My Inland

[smoky]

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I got this from a gun show many years ago. As for as I can tell it's all as should be. Ser.# range is 48980600. BBl 12/43 .Could this stock be a presentation stock.? What do you think.
Thanks Smoky

[smoky]

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[IditarodJoe]

Could be, smoky. That's certainly some pretty wood!

[Tuna]

Look in the sling well. It should be stamped IO or HI in the well. If so then it's a factory stock which it appears to be. Odds are it was just the next stock in line when the carbine was made. A later sanding and a hand rubbed oiling really brings out the grain in the wood.

[bdm]

Sir that is one nice M1 Carbine beautiful stock

[smoky]

There is IO in the sling well and hand guard. Does not look to be sanded.
Thanks

[Tuna]

Just looking at the acceptance stamp tells one it has been sanded and stained or oiled. Nice job of it too.

[Johnny P]

I agree that the stock has been sanded. When the NRA/DCM Carbines were sold in the 60's it was just a bargain priced shooter to most buyers, and many promptly refinished the dull stocks. Some did it to remove the acceptance stamps, but where the fibers of the wood was broken by the stamping they still held grease and grime even though they looked like they were gone. When finish was applied the markings reappeared. In later years some even thought the acceptance marks were ink stamps since they were smooth but still visible.

This is the large acceptance mark on an original Inland stock from mid 1944. The large acceptance mark did not stamp well on the curved side of the stock, and this one has a slight "bounce".

[Stephan]

I bought a used 1903 finger-groove stock from Sarco for a un-bubbizing project. Advertised as good serviceable stocks...the one I received was heavily sanded and needed some repairs and had some repairs already. The used Sarco wood had a saving grace...it has awesome pretty figure and mineral striping.


It seems that different sources grade walnut stocks by different standards. I've always used the old style grading system which varies from utility grade to exhibition grade...utility grade being plain grain and may have sapwood and some filled knots....better grades being standard, semi-fancy, fancy, A grade, AA grade, AAA grade, and exhibition grade.


It's all subject to opinion...but I would grade that M1 carbine stock about like my used Sarco M1903 stock...awesome grade! Somewhere between fancy and AA grade wood.

It's not unusual for old military arms to have some very pretty wood. I own a Swiss K31 that has nice strait grain walnut wood, however it's also 100% tiger-striped...handguard and all which is very eye appealing.

Not sure if it was on these forums or another forum, but I saw a pic of a bunch of M1 Garand stocks that someone had cherry-picked out of the used stock pile. There were some very nice stocks pictured.

[Allen]

It's not unusual for old military arms to have some very pretty wood.

Agree. That figure is a natural occurrence in wood more often seen in walnut and birch, two of the most used woods for stocks. I have 2 or 3 carbine stocks, a Garand stock, E2 stock and several M14 stocks with the tiger stripe grain or the burl.

A pretty stock means nothing to someone on the line but perhaps at time of issuance and while these guns were new some were set aside that were attractive.

[Johnny P]

The U.S. military would reject stocks that had heavy figure other than fiddleback, as the burl wood was heavier and could be more brittle. The fiddleback cuts came from the center cuts (quarter sawn) of some logs, and the slab cuts that came from the outer part of the log seldom had any figure.

[smoky]

Thanks much guys for your thoughts. I will try to get another of my carbines posted soon.
Hope everyone is having a great New Year so far.