Need Help with Garand Barrel

[jsn]

I have a Garand barrel with the following markings:

Right side: 1- S- A- 5-44

Top center: D35448-32-A 78 B 2

The Ordnance Department Crossed Cannons is poorly stamped to the right of the 7 in the 78, over that 8, and extends to the B. A large U appears to have been stamped over the last 2, like someone put it in a bucket.

It was supposed to be new and packed in cosmoline with some type of stiff green cloth/paper wrapped around it. I also bought what appears to be a new Op Rod wrapped in cosmoline and the same cloth/paper. When I got around to cleaning them up, I found that the barrel only had the cosmoline in the chamber and about 6-8" in from the muzzle. There was bad copper fouling on the lands only from the leade on up to the cosmoline that I still can't remove in the middle of the barrel. There isn't much left, but originally it looked like someone plated the lands, it was pretty thick.

The lands look like train tracks, very pronounced tooling marks. The grooves look smooth and the direction of any tooling marks is from leade to muzzle.

The barrel is finished in black parkerizing, and has very minor wear on both ends of the gas cylinder attaching points.

Here are my questions:

1. Is this how they stored new barrels, and maybe someone was lax in the cosmoline packing department that day?
2. Did they proof/shoot/test new barrels before storing them? Did they clean them, or was the cosmoline supposed to dissolve/absorb anything non-bore?
3. Is this bore supposed to be chrome lined, and how can I tell if it is?
4. Is this the color finish I should expect for this vintage barrel?

I do have the Poyer/Riesch M1 Garand book, but see nothing regarding my questions. Any answers or other comments are welcome.

[leebuilder]

Sounds fishy to me.
Not sure how the American stores system works.
I can't see it being proofed new, proofing is the whole assembly. Maybe a return, but it would have been cleaned and gauged and marked as such then preserved and returned to the stores system.
Be well

[jsn]

I don't have the military gauges but I have a Ted Brown. The muzzle will easily accept .300" but not .301", and from the breech end all I could do is insert the gauge and try to show that the throat only has slightly more wear.

[Moleman-]

Parkerized barrel threads are refinished unless they're LMR. Everyone else cut them after parkerizing. The new Garand barrels I've got had a vapor barrier tube in the bore and plastic caps on the end. Who did you get it from?

[jsn]

I'm under the impression that SA 5-44 means Springfield Armory May 1944. Whether or not that is what this barrel truly is, is an open question. I wouldn't be surprised if someone somewhere is taking generic barrels and committing fraud, but I don't know if this is fraud or not, hence the pics and questions.

It was not purchased as a new Criterion or any other generic M1 barrel, it was represented to me as original new GI in wrap. My understanding was (vague and generic) that anything GI stored would be packed in cosmoline, not modern packaging. The cloth paper was stiff and brittle, it's doubtful it was newer, but ?!?!?

I've never seen a chrome lined barrel, this one doesn't look any different than a CM or even SS to me, especially in the grooves.

I did notice the parkerizing on the threads was different from the newer commercial production. When I first looked at the numbers before cleaning, the D looked more like a B, and the finish was wavy, almost like it was painted on.

It was a gun show purchase for $90.

[country gent]

What color is the Parkerizing the older original Parkerizing is a different shade from the newer Parkerizing is. I don't know ith they were test fired as replacements but may have been since the garands were timed and gaged threads and were supposed to be able to be changed out in the field by armorers. This may have been a take off from a otherwise damaged rifle also.

[NuJudge]

At one time, new GI barrels were stored in cosmolene, wrapped in the heavy green cloth. The Civilian Marksmanship Program sold off a large number of barrels about 2010 that had been stored that way. Reports on Culver's Shooting Page were that most were made in 1952, but some from 1944. I bought two, but have not opened them. If it is a new barrel, the chamber will not have been reamed to its full depth. If it is a new 1944 barrel, the area around the hole to tap off gas for the gas cylinder should not be chrome plated. There should not be copper fouling in it. Yes, the rifling sometimes looks a bit rough. The rear of a new barrel should be in the white. The bore should not be chrome plated.

There were extensive rifle refurbishment programs which sometimes reused older parts. I have no knowledge of how take-off parts were stored or conserved.

In like fashion, there were refurbishment programs for Garand Op Rods. The gas piston and the disassembly tab were attended to, then refinished.

[captain-03]

Not being able to see the thing up close, the only comment I can make is that an SA 5/44 NOS barrel would be worth WAY,WAY more than $90. I have see shot out 1942-1945 barrels sell for more. Either you got an extremely GREAT deal -or- someone is pulling the wool over someone's eyes!! Heck, a new commercial barrel sells for more than $180!!

[Scharfschuetze]

Sounds fishy to me.

I have to agree. I think that your barrel was probably on a rifle, removed and then wrapped up and sold as new. This isn't uncommon among nefarious parts dealers. I believe the crossed cannon cartouche for the Ordnance Corps is correct for a WWII barrel. The long number shown is the "Draw or line" number. A good M1 book will tell you in more detail about the barrel with this number. As noted by Captain 03, real WWII barrels are in high demand by people restoring M1 rifles to original WWII issue.

Here is a photo of two new/uninstalled post WWII M1 barrels. The lower barrel is an SA 49 barrel (with wrap and cosmoline) and the top barrel is an SA 52 barrel. Note the different parkerizing on them. The only markings on them are the "SA-month-year" and a small "p" behind the date and on top of the reinforce on the 52 barrel and in front of the date on the 49 barrel.

[Orlando]

Here are my questions:

1. Is this how they stored new barrels, yes NOS barrels were in wrap and cosmo
2. Did they proof/shoot/test new barrels before storing them? Did they clean them, or was the cosmoline supposed to dissolve/absorb anything non-bore?yes proof tested, normal to see alittle cooper in NOS barrel
3. Is this bore supposed to be chrome lined,no
4. Is this the color finish I should expect for this vintage barrel?-yes