M1 oddity

[Mongo59]

A while back I went to my fav LGS and the owner was smiling like a jackass chewing on briars. I knew he had something special and he handed me a Garand, not to impressive at first glance. I looked at the back of the receiver and it was a postage stamp IHC. Pulled back the bolt and the barrel was a '53 LMR.

Now it is getting interesting.

Pulled the trigger group and all the parts are IHC, even the safety. The swedging on the stacking screw is indicative of IHC, the op rod and front site was also IHC. The barrel was Belgian proofed and the stock had a Julian date stamped inside with all the appropriate cartouches on the outside. It had notable wear to the barrel finish from having a bayonet attached and the barrel gauged to TE 2.5 and MW 3+. This thing was all legit for having been together it's whole life unmolested which, in itself, makes it quite the rarity.

But here is the strange part, it is import marked! If it were a Belgian return through the CMP it would not have an import mark and I was of the impression that all Belgian M1's were lend/lease that had to be returned.

Of course I made a trade and brought it home with me. The person who sold it gave no history. Everything mic's out and it is wanting for nothing. The wood is dark and oily and the furniture's hardware has been buffed to where no finish is visible but a lot of scratch marks are. Even the butt plate is correct!

My question to the more knowledgeable than myself is: what could possibly be the reason to have an original gun which has been shot probably 2-3000 times with a bayonet attached for a good portion of it's life doing back in America with an import mark? The barrel is bright so I would not think it was used for firing blanks for say funeral details and the Belgians are known for maintenance and new parts...

Pics to follow

 

[Mongo59]

 

[TheJoker]

Sounds like a good score! The IHC rifles were built in the 1950s. I think that would rule out lend lease which ended with WWII. Through the MAP program, M1 rifles were loaned to allies all over the world. MAP program rifles were supposed to be returned; but, that wasn't always the case.

I found this info on the CMP Forum...perhaps your rifle was a similar situation:

"In the fall of 1998 a total of 59,772 M1s were disposed of by Denmark. 17,827 were returned to the U,S Army and 41,945 sold to a company called Topmark. Of the 41,945 sold to Topmark 28,249 were of U.S. manufacture, the others Breda or Beretta. Originally Denmark had contracted to sell all of there M1s to Topmark but then the government realized that around 20,000 rifles were actually on loan from the U.S. and had to be returned. Luckily the guns had yet to be delivered to Topmark and the contract was changed.
Topmark sold the rifles wholesale to companies in the U.S., Canada, Germany and Switzerland."

"As I said this is only my guess. Also, I have no idea if Denmark returned the actual rifles that had been loaned to them by the U.S. or just 17,827 M1 rifles, without regard to serial numbers. If that is the case, the best we can say is that your rifle is one that is in the group Denmark considered to be "purchased" and not "loaned" by the U.S. "

 

[Mongo59]

Another point, if you look at the third pic down at the top left of the receiver there is a larger dot with three dots under it. This is also stamped on the bolt but I am not sure about the rest of the parts. I have never seen this before. The ordinance mark is there far to the right on the stock but does not show well in this pic.

Like I said, if you were first handed this you would go, "meh"...

 

[Mongo59]

Sounds like a good score! The IHC rifles were built in the 1950s. I think that would rule out lend lease which ended with WWII. Through the MAP program, M1 rifles were loaned to allies all over the world. MAP program rifles were supposed to be returned; but, that wasn't always the case.

I found this info on the CMP Forum...perhaps your rifle was a similar situation:

"In the fall of 1998 a total of 59,772 M1s were disposed of by Denmark. 17,827 were returned to the U,S Army and 41,945 sold to a company called Topmark. Of the 41,945 sold to Topmark 28,249 were of U.S. manufacture, the others Breda or Beretta. Originally Denmark had contracted to sell all of there M1s to Topmark but then the government realized that around 20,000 rifles were actually on loan from the U.S. and had to be returned. Luckily the guns had yet to be delivered to Topmark and the contract was changed.
Topmark sold the rifles wholesale to companies in the U.S., Canada, Germany and Switzerland."

As I said this is only my guess. Also, I have no idea if Denmark returned the actual rifles that had been loaned to them by the U.S. or just 17,827 M1 rifles, without regard to serial numbers. If that is the case, the best we can say is that your rifle is one that is in the group Denmark considered to be "purchased" and not "loaned" by the U.S. "

Excellent point there Joker. I will have to look into this more closely.

 

[rob63]

I found this thread on the CMP forums regarding British proofed rifles like yours (BNP stands for British Nitro Proof) that were imported. The consensus seems to be that they came from Germany, but it's not conclusive.

The final posting in the thread fwiw:

"In researching the West German connection it seems that around 46,000 M1's went to west Germany around 1955."

M1 Garand with British proofs - CMP Forums

M1 Garand with British proofs M1 Garand

forums.thecmp.org

 

[Mongo59]

I found this thread on the CMP forums regarding British proofed rifles like yours (BNP stands for British Nitro Proof) that were imported. The consensus seems to be that they came from Germany, but it's not conclusive.

The final posting in the thread fwiw:

"In researching the West German connection it seems that around 46,000 M1's went to west Germany around 1955."

M1 Garand with British proofs - CMP Forums

M1 Garand with British proofs M1 Garand

forums.thecmp.org

Interesting. There sure are a lot of possibilities out there.

If the .gov wants to do anything constructive to guns, they should install a voice box...