My Path to Becoming an M1 Garand Collector, Researcher and Author, Part 1 By Scott Duff My main interests have long been the study of history, firearms and shooting, and cars.  All of these interests began at a young age.  For my 10th birthday I received a Daisy BB rifle, no it was not a Red Ryder, so no

Barrel Usage on New M1 Rifle Production 1952 – 1957 Harrington & Richardson Arms Company – Part 3 of 3 Harrington &Richardson Arms Co. had a barrel contract that predated their rifle contract.  Therefore, it is not uncommon to find original HRA riles with early 1952 dated barrels.  The vast majority of Harrington & Richardson manufactured M1 rifles were

Barrel Usage on New M1 Rifle Production 1952 – 1957 International Harvester Company – Part 2 of 3 Most M1 Garand collectors know that International Harvester M1s were assembled with barrels made by Line Material of Birmingham, Alabama.  These barrels are marked LMR and dated with the month and year of manufacture.  However, like M1s built at Springfield, not

Barrel Usage on New M1 Rifle Production 1952 – 1957 – Part 1 of 3 By Scott A. Duff During World War II with few exceptions, new Springfield Armory M1 rifles were assembled using Springfield Armory manufactured barrels and Winchester Repeating Arms M1 rifles were assembled using Winchester barrels.  With the much lower production rate in the 1950s collectors

The Ageless 10/22 It’s October of 2020, so the 22nd must be National 10/22 Day!  If you have a 10/22, be sure to bring it out and shoot it.  If you don’t have a 10/22…wait, doesn’t everyone have a 10/22?  Anyway, perhaps it would be a good day to get a 10/22. The 10/22 is truly a phenomenon in

M1911 Springfield Armory, 1914 Production I began collecting U.S. martial arms in 1980.  My interest was focused on M1911 and M1911A1 service pistols.  A 1983 business trip in to Holyoke, MA and time to kill before my return flight led to my first visit to Springfield Armory National Historic Site Museum (SANHS) and triggered an interest in all arms

Lowest & Highest Serial Number M1s – Part 2 By Scott A. Duff 9-10-20 There had long been a question of what was the highest serial number M1.  Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM), the predecessor of the CMP, had sales records that indicated a high s/n of 6100499.  However, no collector had reported seeing this rifle, so some doubt

Lowest & Highest Serial Number M1s – Part 1 By Scott A. Duff 9-10-20   Many gun collectors are interested in the lowest and highest serial number firearms of the model in which they are interested.  Collectors of the M1 rifle are not an exception.  With that in mind, a brief summary on the earliest M1 rifles is in

By Scott Duff A brief examination of the Springfield Garand quickly reveals it to be a rifle that has been carried and fired.  Between the throat erosion reading, wear pattern on the left bolt lug, overall wear patterns of reciprocating parts, and the patina of the wood and the minor dings, it is apparent that this rifle did not

By Scott Duff If you have followed my writings, you know that I advocate a theme to collecting.  As an example, my theme for collecting World War II era Springfield Armory M1 rifles is to have one of each year from 1939 through 1945.  I also have a theme with my entire US martial arms collection.  I collect by

  The Eddystone Story By Walter J. Kuleck, Ph.D.   The war activities of the Baldwin Locomotive Works also included the construction of two large plants on their property at Eddystone for the manufacture of rifles and ammunition, and accomplishments in this connection constitute a series of achievements worthy of record. On April 30, 1915, the British Government placed

  THE GUAM GARANDS   Introduction In all military conflicts, the price of an objective is paid with the lives of combatants.  Historically it has been considered that the force armed with superior weapons incurs fewer casualties and has a greater chance of victory.  For this reason tacticians and military historians have studied small arms for centuries.  As the