Another Springfield 1922 M2

[lawndart]

Hello all. I've inherited my father's 1922 M2. Over the years its lost its rear Lyman sight and magazine. I've talked to Gary Feller about the rear sight. Any company make a repro mag better than another? I know of SARCO and Numrich.

A lil about the rifle. It's receiver is blued, not parkarized, but there aren't any re-armorer(?) prefixes or suffixes. The stock is lacquered. My grandfather supposedly got it for my dad. He served in WWII and Korea. He and my dad lived in Occupied Germany for a bit as well as the Mainland (Paterson NJ) and Hawaii. Where he actually got the M2 I have no idea.

There are two pairs of drilled and tapped holes one pair forward and aft of the action. Forward of the action states: US Springfield Armory CAL.22 M2 2XXX.

Bottom of the bolt is hand engraved 2XXX, number matching the number on top of the receiver.

No armory markings on the stock. Its lacquered and the receiver and barrel are blued. Markings in front of the front blade sight is 3-33.

I'd love to get this rifle up and shooting. My dad would be proud.

Thank you for your help.

[JimF]

About the holes " . . . . forward and aft of the action. . . ."

Is one pair on the front of the receiver . . . where the lettering is . . . while the other pair are further forward, out on the barrel?

Is the trough that the bolt rides fore-and-aft in blued or bright (in the white)?

Is the butt plate "heavy" looking, or thin with an over-hanging tang on top of the heel of the butt?

Are there grasping grooves in the sides of the forend? --Jim

[lawndart]

One pair is where the lettering is and the second pair is back where the bold stem/root is. The forestock has grasping grooves and the butt plate is thin with an over hang. The trough i believe is blued.

[JimF]

OK . . . .

It sounds like a "Service" model that was "civilian" drilled-and-tapped for a scope and then re-blued.

My money is on it being a "service" model--- heavily "civilianised".

Too bad, as it was once a valuable rifle! --Jim

[lawndart]

too bad, i really have no plans on selling it, since it was my father's i consider it priceless.

[Jeff L]

Welcome to the Model 1922 club, it is very small as not many were made. I'm sure Herschel could tell you which sight you need. Then you could post an ad on the For Sale/ Wanted board. You can search places like Gunbroker.com which might give you a rough sense of how much they will cost. Pay attention to what actual bids are, not the starting price as sometimes they are too high (no bids). You'll have fun shooting it. Nice to know it's staying in the family.

cheers

-Jeff L

[jansan]

Lawndart,

You still do have a valuable rifle! I've been recording barrel dates and serial numbers for M2 rifles and your S/N 2XXX rifle with a 3-33 dated barrel is close to S/N 2092 also with a 3-33 date, which is an Issue (military style) rifle. I think it's the original barrel.

The sight you need is a 125 pt. Lyman 48 C, sometimes referred to as a "short slide" sight. They came in two forms, with and without a slot milled into the base to accommodate the stripper clip needed for 1903 .30 cal. Springfield National Match and other target rifles. Either form is correct for an M2 .22 cal. Springfield rifle as it is magazine fed.

I have no direct experience with SARCO and Numrich reproduction magazines, but from what I've read, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. The better bet is to look for an original Springfield Armory magazine stamped "M2."

Check this board for a Private Message I'm going to send to you. I may have a single source solution.




Joe

[Herschel]

Lawndart, I agree with what Jansan has said about your rifle and the parts needed. The Lyman 48C sights show up frequently on ebay and gunbroker. You can expect to pay $125 to $150 for a decent one. Be sure and get the one with the elevation slide numbered to 125. Later Lyman 48 sights have the elevation slide numbered to 60. These will have a smaller base. To mount one on your rifle would leave an ugly gap beneath the base. I have heard nothing good about the aftermarket M2 magazines. The M2 magazines show up frequently on the internet auctions mentioned above. Be sure to get one marked M2 on the upper left side. Those without the M2 stamp are for the 1922M1 and may or may not feed reliably in an M2. The 1922M1 and the M2 magazines look exactly alike so look for the M2 stamp. You can expect to pay $100 or so for one.

Since the receiver has been drilled and tapped for modern scope mount bases, there is a possibility that the bolt has been altered to clear a scope ocular bell. These were sometimes modified by grinding away part of the bolt and sometimes by bending the bolt. Since your rifle has a correctly numbered bolt I hope the handle has not been modified.

Your rifle would have originally been equipped with the early M2 type bolt. It is easily recognized by the locking lug. It will look exactly like the safety lug on a 1903. Most bolts in the 1922M1 and early M2 rifles were replaced with the later type M2 bolt which will have a rectangular locking lug with a round bearing surface on the back where it fits against the receiver when the bolt is closed.

[stars-n-bars]

Here is another one to critique!!!!

[Weasel]

Here is another one to critique!!!!

OUCH!!!!!!!