International Harvester M1 Garand IHC Gap Letter .30-06 Semi Auto Rifle C&R

SOLD FOR: $2,676

LSB#: 240105TT003

Make: International Harvester Corporation (IHC). Built on a Springfield Armory made Gap Letter receiver.

Model: M1 Garand. The rifle’s action uses International Harvester parts and a Line Material Company (LMR) barrel. LMR provided International Harvester with barrels for factory assembly.

Serial Number: 4642527 – The serial number is in the correct range for a Springfield Gap Letter receiver (page 501 of Bruce Canfield’s book, The M1 Garand Rifle).

Year of Manufacture: 1953-1954. Barre Date: October 1953.
Springfield Armory provided receivers to International Harvester beginning in 1952 to help increase M1 Garand production at IHC (page 500 of Bruce Canfield’s book, The M1 Garand Rifle).

Caliber: .30-06 Springfield

Action Type: Semi Auto, Fed by En Bloc Clips

Markings: There is no import mark.
Receiver: “U.S.      RIFLE / CAL.      .30 M1 / INTERNATIONAL / HARVESTER / 4642527”
Trigger Group: “IHC D6528290”
Hammer: “C5546008 IHC”
Safety:”IHC”
Follower: Unmarked
Receiver Leg: “IHC” and “F 6528291” – Correct for a Springfield/IHC Gap Letter M1 Garand.
Op Rod: “D-6535382IHC”
Bolt: “6528287 IHC / U”
Barrel: “LMR D6535448 10 53” – The Line Material Company(LMR) provided barrels to International Harvester. LMR barrels were used for Gap Letter Garands.
Gas Cylinder Lock Screw: “IHC”
Rear Sight Windage Knob: “IHC”
The stock and sights are described below.

Barrel Length: Approximately 24 Inches

Sights / Optics: The front sight is a blade set between two protective wings. The rear sight is a fully adjustable aperture sight set between two protective wings.

Stock Configuration & Condition: The left side of the stock, above the trigger, is marked with a Defense “Eagle” Acceptance stamp. The face of the grip is marked with a double stamped “circled P” proof.
The bottom of the stock has been built up with bedding compound to better fit the trigger group.
The three piece hardwood stock has a pistol grip, metal nosecaps, stacking loop, two sling loops, and a metal buttplate with hinged metal door for storage in the butt. The wood shows light scrapes & scratches. The LOP measures 13 1/8 inches from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate shows oxidation and wear. The stock rates in about Very Good Plus overall condition.

Type of Finish: Parkerized

Finish Originality: Original to Rebuild

Bore Condition: The grooves are semi bright due to light fouling. The rifling is deep. There is no erosion. The bore shows an M.E. of 0.8. The throat shows a T.E. of 2.5.
In this writer’s opinion, this bore rates a 9 out of 10.

Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 85% of its metal finish. The metal shows scrapes, scratches, and operational wear. The receiver shows discoloration from oxidation. The bottom of the receiver and the receiver legs show areas of surface erosion and light pitting. The markings are deep. Overall, this rifle rates in about Very Good condition.

Mechanics: The action Does function correctly. This firearm has not been tested, these are used items. While we have performed a mechanical function check and noted any discrepancies we cannot guarantee the suitability of this firearm.

Box, Paperwork & Accessories: The rifle has a green canvas sling attached.

Our Assessment: The M1 Garand had garnered a well-deserved reputation as the best standardized service rifle of WWII. At the end of WWII large numbers of Garands were in inventory and it was assumed they were sufficient to meet future military needs. That all changed when the Korean War broke out. Springfield Armory ramped up its Garand production line as quickly as possible, but additional sources were needed. On June 15, 1951, the Ordnance Dept. granted a contract to the International Harvester Co (IHC). International Harvester manufactured  half-tracks, trucks and tractors during World War II. The firm had never made firearms. One of the major reasons behind the government’s selection of International Harvester was its location. Springfield Armory and Winchester were about 60 miles apart which was no longer desirable in a nuclear age. IHC is over 800 miles from Springfield and could continue production if there were a nuclear strike on the eastern seaboard.
In order to augment Springfield Armory’s and International Harvester’s M1 rifle production, a contract was also granted to the Harrington & Richardson Arms Co. on April 3, 1952.
International Harvester had a number of production issues which led them to subcontract the production of barrels to the Line Material Corp. It was soon widely acknowledged that the company’s barrels were of the highest quality. The high quality of the LMR barrels and their availability were among the few things to go smoothly with International Harvester’s M1 rifle production program.
IHC received production assistance from both Springfield Armory and H&R during the contract.
The International Harvester M1 Garand has since become one of the more popular M1’s due to the number of receiver variations and their relative scarcity as compared to Springfield Armory Garands of the same era.

This International Harvester Corporation (IHC) M1 Garand is built on a Rare Gap Letter receiver made by Springfield Armory. Springfield Armory provided receivers to International Harvester beginning in 1952 to help increase M1 Garand production at IHC. This rifle falls within the proper serial number range for an SA/IHC Gap Letter Garand. It is also marked correctly on the receiver leg with a Springfield Drawing Number and uses a Line Material Company (LMR) barrel. The rifle’s action uses International Harvester parts and the rear sight is IHC marked. This M1 Garand is highly collectible.
For more detailed information see pages 500 to 501 of Bruce Canfield’s book, The M1 Garand Rifle.

…Now go shoot something!