Iver Johnson 1941

[pw58]

I have been offered a 1941 I J semi auto for purchase . As I am unfamiliar with this rifle does anybody have any suggestions as what to look for when checking condition other than bore and obvious condition . TIA

 

[bearhunter]

Are you going to collect it or shoot it??

They're getting quite pricey these days and even the beaters bring high prices.

Make sure it hasn't been modified.

Go online and look at pictures of the rifles and also, go to the Numrich website to look at exploded diagrams

Parts and accessories are rarer than the rifles.

 

[green]

Not an Iver Johnson but a Johnson rifle.
IJ made popularly priced revolvers and shotguns and had no connection to Johnson M1941 rifle.

 

[M1-Garand]

The 1941 Johnson was made by Johnson Automatics,Rhode Island,different company than Iver Johnson.
Only about 30,000 were ever made.

 

[Eaglelord17]

Things I would look at:

How is the magazine pinned? It would be a weird magazine to pin and that could be a problem. Some people might not have bothered or butchered it.
Is it all matching numbers? If yes, the numbers have been faked they weren't matched from the get go.
Otherwise just the same advice others have given, I have never had one myself, and with the prices involved am not interested enough to seek one out. Good luck with it though.

 

[M1-Garand]

Correct on the numbers,none left the factory with matching numbers,they just grabbed out of the parts bins what they had on hand,they did record what was put in each rifle and if the rifle you're looking at has just the 4 digit serial number,without a prefix the records are still available,the records for the ones with a prefix were lost.

The one I have has the magazine pinned with a large rivet through the back ,hard to see without taking the stock of the gun,but could be ascertained with a set of dummy rounds.

They are a very unique rifle,shoot very nice and are quite an attention getter at the range!

 

[slug]

While I've never owned one, or fired one, a friend from the sixties had one. It was recoil operated and worked very reliably with cast bullets and a light charge of Unique powder.