The drawing number was preceded by a letter, A, B, C or D which related to the size of the part's engineering drawing.

For instance, the drawing number for the original M1 Receiver was D28921. The "D" indicated that the engineering drawing was done on a 22 by 34 sheet of paper and the number was a sequential value assigned to the part; the Alphanumeric designation served to identify both the part and its drawing in case a problem arose in manufacture or use and the part needed to be redesigned or in any other way altered.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnjxnwCRz5k

In succeeding years, as engineering and manufacturing changes were made to any part, the drawing number was modified by a sequential suffix, i.e., -1, -2 etc. The M1 receiver was altered 43 times during its period of manufacture.

Sub-contractors building the M1 were also required to follow this same practice. Those receivers manufactured by Winchester were marked either with the suffix "-2" or "WIN-13." Post-World War II Garands manufactured by outside contractors International Harvester and Harrington & Richardson used the part number "D652891-42" through "-N" and "652891" through "D-652891-E."

For the collector, these numbers and their suffixes make it possible to determine the receiver's period of manufacture. For instance, a receiver with the serial number 1,823,965 and a drawing number D28291-29 would have been manufactured at the Springfield National Armory between July and August 1944, in the serial range 1,765,200 to 1,900,000.

Of course, it is possible to check the serial number stamped on the back of the receiver to determine the period of manufacture. But in the 1950s and 1960s when M1 Garands were very scarce collector's items, receivers that had been demilitarized -- cut or torched in half -- and sold for scrap metal, were rewelded by enterprising gunsmiths and reassembled as original rifles. By comparing the drawing number and the serial number, you can go a very long way quickly toward eliminating the possibility that a particular rifle is one of the "dreaded" (to a collector) rewelds.

Barrels

The drawing number in combination with the serial number also makes it possible to validate other parts as original or replacement. For instance, the vast majority of M1 Garand barrels were also marked with part numbers and dated. A barrel dated "8-44" on our s/n #1,823,965 receiver would be correct but not if its drawing numbers was D35448W.R.A. The drawing number indicates that the barrel was made by Winchester. And since Winchester did not date their World War II barrels, someone has obviously added the date in an effort to mislead.

The problem of matching correct barrels and receivers becomes trickier after late 1944. As a stockpile of barrels was slowly built up, we find that barrel dates can lag at least three months behind. A Springfield M1 Garand receiver manufactured and serial numbered in January 1945 could have had an original barrel installed that was manufactured as early as October, 1944.

Serial numbers and "drawing" number validation can be applied to other parts of the rifle such as the trigger housing. There are fifteen variations of the trigger housing manufactured by Springfield, five manufactured by Winchester during World War II, two by International Harvester and only one by Harrington & Richardson after World War II. Differences are fairly minor but of great importance when restoring an M1 Garand.

The trigger housing, like most other parts in the M1 Garand has a drawing number but not a serial number. The correct trigger housing for our hypothetical M1 Garand, serial # 1,823,965 would show drawing number D28290-12-SA indicating that it was the twelfth change made to the trigger housing and was manufactured at the Springfield National Armory. Trigger housings with this drawing number were installed on all M1 Garands manufactured at Springfield between circa serial numbers 1,010,000 to 3,300,00. Its distinguishing characteristics are a cloverleaf-shaped hole in the upper left side and a raised area of metal called a "pad" near the top left edge and directly under the top arm of the safety.

One other consideration in selecting a proper barrel concerns shooting. If you plan to shoot your M1 Garand and want an accurate barrel, you need to select one that hasn't been "shot out." You can perform a quick check without expensive gages using a .30-06 cartridge. Insert the bullet into the muzzle. The rifling should grip the bullet tightly while leaving a 1/16 inch gap between the rifling and the neck of the brass cartridge case. If the case touches the end of the muzzle, then the bore is gone, and with it, accuracy.

Rear Sights

What about the rear sights. Collectors are always fussing about the rear sights on the M1 Garand. The rear sight assembly has five parts you need to worry about 1) aperture, 2) base, 3) cover, 4) windage knob and 5) elevation knob and pinion. For both the windage (A) and elevation knobs (B) which are the most important elements.

How do you know your rifle has the correct rear sight particularly when you realize that neither drawing number nor the serial number was marked on the individual parts. Basically, there are four combinations of these parts to make the rear sight and they are distinguished primarily, but not completely, by the way the windage knob was manufactured and secured. In the early rear sight, the windage knob could be removed by screwing out the windage knob flush nut. Soldiers complained that the knob often came loose and allowed changes in windage, or else fell off altogether and it or its spring or lost.

