The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Art of the Rifle: Semi-automatics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 13, 2008, 01:49 PM   #1
indybrad
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 27, 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 229
IH M1 Garand ?

When IH made the M1 Gerands, did they put Marlin barrels on some of them? My Father inlaw has one with a Marlin barrel and he said they called them Blue Marlins because of the darker color of bluing on the barrel. He said that the government had problems with some of the other manufacturers barrels. Is this true? Thanks for any info.
indybrad is offline  
Old March 13, 2008, 02:37 PM   #2
wjkuleck
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 13, 2007
Location: Ohio, USA
Posts: 1,220
International Harvester Co. M1 Garand w/Marlin barrel

Yes, and it's spelled

Garand ...

During WWII Marlin filled a spares order for barrels; these were blue, much like the Gillette razor blades of the time, hence, "blue Marlin."

The early '50's Marlin barrels were Parkerized. I have one. IHC's barrel supplier, Line Material Co., never had a barrel problem. However, Springfield Armory (the real one, not the commercial company in IL that has appropriated the name) itself had a batch of bad barrels, hence you will find SA, LMR (Line Material), Marlin, and Buffalo Arms barrels on early Springfield and IHC Garands. They are by no means common, however.

Your barrel will probably have a date on the right side, visible with the operating rod open.

Regards,

Walt
__________________
Author, NEW! The M1911 Complete Owner's Guide
The M14
and M1 Garand Complete Assembly Guides
The M1 Garand Complete Assembly Guide
The AR-15 Complete Assembly
and (New 4th Edition) Owner's Guides
wjkuleck is offline  
Old March 13, 2008, 07:37 PM   #3
indybrad
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 27, 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 229
Thanks for the info. So, are these guns worth more than a Gerand with the other manufacturers barrels?
indybrad is offline  
Old March 14, 2008, 12:54 AM   #4
Tim R
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 30, 2004
Location: God's side of Washington State
Posts: 1,601
Indybrad...your GARAND spelling is incorrect.

More value? Depends on who wants it. The best of the best shooting barrels were the Danish VAR's.
__________________
God Bless our Troops especially our Snipers.
Tim R is offline  
Old March 14, 2008, 07:22 AM   #5
Swampy1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 22, 2007
Posts: 130
Quote:
So, are these guns worth more than a Gerand with the other manufacturers barrels?
Well, maybe..... but only for a collector who just happened to be Jones'n for one for it's oddball character....

The Marlin M1 barrels are certainly not known for best accuracy.....

Best,
Swampy

Garands forever
__________________
Pres-CEO Swampworks Inc. / JLK Bullets http://www.swampworks.com
The difference between a Hot Dog and a Weenie is a very fine line.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.
Swampy1 is offline  
Old March 14, 2008, 09:12 AM   #6
indybrad
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 27, 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 229
Thanks for all the info.
indybrad is offline  
Old March 16, 2008, 06:08 PM   #7
RAKER5
Junior Member
 
Join Date: March 16, 2008
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 1
IH Garand

The following is all I know on this subject.

In marine corp boot camp in 1960 I was issued a brand new IH Garand. We did not get M14 until 1965. At the range I could not qualify and I tried very hard with a DI screaming he was going to kill me. He finally tried my rifle, looked at it and said IH should stick to tractors. He got me a very used springfield, pitted barrel and I shot expert everytime we fired for qualifaction as long as I had this rifle.
RAKER5 is offline  
Old March 17, 2008, 07:42 AM   #8
Swampy1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 22, 2007
Posts: 130
Quote:
In marine corp boot camp in 1960 I was issued a brand new IH Garand. We did not get M14 until 1965. At the range I could not qualify and I tried very hard with a DI screaming he was going to kill me. He finally tried my rifle, looked at it and said IH should stick to tractors. He got me a very used springfield, pitted barrel and I shot expert everytime we fired for qualifaction as long as I had this rifle.
Raker,

Your experience with a bad IHC just proves the exception to the rule.

Most original IHC's came from the factory with an LMR barrel, which are widely regarded as probably the most accurate GI production M1 barrel ever made. Many National Match M1's were built up with LMR barrels.

It's a sure thing that every rifle maker puts out the unintentional lemon now and again.... It sure looks like you were issued one back then....

Best,
Swampy

Garands forever
__________________
Pres-CEO Swampworks Inc. / JLK Bullets http://www.swampworks.com
The difference between a Hot Dog and a Weenie is a very fine line.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.
Swampy1 is offline  
Old January 23, 2010, 11:12 PM   #9
nitro4blood
Junior Member
 
Join Date: January 8, 2009
Posts: 2
M1

Hey,

I just bought a SA M1 with a 42XXX serial number with a LMR marked barrel. Is that a common thing or not? If I'm reading the post correct, it might be a little rare? Thanks in advance
nitro4blood is offline  
Old January 24, 2010, 12:16 AM   #10
az_imuth
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 27, 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 306
Although this is an old thread, I may be able to answer your question. Your M1 was manufactured sometime in 1940. LMR barrels were used in the early to mid 1950's, and almost entirely on IHC's. Your rifle has been rebarreled at least once in the past, possibly more than once being such an early reciever.

You should have a good shooter since LMR barrels are well known for exhibiting more than average accuracy.

Congrats on your very early M1!
az_imuth is offline  
Old January 24, 2010, 12:57 AM   #11
nitro4blood
Junior Member
 
Join Date: January 8, 2009
Posts: 2
Thanks for the info! Yea it looks like the barrel was made in 1952. I can't wait to shoot it. I have wanted a M1 for a long time and finially found a deal on one.
nitro4blood is offline  
Old January 24, 2010, 04:13 PM   #12
Oldwoodsloafer
Member
 
Join Date: March 11, 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 49
AZ
The International Harvester M1's date from late 1953 and serial numbers are above 4,400,000. IH had a number of manufactoring problems and was bailed out by Springfield Armory
__________________
"There is nothing so frightening as ignorance in action."
Oldwoodsloafer is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:45 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.11348 seconds with 10 queries