More pictures

 

That's a very nice rifle. Sorry I can't be of help on your inquiry.

 

There is a lot of information on the 1950's manufactured Garands here:

An Official Journal Of The NRA | The International Harvester M1 Garand Rifle

While many manufacturing companies made guns for the first time during World War II, International Harvester went into the Garand business in 1951— a time in which the threat of nuclear war loomed large.

www.americanrifleman.org

The markings on yours are the "postage stamp" style.

 

Nice looking rifle it does appear that the muzzle is dammaged though.

 

It appears that the rifle pictured is in dire need of lubrication. In particular, the operating rod channel (on the side of the receiver) looks dry, it needs a good amount of white grease (lubriplate) there to prevent op rod "tab" wear. I use molybdenum disulfide (nasty black grease but very slippery) only because I have a tin of it.

The Fed Ord stamp could indicate that the rifle was returned (imported) from another country and Fed Ord was the importer and so marked it.

Google can be your friend on this one...

Almost forgot, the op rod is supposed to be bent so don't try to straighten it, and, no "e" in Garand...

 

Nice looking M1 ! . No picture of your finger ????😂😂😂😂 . Took me 6 years before I got bit !!!

 

Could you take a picture of the barrel with the markings please!

 

I apologize I somehow left that picture out here you go.

 

Federal Ordnance did some iffy builds on welded receivers, soft receivers, etc. They are a hit and miss gamble, some were good, others not so much.

 

I wish you had not changed the title. Every time I saw that E it made me smile.

 

You learn something new everyday, rookie mistake on my part. Now I know why my research had kind of hit a dead end, helps when you spell things correctly 🤣. I should of caught that sooner thanks to tango for setting me straight. Glad I could bring a smile to your day but I figured it might help get more information if I used the correct spelling.

 

Looks to me that it IS a re- import. I was not aware that Federal Ordinance did re-imports. As far as the cleaning accessories in the butt trap - that means nothing. I'd be much more concerned to make sure the receiver isn't a re-weld. You likely already know this, but Federal Ordinance had nothing to do with either M1 or M1 Carbine production. They did make an excellent M1 Carbine for the commercial market back in the 1970s (I had one).

 

I looked at pictures online of welded receivers and it has none of the tell tale signs of being welded as far as my untrained eye can see. From what I read they did reimport many M1‘s to law enforcement which many were IHC made. I could be wrong but I believe it to have all the original factory markings on all the parts which are consistent with what I have read about the IHC manufacturing. It’s definitely a reimport based on the FED ORD markings so would anyone happen to know a estimated value in this condition? Bore looks good as far as I can tell, no pitting or corrosion and has strong rifling but again definitely no expert. I would like to shoot it, can I shoot factory loads through it? I read you can shoot up to 178 grain bullets through it but figured I would ask someone with more knowledge than me? Thanks again for everyone providing information as I’m enjoying learning as much as I can.

 

I believe that's just an import stamp. If they had built it it would be stamped on the receiver from what I remember. Nice looking rifle!

 

I only use magnum primers in my m1 and I have only loaded 45 grains but I have shot off the shelf ammunition in it also.

 

Can you take a picture of the Drawing Number on the receiver and post it on here. Your rifle has a lot of the correct markings but there is a few things bugging me, and seeing the FED ORD on the barrel makes me think this COULD of been welded/milled , it is hard to tell as FED ORD in California is one the company was known for some questionable firearms that came through there warehouse. Now Fed Ord Inc stamping was also seen on the M1's that were sold to law enforcement in the 70's also. If I am incorrect I ask for anyone to please correct me as I would be happy to be proved wrong. If you could take the receiver out of the stock and take a picture of the drawing number, I think you called the milling numbers in one of your posts, on the right leg of the receiver, also look for heavy pitting below the barrel line. We should be able to tell if it has been welded if you post that picture. The overall reason I see that worries me, is your drawing number on the barrel after LMR it should read D6535448, on yours the 6 is backwards and I personally have never seen a factory made LMR barrel with that problem, as with the inspection stamping on the barrel, that would of been something that would of been caught and not received the final stamping of the inspector. But it could just be a oops and is correct, that is what I am hoping for.

