Did HRA have a contract for replacement M1 barrels?

[TomM1]

Found an HRA barrel dated 3-52. Drawing number is on top of barrel - not on side like all other HRA barrels I have seen.

Seems too early for the 4.66M HRA rifles - in my thinking

Was it part of a Korean war replacement barrel contract I have'nt heard about before?

Any ideas???

[2111]

As per Scott Duff "Barrel Usage on New M1 Rifle Production 1952 - 1957, Part 3 - HRA" found in GCA Journal.

"Many rifles in the serial number range from 4662500 through 46635xx have HRA 1951 and 1952 dated barrels with most dated during 1952"

HRA did have a 1951 contract to manufacture replacement barrels. Wayne Bradford posted some time ago on this forum stating that the above mentioned barrels found on the 4.66 rifles were from the replacement barrel contract

[TomM1]

Thanks for info.

Need to pull out the two 4.66 HRAs in my collection, but memory (possibly fadeing) tells me they are early 1953 barrels.

Pics of the mentioned barrel can be seen here:

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthre...rly-HRA-barrel

I dont know how to post pics here, if anyone wants to post them to this thread, feel free to.

[Dan Shapiro]

Yep, HRA had a replacement barrel contract before they got the M1 contract, along with IHC. "Government thinking" was that they wanted to disburse gun-making abilities (concentrated in the NE US) because of the possibility of nuclear war. So naturally when it came time to choose new manufacturers, one of those chosen (H&R) was in the NE US. Like I said, "government thinking".

[Redleg]

Also, there is a batch of the 4-52 HRA barrels that appeared on the very last of the HRA Garands produced. The so called "floor sweepings models".
I have a high #--in the last 800 serial #'s produced, and it has a new 4-52 bbl.

The receiver finish, bbl and stock, are quite similar to the unissued HRA Garands, that the CMP unveiled a while back.
Mine was sold as an "incorrect" Service Grade gun, before the rest were found, I guess.
It is probably still an "incorrect" gun.
Oh well.

[bd1]

Anybody know whether HRA was making any replacement small parts in '51-'52? I picked up a very fine '51 rebuild of a SA WW II Garand from another member here. The only part I've spotted on it that isn't original SA April-May '44 or consistent with SA parts generally supplied during the time of rebuild is a HRA T105E elevation pinion. It works too well to swap out for "correctness" so I guess I'm just curious.