I.H.C garand

IHC made fewer Garands than did the other 3 US makers. Yrs ago I used to drive an IHC WD9 diesel tractor and an IHC pickup, so I find an IHC Garand a bit of a memento of having used these other IHC products. M1C sniper rifles are the rarest of all Garands, but they are out there and you never know what might turn up. I had been looking for one for many yrs only to have a very nice one turn up locally without the scope bracket or scope mount a few yrs ago. I have since had it authenticated and procured an original bracket, mount and other accessories to complete it.
 
I shot mine at the range today and it still impresses me every time and today was no exception as I shot 1 1/2" groups with a bad eye at 100 yrds. Makes me wonder how much better the group would have been before damage caused by shingles. :( Pictures next time.
 
The LMR barrels on the IHC Garands had a very good reputation for accuracy. Some LMR barrels were also used as original installations on H&R Garands. Quite a few LMR barrels were used by the military when building match grade rifles.
 
WW2GURU said:
Wouldnt that be nice to find some NOS LMR or VAR barrels. One can only dream
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I have seen a few Garands with VAR barrels hanging on them, and the funny thing is, that 2-3 years ago, my gunsmith had a dozen of them, a mix of Danish Springfield and Breda arsenal rebuilds. They were priced at $1200, and I can't begin to tell you just how many people pissed, moaned and complained about how pricey they felt they were and didn't buy them.... guess they are kicking themselves now.
 
The Danish made VAR barrels also have a great reputation for accuracy. The nice thing about them is that the Danes used them as replacement barrels for the original installations on their US supplied Springfield and Winchester rifles, as well as on the Breda and Beretta built rifles that they purchased from Italy. As a result most of the VAR barrels are only lightly used and are in very nice condition. I've had some that gauged like new. Some replacement Garand barrels were also made by Marlin, both during WW2 and post-war, and by Buffalo Arms, who also produced M1 Carbine barrels during WW2. The WW2 Marlin barrels were blued, rather than parkerized, and are known as "Blue Marlins". You can also see Winchester made replacement barrels that are marked with "Winchester" in italic script. These were produced in the early 1960s, so should not be mistaken for original WW2 Winchester barrels.
 
purple said:
The Danish made VAR barrels also have a great reputation for accuracy. The nice thing about them is that the Danes used them as replacement barrels for the original installations on their US supplied Springfield and Winchester rifles, as well as on the Breda and Beretta built rifles that they purchased from Italy. As a result most of the VAR barrels are only lightly used and are in very nice condition. I've had some that gauged like new. Some replacement Garand barrels were also made by Marlin, both during WW2 and post-war, and by Buffalo Arms, who also produced M1 Carbine barrels during WW2. The WW2 Marlin barrels were blued, rather than parkerized, and are known as "Blue Marlins". You can also see Winchester made replacement barrels that are marked with "Winchester" in italic script. These were produced in the early 1960s, so should not be mistaken for original WW2 Winchester barrels.
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Oh, My VAR barrel is very nice to have, especially seeings it is on my MC1. The Springfield 55 on my M1C is good, and the HRA 54 on My H&R is good too, but that VAR barrel, is fantastic!
 
Winchester-1897 said:
The Garands are addictive for sure. My Son asks me from time to time if I am going to sell it. I just say you can't afford it, wait till I am dead and you fight with your Brother for it. :)
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Ah 97, you have no sense of humor, tell your son he can have it after he fights his brother but you get to watch....then remind them that they still get to fight over it after your dead!

But yes, Garands are addictive. I know where a new Garand is (Breda Receiver) with a NEW 308 Win. Barrel hanging off it along with a National Match Op-Rod to boot. Problem is I am not into 308 and as I recall he wants 2000-2200 for it, But the fact that the Barrel has only had 30 rounds through it makes it sorely tempting!
 
Here are a couple of Garand stocks that came into my possession. The painted black one came off a 1953 IHC Rifle my friend owns and I am going to strip it and oil it. I believe it is a Springfield? The rifle came from a lot out of Vietnam in the early 80's to a place called Ontario Auto Mart.

The other one is a stock I bought at Epps a couple of years ago which I stripped and oiled and left all the marks intact as they were interesting to me. One being MINH HO so I am thinking it also came out of Vietnam back in the 80's to Ontario. This one may be a Winchester made stock?

Any info would be great from the Gurus of Garands.

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The stock on the left in the first pic and at the bottom in the second pic has the WRA style of inletting at the rear of the trigger housing. The stock appears to have been marked with another firing proof at some point as indicated by the larger `P` mark with no surrounding circle. One would need to look at the grip area from the side and also see the original cartouche on the left side to positively ID this as a WRA stock.
 
I have 54 IHC Garand with IHC Bolt D-6528287 IHC heat lot D-19. Would that have been the bolt for that period or close to it?

Also I am bidding on another bolt D-6528287IHC on ebay,Heat Lot U but the seller says it is good condition but has been plated at one time or another, possibly nickle plated but the picture seems to indicate to me that it is just polished. If I can get it delivered for less than $75. would it be worth it?
 
Winchester-1897 said:
I have 54 IHC Garand with IHC Bolt D-6528287 IHC heat lot D-19. Would that have been the bolt for that period or close to it?

Also I am bidding on another bolt D-6528287IHC on ebay,Heat Lot U but the seller says it is good condition but has been plated at one time or another, possibly nickle plated but the picture seems to indicate to me that it is just polished. If I can get it delivered for less than $75. would it be worth it?
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This drawing # bolt is for this serial# range 4400000 - 4660000
Also you can verify all the components at this site : ht tp://usriflecal30m1.com/Default.aspx
 
If you list the s/n of the receiver that you want to match a bolt to it would assist in verifying the correct bolt markings as there are 3 variations of IHC bolt markings. $75 isn't a bad price for a serviceable bolt nowadays. Nickle plating can be removed in solution by electrolysis, but I have no idea of the cost to do this.
 
purple said:
If you list the s/n of the receiver that you want to match a bolt to it would assist in verifying the correct bolt markings as there are 3 variations of IHC bolt markings. $75 isn't a bad price for a serviceable bolt nowadays. Nickle plating can be removed in solution by electrolysis, but I have no idea of the cost to do this.
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rifle is ser # 4654###.
 
Scott Duff's book shows s/n 4655712 with bolt D-652827 IHC , heat lot U. This is probably close enough for government work. FWIW, heat lot D19 also appears on the later 6528287 IHC bolts which were used in the 5M series IHC rifles. I think its easier to get the bolt drawing number right, rather than the precise heat lot, when matching a bolt to a particular s/n. IHC Garand production was quite chaotic at times, so there are many exceptions to the rules when matching components to a particular receiver.
 
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