 

Here is a picture of the mill number on the receiver, sorry it took so long and thanks again for all the information

Here is a copy of Army Field Manual 23-5

FM 23-5 ( Basic Field Manual U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 ).pdf (6thcorpscombatengineers.com)

Couple of points on bore cleaning- the combination tool is the handle for the cleaning rod. Put the cut out side next to the muzzle. Little while circle goes around cleaning rod to keep from hitting muzzle with tool- which dings up muzzle. Slide rod down bore, THEN attach brush, PULL out. Same for patches.

DO stick to the correct ammo. That is M2 Ball (or marked as equivalent) OR if you are lucky enough to find it M72 MATCH.

Thank you for the field manual that’s really cool with some great information!

 

After blowing up the picture, the 6 looks correct to me.

 

howlnmad, you are right and for that, thank you, as I am very happy you proved me wrong.

Lumberjack your Drawing Numbers are all consistent with a IHC made rifle, while it is hard to find proven factual data on all the different serial numbers and dates they entered service and so forth, I can only tell you my educated opinion. While the link on here for the article on American Rifle Magazine is a great read, a lot of the data in the article, it seems they got most of their facts from the same place, have a look at this webpage article, International Harvester's Post-WWII M1 Garand Rifles/, I think you will see that they have quite a bit of similarities. I don't believe it is from plagiarism, but instead that, it is really hard to find proven factual data on all the different serial numbers, drawing numbers, heat codes, etc. But your rifle looks to be made by almost all IHC parts, your barrel does match the data for a barrel produced at this time and LMC was known for the best barrels being made at that time in the early/mid 50's, LMC barrels were so well made that were better than any other manufacturer at the time. Looking at your receiver information, it looks that you actually have one of the "postage stamp" receivers made by IHC and not the common Springfield Armory. With the stamping on your stock and dates on your barrel, it looks that the rifle was accepted by the government in late 1953, going by the barrel date and the government acceptance mark. If you have not fired the rifle yet I suggest taking it to a competent gunsmith who can examine the rifle to give you the best advice on how to proceed. The barrel is about to see its 70th birthday next year and there is a lot that can happen to the overall rifle itself, like one big thing you need to check is if the head space is correct on you Garand. Try taking a look at this website, it is actually a .pdf, but it is ok as a friend sent the link to me a few years ago and I have it saved, https://www.ialegion.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/M1_Garand_Manual.pdf , it should help you understand a little better than the old Military Field Guide for information on taking the rifle apart and so on, you should find it helpful for further disassemble. I honestly could not give you a price on the rifle as I just buy them and fix them, I leave the selling to the smart fellows . You have a very interesting rifle and it looks like it was probably re-imported under the loophole, back in the late 70's, to be made for sale to full time law enforcement officers, I think your rifle came from one of the South American countries, as few IHC rifles actually made it to Korea by the time of the cease-fire. Also just to help you out, when you see in the articles and such that whatever part was made by Springfield Armory, let me dispel some misinformation that quite a few people believe. Springfield Armory as it relates to the M1 we speak of now and the same for the M14 IS the United States Armory that was in Springfield, Mass. and is not associated, nor were John Garand's M1 or M14 MILITARY rifles, with the company Springfield Armory Inc. in Geneseo, Illinois and simply use "Springfield Armory" in marketing. The United States Springfield Armory or Arsenal is a historic site as it closed in I believe 1968 and saw two great rifles before it closed. The name "Springfield Armory" used by a company was first used for a few years in I believe Texas before Springfield Armory Inc grabbed it in the mid 70's, but neither had any relations with the actual Springfield Armory that built some of IHC's receivers. If you read the article in the link above or the link in a previous post for the American Rifle article, it will tell you who made your stock, it wasn't IHC as you said there was nothing stamped on the stock. If you need anything else, feel free to ask. I hope I could help you some.

 

Here is a copy of Army Field Manual 23-5

FM 23-5 ( Basic Field Manual U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 ).pdf (6thcorpscombatengineers.com)

Couple of points on bore cleaning- the combination tool is the handle for the cleaning rod. Put the cut out side next to the muzzle. Little while circle goes around cleaning rod to keep from hitting muzzle with tool- which dings up muzzle. Slide rod down bore, THEN attach brush, PULL out. Same for patches.

DO stick to the correct ammo. That is M2 Ball (or marked as equivalent) OR if you are lucky enough to find it M72 MATCH.