The M1 Garand Rifle

The M1 was used extensively by U.S. forces in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and in non standard issue in the Gulf War, War in Afghanistan, Iraq War and by several nations around the world as a service rifle. Most M1 rifles were issued to soldiers, though many thousands were also given as foreign aid to friendly forces. It is also widely sought after by the civilian population as a hunting rifle, target rifle, as well as a prized military collectible. It is available for American civilian ownership through the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

History
Although designed in 1928, production delayed deliveries to the Army till September 1937. Machine production began at Springfield Armory that month at a rate of ten rifles per day, and reached an output of 100 per day within two years. Despite going into production status, design issues were not at an end. The barrel, gas cylinder, and front sight assembly were redesigned and entered production in early 1940. Production of the Garand increased in 1940 despite these difficulties, reaching 600 a day by 1941, and the Army was fully equipped by the end of 1941.  The weight of the M1 varies between 9.5 pounds and 10.2 pounds unloaded which was a considerable increase over the previous service rifle, M1903 Springfield. The overall length was 43.6 inches and is fed by an "en bloc" clip with a capacity of eight rounds of .30-06 ammunition. When the last cartridge is fired, the rifle ejects the clip and locks the bolt open with a "ting" that is textbook Garand. Clips can also be manually ejected at any time after loading.

Important Service use information
During World War II, Winchester was awarded a contract for 65,000 rifles, beginning in 1943, when the British Army reviewed the M1 as a possible replacement for its bolt-action Lee-Enfield No.1 Mk III, but it was rejected.  Maybe this is why the M1 rifle is one of the first self-loading rifles to use stainless steel for its gas tube?

Being that the Germans, Italians, and Japanese soldiers were usually carrying with bolt-action rifles, the semiautomatic M1 gave US forces a huge advantage in firepower, because of the .30-06 round, and recovery time over most enemy infantrymen in battle.  In fact, if the enemy was in column formation, the penetration of the powerful .30-06 cartridge enabled a single shot to kill up to three Japanese soldiers.  Additionally, a trained soldier averaged about 45 accurate shots per minute at a range of 300 yards, making it the Garand the fastest-firing service rifle of any nation by a large margin.

From 53 to 56, M1s were produced by International Harvester and Harrington & Richardson. The last small lot of M1s was produced by Springfield Armory in early 1957. Beretta also produced Garands for a short period under Winchester design.

There have been several manufacturers of the M1 Garand Design, most notabley Springfield Armory, Winchester
Harrington & Richardson, International Harvester, Beretta and Breda

The M1 Garand Lineage:
The M1 Garand was the predecessor to the M1A and the M14 rifle, which replaced it. Ruger produces the Mini-14 rifle, which utilizes a reduced-size operating  rod system and a gas system designed for smaller cartridges. The Mini-14 looks like the M-14, but is chambered for the smaller .223 cartridge. There is also the Mini 30, and 10-22 which can trace their roots to the M1 Rifle.

M1 Rifle Variants

M1C | M1D

The M1C and M1D rifles were originally call the M1E7 until 1944.  The C and the D were classifications given to the M1 version designed for the sniper and had been produced and put into service with scopes.  The only difference between the M1C and the M1D is the scope mounts.

M1 Serial Numbers and M1 Serial Number Information

The Serial Numbers on an m1 Garand Rifle are very hard to track, and no dating range has been developed for production of the M1 after WWII.  With that being said, here are the serial number blocks for each of the 3 main producers.