not necessarily all) of the WWII “lock-bar sights” were being replaced in the early 1950s. By about 1955 most (if not all) of the earlier “lock bar sights” had been replaced by the later “T105E1” sight.
    
    

11. Some WWII receivers will appear to be two-toned in color. This is due to a field expedient annealing process to eliminate cracked receivers encountered by launching rifle grenades prior to the adoption of the spring loaded cruciform gas cylinder lock screws. The annealing process was accomplished by dipping the receiver heel into molten lead.  
    
    

12.  If the rifle is a Springfield Armory, and is in the 5,XXX,XXX + range, I would check the left side of the barrel (between the rings of the gas cylinder) for a possible “NM” stamp, indicating a National Match Rifle (careful here, some forgers will either fake the NM mark, or screw a new NM barrel into the receiver). The “NM” (if present) should simply be a “tip off” to look for other things on the rifle.
    
    

13. If the rifle is a 5 digit serial # or lower, check to see if you are looking at a “Gas Trap” M1 (hardly likely, but still...) or more likely a converted Gas Trap rifle.
    
    

14.   Make a quick check to see if the handguards seem to match the butt stock in color and wood... i.e., no “Birch” hand guards with a walnut stock, etc. These usually indicate a “put together” or even an arsenal rebuild.
    
    

15. Check the handguard bands. Extremely early handguard bands will be milled with a groove in them. Later upper WWII bands will probably be “forged and rounded” with the rear band flat and stamped. Winchester bands are usually more crudely milled than their Springfield counterparts. Late WWII Springfield Rifles will have both upper and lower bands flat and stamped, while Winchester used the forged and rounded forward band throughout production.
    
    

16. Study the books to see which rifles should have a “slant cut” (and probably rounded) operating rod contour, and file this little piece of information in your memory banks, or put it on your “cheat sheets”.
    
    

17. Check to see if the number and letter sequence on the bolt match the manufacturer (WRA for Winchester, SA for Springfield, IHC for International, and H&R for Harrington & Richardson.
    
    

18. Now check the stock itself. Check the cartouche (inspector’s stamp). Most WWII inspector’s stamps will be aft of the rear sight on the left hand side of the stock, and will have the initials of a specific inspector with the mfg.’s initials [SA or WRA] initials underneath them (you need a good reference book for this one). A few of the early IHCs (Post WWII Guns) will simply have the “crossed cannon & ordnance wheel” on the right side of the stock, with a few stamped on the left side (go figure?).
    
    The so-called “Defense Acceptance Stamp” was approved as a replacement for the old stock cartouches in late 1952, but was not actually used until a year later. After (approximately) November/December 1953, the standard cartouche for the M1 Rifle was the Defense Acceptance Stamp. The DAS was simply an eagle with spread wings sitting over three stars and surrounded by a box. The stamp was 1/2” in size for Springfields and IHCs. Early H&Rs used a 3/8” DAS, later switching to a standard 1/2” stamp.  If the gun is not a rebuild, it should have a (single) simple “circle P” (for proof testing) stamped on the front of the pistol grip. Rebuilt rifles may have more than one of these stamped with or without the circle on the front of the grip.

    Rifles rebuilt in the early 1950s will often have an “SA” stamped above an “F” or an “RA” with a simple 3/4 box around the “SA” leaving the bottom open. This stamp is usually much further aft of the normal cartouche location, essentially under the comb of the stock on the left hand side. Most of the early M1Ds rebuilds, (all M1Ds are technically rebuilds), have this 3/4 box cartouche, but it is often covered up by the leather cheek piece.

    Winchester stocks will have a slightly different contour, and of course, a different cartouche. 

    IHC stocks have a rounded, “dished in” radius on the right rear of the stock (next to the right side of the horseshoe). Original IHC stocks will have a number sequence stamped in the barrel channel of the stock, something no other manufacturer will have! The letters (if present) indicate the manufacturer of the stock (usually “OR” for Overton Rifle stock) and some sort of “Julian-type Date” indicating when it was manufactured.  No one has this exactly locked in.  But... correct IHC stocks DO have a four digit number sequence stamped into the barrel channel. Usually the first three digits are thought to indicate the day of the year, with the final digit indicating the year (for instance, 0094 would indicate a stock manufactured on the 9^th day of 1954). Sometimes these numbers indicate an impossible date, so the jury is still out on this one.  Rumor control says that a few IHCs have a stock w/o the numbers but with a DAS and a circle P with serifs... Anything is possible, but if in doubt, check with the experts!
    
    

19. OK, now it’s time to take a look at the trigger guard. If it is an original (early) WWII Springfield, it should have the milled trigger guard with the hole in the rear of the trigger guard. If it is VERY early (gas trap era), the aft hole will have annular rings around it (supposedly to aid in grasping the guard for disassembly). Springfield Armory changed to the stamped trigger guard in about 1944, but all Winchester trigger guards should be of the milled variety!
    
    

20. Now check the butt plate. Winchester butt plates seem to have a more defined border around the checkering.
    
    

21.  If the rifle is an extremely early example, it may not even have the hinged butt plate cap on it allowing the individual to stow the cleaning gear in the butt well of the rifle. These are extremely rare, and should tell you that the rifle warrants closer examination.
    
    

These are all (well, almost all) things that you can do without disassembling the rifle, and with a little practice, it can be done in less than five minutes. As to what markings each of the individual parts should have, you will have to disassemble the rifle in some detail to find out the appropriate information. This is something you would not care to or be allowed to do at the average gun show. If you find something really interesting using the above guidelines, it will warrant a little “arm wrestling” between you and the current owner as to whether he (or she) will allow you to take the action out of the stock.  It’s at this point that you can check for such things as drawing numbers or rebuild “electro-penciling” marks on the right receiver leg, and of course check for the manufacturer of an IHC Rifle (SA/H&R/IHC) by checking the right receiver leg.

If you are simply looking for a receiver on which to build your dream rifle, then it’s a little easier. Here the finish will be less important (you’ll probably have the whole thing refinished anyway), the condition of the bore will probably be of little interest (if you are gonna’ install a match barrel), and if you are going to put a match stock on it, you won’t be concerned with any cartouche marks. In this case, you simply want a sound receiver, and all the necessary working parts.

The above suggestions are simply guidelines and don’t touch on the intricacies of exactly which numbered part belongs on each rifle – these are things that you will learn by studying the appropriate reference books listed above.  ...AND a bit of study will save you lots of heartache later on. Take notes and carry a couple of “cheat sheets” with you to the gunshows or gun shops. Annnd.... don’t forget a bottle of Wild Turkey (Rare Breed) for your favorite M1 Guru!

Best regards,

Dick (E-mail)