To remedy this, the Ordnance Department replaced the flush nut with a lock bar that could be tightened down and held in position by a spring. The problem with this arrangement was that if a soldier had to make a windage adjustment quickly, he often could not do without a tool to loosen the lock bar.

To solve this problem, the Ordnance Department ordered the locking bar to be replaced with the original flush nut but one that was held captive on the windage knob shaft so that it could not fall off. This solved the problem but this fix was not applied until World War II had ended.

The fourth type of rear sight, by the way, was that developed for the National Match M1 Garands. It has the captive flush nut but windage adjustments are made in increments of 1/2 minute of angle. To accomplish this, the thread on the shaft is double that on the normal M1 windage knob shaft.

M1 Garand Stocks

Perhaps the most commonly confused phase of restoring an M1 Garand has to do with the stock. There are fourteen variations of the M1 Garand stock that have to do with the style and length of the barrel channel, the shape of the pistol grip and the routing for the trigger guard assembly. And then there are the different stock markings which involve inspector's acceptance marks and proof marks. Until about September 1953, Ordnance Department inspectors stamped the left side of M1 Garand stocks with a cartouche that included their initials and the initials of the Springfield National Armory or the manufacturing company, if a contract item.

There were five Springfield inspectors and three Winchester inspectors during World War II (one Winchester inspector appears in two forms). After September 1953, a cartouche of the National Defense Eagle was substituted and so appears on all International Harvester and Harrington & Richardson M1 Garand stocks.

But complicating matters no end, refurbished rifles during and after World War II also had a cartouche applied to their stocks -- mostly refinished or newly manufactured -- that consisted of the inspector's initials and the initials of the facility in which the refurbishment was done. In most cases, they are very similar to those applied to original rifles.

The following table should help to end some of the confusion surrounding the stocks and illustrate how serial numbers and markings can work hand-in-hand to identify a particular rifle for restoration.

M1 Garand Books

	The M1 Garand, 1936-1957 Sale Price: $22.95
	Description New, 5th Edition, revised and expanded with new serial number information, parts descriptions, and photos. The M1 Garand was the battle rifle issued to American forces during World War II and the Korean War...

	Complete Guide to the M1 Garand and the M1 Carbine Sale Price: $39.95
	Description The world's most popular and respected author on World War II firearms presents his most complete examination of the M1 Garand and the M1 Carbine ever. It's absolutely huge - nearly 300 pages packed solid with the kind of useful, hands-on knowledge that readers have been demanding...

	The Classic M1 Garand: An Ongoing Legacy For Shooters And Collectors List Price: $20.00 Sale Price: $15.00 You save: $5.00 (25%)
	Description The only full-power, semiautomatic standard infantry rifle in existence during World War II, the M1 Garand remains the most popular high-powered target semiautomatic in the world - and arguably the most rugged and durable...

	U.S. Army M-1 Garand Technical Manual Sale Price: $16.95
	Description This manual includes a detailed description of the rifle and its general characteristics; procedures for detailed disassembly and assembly; an explanation of functioning; a discussion of the types of stoppages and the immediate action applied to reduce them; a description of the ammunition; and instructions on the care, cleaning, and handling of each weapon and ammunition.

	Complete M1 Garand List Price: $25.00 Sale Price: $18.25 You save: $6.75 (27%)
	Description A heavily illustrated, practical history for shooters and collectors alike, this book tells the complete story of the robust M1 Garand. High-quality, detailed photos; functional and troubleshooting data, including original military manuals; market information and much more make this a valuable resource on a classic battle rifle.

	Precision Shooting With The M1 Garand Sale Price: $12.95
	Description Ten consecutive chapters on the topic of "low cost accurizing tips for the M1", followed by ten additional chapters dealing with America's great battle rifle. The author has been a regular competitor at The Camp Perry (Ohio) National Matches for many years as well as a columnist writer for Precision Shooting magazine.

	The M1 Garand Owner's Guide Sale Price: $20.96
	Description Very comprehensive. Includes chapters on history, nomenclature, operstion/functioning, dissasembly, assembly, stoppages/malfunctions, examination, maintenance, and sighting

	M1 Garand Serial Numbers And Data Sheets Sale Price: $9.93

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