The U.S. Carbine Caliber .30

Buttplate Identification

Barrel Group	Bolt Group	Receiver Group	Slides	Stock Group	Trigger Housing Group
Select an image...				...to go to the web page(s)

Page 1	Page 2	Page 3	Page 4
Stocks	Handguards	Barrel Band Retainers Recoil Plates Recoil Plate Screws Recoil Plate Escutcheons	Buttplates Buttplate Screw (This Page)

The Dilemma of which Manufacturer used which Buttplates during WWII

Of the ten prime contractors who assembled U.S. Carbines during WWII only one, Underwood, made their own buttplates. The other nine subcontracted other companies to make them. There are eleven known buttplate manufacturers responsible for manufacturing buttplates for over 6 million U.S. Carbines, plus extras for use as spare parts/replacements. Unlike other parts for the carbine, only two of these eleven manufacturers placed letters on their buttplates to identify who made them and for whom.

Unfortunately U.S. Army Ordnance records, or the records of anyone else from the time period, did not document (or the documents have yet to be found) which buttplate was manufactured by which subcontractor. What has enabled us to identify which manufacturers made which buttplate has been the patterns on the metal dies they used, as each manufacturer used a different pattern. Several different collectors have compiled lists of what they believe to be accurate based on many years of examining stocks and the buttplates thereon. Not all of these collectors agree.

Lateral Support

The nature of ongoing mass production at ten different contractor locations resulted in each having varying quantities of various parts on hand at any given time. If the inventory of a particular part ran too low at one contractor it was common for them to seek and obtain quantities from another contractor who had a surplus on hand, to keep their production lines going.

The few documents found regarding lateral support of buttplates indicate the quantities and occasions were very limited. Lateral support for stocks was far more common. Some of these records indicate stocks with buttplates attached, some do not. Experience examining which stocks have which buttplates on which carbines infers there is a good likelihood many of the lateral support stocks came with buttplates attached.

While each subcontractor manufactured buttplates for a specific carbine manufacturer, at various times several of these subcontractors made buttplates for more than one of the prime contractors.

Understanding the Manufacture of Buttplates

Buttplates were formed from sheet metal using dies. No information has been found regarding the exact steps involved in manufacturing buttplates during WWII or that all buttplate manufacturers used the same machinery and same steps.

On the buttplates themselves, slight variations in the centering of the flat area around the screw hole have been observed. This indicates that the dimpled pattern may not have been formed in the same step as the screw hole with its tapered recess for the screw head. It appears some may have been stamped with more or less pressure than others, however, over time the volume of production may have caused increasing wear to the dies, making patterns less distinct than when the dies were new. It's also possible some dies were replaced as they wore out.

Slight variations in the patterns of buttplates made by the same manufacture are not uncommon. The causes for this are not known.

Use, Wear, Damage, etc.

The buttplate existed to absorb or prevent damage to the one place of a carbine that suffered more impact than any other, the butt of the stock. In serving this purpose they typically show more wear, damage, and/or rust than any other part on a U.S. Carbine. Typically the pattern on the outside of the buttplate is worn to varying degrees and not as well defined around the edges. Sometimes to the point of the exterior edge pattern having been worn almost smooth. Examining the inside of the buttplate often reveals the original pattern.

Front	Inside	Inside Image Reversed for Comparison

Post WWII

When WWII ended Springfield Armory assumed control of the U.S. Carbine program and parts inventory. Replacement stock production continued well after WWII. Buttplates used were obtained from surplus/replacements made during WWII that had yet to be used. Springfield Armory is known to have manufactured buttplates post WWII using equipment left over from at least one subcontractor. Springfield Armory also packaged surplus used and new buttplates for long term storage. A buttplate covered in grease and packaged for long term storage may or may not be "new and unused".

Real vs. Replicas vs. Commercially Manufactured: Words of Caution

A few of the buttplates manufactured for the U.S. Carbines during WWII are somewhat rare and therefore can have substantially more value than the others. The most notable are those made for Irwin-Pedersen and marked IP-PM or PM-IP. The PM identified the subcontractor who made them. After Saginaw's takeover of the Irwin-Pedersen facility the same subcontractor continued to manufacture buttplates for Saginaw in Grand Rapids marked PM-S'G'. With the increase in value has come an increase in fakes.

