Mess with WRA Garand...School? Or Not?

T

tsavo

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sunny Okanagan
I have had a WRA Garand dropped in my lap by an old buddy. It currently wears several SA parts installed by Blue Sky, Arlington VA. Bolt is almost unissued tight WRA and appear original. Action is in 95+ percent, dark with little wear and a few dings. The barrel is a 66 SA unit almost beyond gauge, Op Rod is SA also and some Fire control parts including updated safety as well.

My question should I collect as many WRA replacements as possible and install? What I am after is a shooter. Its my first '06 ever and looks like a keeper.

I have had it pointed out that it may well be a "school lot", first week + or -, wow, if it is. How is this determined.? I would not mess with anything of value with the existence of surplus Dane stuff.

Those knowledgeable in things Garand, help in identification and advice, would be most appreciated.

tsavo
 
You have a rifle that has been rebuilt at some point in time. Most Garands were rebuilt one or more times while in military use using any parts that were on hand regardless of the maker. Rifles can be restored to their original parts configuration by locating parts appropriate to the manufacture date of the receiver. WRA restorations are very tough to do because of the scarcity and price of several key parts, especially a stock, barrel, gas cylinder and rear sight parts.

You would be better off to enjoy the rifle as it is. The manufacture date can be identified on the basis of the serial number if you would report it. Winchester was given an educational order to assist with starting their production of Garands prior to WW2. Blue Sky was a US importer of Garands in the 1980s.
 
The s/n makes this a very early Winchester rifle, 1 of 500 of the Winchester "Educational Order", which was shipped from the factory on 27 Dec 1940. If you want more detail on the original configuration of the rifle, incl parts descriptions, numbers and photos of Winchester s/n 100001, which will feature the same parts as yours, you should get a copy of Scott Duff's book, The M1 Garand World War II which can often be seen on Ebay or purchased from Brownells Inc.

This one is an excellent example of the interchangeability of the Garand design as it matches one of the first Winchester receivers with one of the last production military barrels made by Springfield Armory. The rifle was rebuilt at least once in military use and made it through both US use and foreign service as indicated by it's import markings. Early production Springfield receivers do turn up as well, but they have invariably been through the military overhaul and rebuild process at least once. As mentioned, it would be a costly and lengthy process to locate the correct parts to restore this rifle to it's original parts configuration. There are Winchester parts in circulation, but they must be of the correct production revisions to do a proper restoration.

I live in the South Okanagan and have been a member of the Garand Collectors Assn for some years. I'm going to PM you about the possibility of having a look at your rifle at some point. It is a very interesting one for sure.
 
That's a pretty cool thing to have dropped in your lap. I would love to see some pics. Definitely a collectible garand and not just a shooter. Sell her to me. Ill give here a good home :)
 
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