1942 winchester

[GBEAR1]

Geez o Wiz guys Im sorry for causing such a still. I know it had to have been an aggrivating question. You guys were a big help to me. I spent about 3 hrs tonight looking the 42 over. I see what you all were trying to say. I had 4 reference books and not all of them had the same info on some of the parts. An example was the cartouche. The books I had showed the WRA GHD with periods. The 42 gun I am looking at has no periods and I was figuring it was faked wright off the bat. But with more research I discovered there is a smaller boxed WRA GHD with out the periods and It was used in Oct 42 when this rifle was made only according to the book it was not used till 1260000 where as the rifle is 1253000. I measured the box with calipers and it was very close to the proper measurements but there is a clear overlay in JC harrisons book that wasnt exactly the same as the cartouche . Very close though. I wonder how accurate that overlay is. Another is the knurling on the flush nut rear sights. 2 books said it should be checkered and one book said the knurling is correct. I didnt take it completely apart and I didnt see all the markings on some of the very small parts . The reciever heel has been aneiled so I figure it is the original parkerized finish. The finish on the rest of the rifle looks right to be with my years of experience collecting US Military rifles and old Winchester levers. He is going to hold it for me a couple days for me to make up my mind. I think the gun is good. I suppose there could be some minor stuff changed over the years hence the foolishness of my initial claim the gun is 100% original. Any more help you guys can give is still greatly appreciated.

[RCS]

GBEAR1, Your Winchester 1253000 was serial numbered on Oct 1, 1942, your stock could be either the large box WRA G.H.D. or the smaller box WRA GHD. there is an overlap on the sight knobs
and the "flush nut" would be correct from production but most were changed to the second type lock bar, but there are some around. Look for A and CM marked parks, a dulite blue gas cylinder with
the Winchester front sight (with front sight screw seal ?) Look for a large pad on the trigger housing

[Latigo 1]

The GHD with periods is the large box cartouche. The one without is the small box. Your rifle is right at the point that either could be correct. I have only heard of two original rifles that have been found with the large box. One is a 1.264 mil and the other is a 1.274 mil. This is not absolute though because the large boxes probably started a little earlier and small box GHD cartouches have also been seen in this serial number range. The cartouches in Harrison's book are not true likenesses of genuine cartouches, in fact they are pretty far off, so not good for comparison. Your sight should have checkered knobs and a flush nut. As far as I know, all WRA flush nut sights had checkered knobs. Knurled knobs and the long pinion with lock bar were all implemented at the same time. A repark will not hide the annealing on the receiver. It will still show up after a repark. It is hard for anyone to make judgement on this rifle without clear photos of all the parts. There are just too many things to check out. We know that stocks, barrels, hammers, and rear sight short pinions have been faked. You would have to know how to tell if the trigger housing pad has been modified as well as the op rod. The rear sight base and cover would also have to be verified as WRA. Does the rear handguard have the op rod notch? I am not trying to discourage you from buying this rifle, just trying to point out a few things to be wary of before paying a high price. Some research seems to be in order. I have sold several restorations and have never hesitated to provide lots of pics and full description for any question that came up from the buyer. If I were you I would see if the seller would provide pics of all the parts, especially if the price is high.

[GBEAR1]

I understand. This is more complicated than I thought it would be. I could try to get some photos if he will go along. I dont know what you mean about the modified trigger housing and I dont know about the sight pinion. The gas tube is dulite and the front sight is ok.The stock and butt plate is Winchester for sure. Seems the rear sight may be in that transition area as well as the cartouche. I see the winchester proof mark as well as punch mark but I didnt take the upper hand guard of to check the drawing number on the barrel because of fear of scratching the barrel. The parts that I could see had the proper drawing numbers and some had no markings.Here is a question. Should any of the internal parts be in unfinished in the white? Im talking parts that are seen by field stripping. The price of the rifle is 4300. Thats more than I have ever paid for a rifle. Im not looking to sell for a short term profit but to keep as a long term investment. I like to have a little wiggle room when I buy but I dont want a turkey. g

[Latigo 1]

I sent you a private message.

[GBEAR1]

One thing that concerns me on this rifle is that it does have the flush nut rear sight but the windage and elevation knobs are knurled not checkered. Can this be correct for a Oct 1942 rifle?