Some of the fakes have been made by simply stamping the letters in the right place on a buttplate made by a different WWII manufacturer. Some have been buttplates manufactured during WWII that have been physically altered to look like a rare one. Others have been commercially manufactured copies of varying accuracy.

Some retailers tend to list buttplates as being for the M1 and/or M2 Carbine without identifying them as authentic GI versus commercially manufactured (particularly on Ebay, Gunbroker, and other auction websites). A few retailers claim a buttplate is authentic when it's not (beware of "...selling them for a friend" - plausible deniability). Some retailers unintentionally mis-identify buttplates.

Due to the number of commercial buttplates intentionally or unintentionally sold as authentic WWII manufacture, photo's of the commercial buttplates follow the authentic buttplates below.

This table has been divided into the following sections: Known WWII Original Buttplates Buttplates of Unknown Origin Buttplates Manufactured for Commercial Carbines and/or Retail Sales

Disclaimer

All we can do is the best we can. A lot of effort has gone into the accuracy of what appears below. It has been reviewed by a number of long time researchers and collectors in an attempt to provide the most accurate information possible. That said, it's the best guess of experience, not set in stone.

U.S. Caliber .30 Carbine Buttplates
Face	Center	Inside (not reversed)
IBM
Inland
	This buttplate is often confused with a very similar buttplate used by Winchester. Note the gaps between dots at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions. Also the width of the circle surrounding the screw hole inside the buttplate. The Winchester buttplate does not have the gaps The diameter of the circle around the screw hole on the inside of the Winchester buttplate is noticeably larger. This buttplate was also used by Saginaw in Saginaw, MI.
Irwin-Pedersen
	Beware of Fraud These are the most forged and faked buttplates for the M1 Carbines. Look real close at the dots around the screw hole.
National Postal Meter
Quality Hardware
Rock-Ola
	Note dot missing at 3 o'clock
	Note missing dot at 6 o'clock and 2 missing dots at 12 o'clock.
Saginaw Gear Saginaw, MI
	Also used by Inland. Refer narrative there.
	Note missing dot at 5 o'clock
Saginaw Gear Grand Rapids, MI
	Beware of Fraud Refer to the narrative for Irwin-Pedersen above, same manufacturer.
Standard Products
Underwood
Winchester
	This buttplate is often confused with a very similar buttplate used by Inland and Saginaw of Saginaw, MI. Refer to the Inland buttplate narrative (above) for further details.

Buttplates with Foreign Service
China People's Republic
	These have 14 dots per row towards the center The norm is 12 (the 3 overlapping dots above the center are damage to the rear) 1 of several found on Communist Chinese copykat carbines
Italy
	These have 14 dots per row towards the center The norm is 12 Observed on U.S. manufactured carbine stocks returning from Italy
Japan mfg by Howa for U.S. Army Ordnance circa 1949-1952
Netherlands
	Large quantities found with GI buttplates sold as surplus by The Netherlands in the early 1990's. Also occasionally observed in the USA prior. If you know source please contact us on our forums.
South Korea
	Observed on U.S. and foreign manufactured carbine stocks returning from South Korea
West Germany West German Ministry of Defense
	Found on walnut M2 stocks with the acceptance mark/eagle of the West German Ministry of Defense. (Note the 3 offset dots in bottom row)
- MYSTERY - GR
	Inverted GR on inside at bottom. Possible foreign manufacture. Quality of rows, columns and dots are not consistent with dies used by U.S. contractors/sub-contractors. Center has two variations. Rows, columns and dots are the same. If you know source please contact us on our forums.
	Center pattern 1
	Center pattern 2

Replica Buttplates
"Early Inland" Replica
	new production commercial replica
"Rockola" Replica
	new production commercial replica

Buttplates Manufactured for Commercial Carbines and/or Retail Sale
Auto Ordnance
Chiappa Model M1-22
Erma Werke Model EM1 .22
Israel Arms International
Iver Johnson New Jersey 1978-1981 & Arkansas 1981-1992
National Ordnance & Alpine
	This buttplate is smooth & blued, with no dots. The texture you see here was caused by the lighting.
Universal Firearms 1963-1986 Iver Johnson 1984-1992
	The dark squares you see here are impressions into the buttplate. The faint dots between them are the raised areas.
Unknown
	Unknown commercial manufacturer
Unknown
	Unknown commercial manufacturer