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THE U.S. Rifle .30 Cal M 1

M1 Sniper Rifles
There are two variations of Sniper M1 Garands that were approved by the Army. The first is the M1C which was officially adopted in November 1944 and saw limited use in WW II, and the M1D, developed in conjunction with the M1C, but was not adopted until after the war. The major difference between the two is in the method of attaching the scope. The M1C has a mount, which is pinned and screwed to the left side of the receiver. The M1D uses a barrel sleeve, which the scope mount is attached to. The M1D did not require alteration to the rifle’s receiver, and this was considered desirable. Contrary to legend, the sniper versions of the M1 rifle were not specially selected for accuracy. They were regular production rifles usually converted to M1C or M1D specifications. The primary scope used on The M1D is the M84, a 2.5 power scope, the alternate scope seen is the Weaver K4 (post reticle). The K4 was a 1960s era 4-power commercial replacement telescopic sight primarily used by the Reserves and Nation Guard. The K4 required the use of special 1-inch mounts. The rare M1C usually used the M73 “Lyman Alaskan” or the M82, later the M84 was retrofitted to many M1Cs. M1 sniper rifles can be found with a conical flash hider that attaches to the bayonet lug or a pronged flash suppressor that replaces the gas piston lock. M1 Sniper rifles were used by the US and it’s allies for many years. These rifles were sold surplus by foreign governments in small quantities in the 1980s and 1990s. The Civilian Marksmanship Program also sold these rifles, some in excellent condition. As with any collectable rifle, some M1D sniper rifles have been assembled by civilians with U.S.G.I. or commercial parts. Parts guns should not command the premiums prices for genuine specimens.

From top to bottom, Commercial Springfield Armory M1, Springfield Armory 1943 vintage M1, Korean War era Springfield Armory M1D, Korean War rebuild of 1942 vintage Springfield Armory M1

National Match M1 Rifles
In 1954, The Army Marksmanship Team was interested in using the M1 rifle for the National Match high power rifle competition at Camp Perry, Ohio. Springfield Armory met the need by producing specially hand fitted service grade rifles. Ultimately, special hooded sights, stocks, gas cylinders and operating rods were produced and marked “NM” and used to build accurate National Match M1 Rifles. Original National Match M1 rifles bring a premium price from collectors. Service Grade rifles can be found with one or more NM parts added. These are not true NM rifles and should not command a premium price.

“Reweld” and Commercial M1 Rifles
During the 1960s the U.S. Government began to destroy unserviceable and surplus M1 rifles. The scrap was sold through surplus channels and some enterprising gunsmiths welded receiver halves together and assembled complete rifles. These were called “rewelds”. They can usually be detected by the weld between the front and rear of the receiver. They have no collector value. Depending on the quality of the job, most function just fine.

Commercial M1s are M1 rifles using military parts assembled on aftermarket receivers. National Ordnance produced commercial receivers for M1 rifles in the 1960s, these can be occasionally encountered today.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Springfield Armory, Inc in Illinois (not the U.S. Government Springfield Armory in Mass.) produced a commercial M1 rifle using a newly manufactured receiver and barrel. These are the best quality commercial M1s produced to date. The company was already famous for it’s M1A (a semi auto commercial copy of the U.S. rifle M14). Springfield Armory, Inc produced commercial Standard Grade, National Match heavy barrel, and M1D versions. They are easily identified by the serial number range (7,000,000) and the trademark on the rear of the receiver.

Due to the numbers of parts kits available, a well-known surplus arms company, Century Arms International, has assembled M1 rifles on commercial receivers. These rifles are currently on the market and their quality has sparked debate. Some of these rifles function normally, however, some owners have reported mechanical problems. Under no circumstance should an M1 rifle assembled on a commercial receiver be considered a collectors’ item. M1 rifles built on commercial receivers were created for the civilian marketplace. Their value is for shooting only. A list of U.S.G.I. and commercial manufacturers is listed below.

7.62NATO/.308 Win M1 Rifles and “Tanker Garands”
The US Navy did have some M1 rifles converted to 7.62 NATO in the early 1960s. Some of these rifles have made it to civilian hands. More common are rifles fitted with a chamber insert to convert a 30-06 barrel to 7.62 NATO. This was a bad idea at the time and should be avoided today. The insert has a bad habit of being ejected with a spent cartridge and the next 7.62 NATO round then goes into a 30-06 chamber, with disastrous headspace problems.

Many M1 rifles have been converted by civilian gunsmiths to 7.62 NATO/.308 Win using newly manufactured barrels. These conversions are usually of very high quality and result in an accurate and reliable rifle.

The T26 was a Springfield Armory attempt to provide paratroops with a shorter M1 rifle. Although it has gained the nickname “Tanker Garand” it was not designed for armored vehicle crews. The project never progressed beyond the prototype stage and no T26 rifles were released to the public. Surplus arms companies and individual gunsmiths converted the examples of “Tanker Garands” in private hands today. The short “Tanker Garands” were created for the civilian market. In 30-06 the short rifles have rather harsh recoil but in 7.62 NATO they are more manageable. Usually, these rifles are well liked by their owners who desire the qualities of an M1 rifle in a more compact package.

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