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RFDK13 
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Joined: Jan 09 2026 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 14 |
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 Topic: New Member in Upstate South CarolinaPosted: Jan 10 2026 at 10:52pm |
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Hello, my name is Adam and I have recently come into possession of a Rock-Ola M1 Carbine with serial # 4579892. I have the receipt of my father-in-law's father purchasing it in 1962 for $17.50 dollars. He installed a scope at the rear sight which I have removed, and unfortunately the original rear sight is lost. I am interested in trying to restore the Carbine to it's original configuration from the factory, but am unsure of which parts to expect it to have, such as a Type I vs Type III barrel band, etc. (it currently has a Type III band).
Any help in figuring out exactly what I have, and what would be needed to restore it to original status would be greatly appreciated. Please advise what pictures would be helpful to upload to show important details of the rifle.
Thank you so much for reading this, and for any help you may be able to offer! Adam |
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Unit91
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Joined: Dec 20 2025 Location: Missouri Status: Offline Points: 16 |
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Posted: Jan 10 2026 at 11:38pm |
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Welcome to the forum Adam! I’m a new carbine owner myself. You’ve definitely come to the right place, the members here have an incredible amount of knowledge on these guns. They’ve quickly made a carbine addict out of me.
In addition to their expertise, I bought a Carbine Club newsletter that was also a great reference when tracking down correct parts for my gun. I’m sure they could tell you which one you’ll need, but I’d highly recommend picking one up.
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RFDK13
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Posted: Jan 11 2026 at 12:35pm |
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Thank you for the tip! Do you have a link to this Carbine Club Newsletter? All I could find about it was that there was one up until 2016, then it went online and the link I clicked on brought me to this club forum. So far I have not found anything else.
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Matt_X
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Joined: Nov 10 2020 Location: Phila, Penn Status: Offline Points: 1047 |
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Posted: Jan 11 2026 at 12:50pm |
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This thread will get you to the indexes.
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RFDK13
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Posted: Jan 11 2026 at 12:51pm |
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Here are images of my Rock-Ola M1 Carbine. If there are any details I do not have good views of, please let me know and I will add more. I am trying to bring this rifle back to it's original condition from early 1944, but I am unclear as to which parts are original and which ones have been changed out. Also, the marking on the stock is rather faint and unclear to me, it seems to be an "SC" with a mark above it. Not sure what it means. A red light seemed to help it be a little more visible than under indoor lighting. All input is much appreciated!
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RFDK13
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Posted: Jan 11 2026 at 12:59pm |
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Much appreciated!
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jackp1028
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Posted: Jan 11 2026 at 2:07pm |
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Hi and welcome to the Forum from New Mexico!
Here's a link to a Rock-Ola that is in the same serial number block as yours to compare. https://www.uscarbinecal30.com/forum/rockola-459xxxx_topic4211.html All I can really tell from your pictures so far is that you have a Saginaw stock with the "SG" ordnance stamp. The correct stock would be marked "RMC". You appear to have a Type 3 barrel band. It should be Type 1. Also, a Type 1 "flip" sight would be "correct". The barrel and front sight look okay. It appears to have a later operating slide. An earlier slide with the flat deflector lug shape would be more "correct". I am anxious to see pictures of the trigger housing and its associated parts. Here's another link to an almost original Rock-Ola that I posted a few years ago. It had a replacement adjustable rear sight. Everything else is original. https://www.uscarbinecal30.com/forum/the-mills-brothers-rockola_topic3748.html Edited by jackp1028 - Jan 11 2026 at 3:05pm |
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JackP
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RFDK13
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Posted: Jan 11 2026 at 4:53pm |
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Wow, thank you Jack, you have advanced my understanding of what I'm dealing with by light years with your one reply, thank you! I removed the barrel band and the stock so I could get pictures of the guts of my M1. Please let me know if there is another view that is needed to learn whatever you are wanting to know about this particular rifle.
Also, I'm curious as to what your recommendations might be with how to proceed with this one. I like the idea of restoring to original order, but if, for some reason, that is generally/highly frowned up, I try to listen to those wiser than me. My wife & I have a senior in high school who is committed to heading to boot camp with the Marines in May and we would like to present this rifle and some other military items in a case to him when he graduates boot camp, and I just thought trying to return it to its original configuration would be the most ideal move. Thanks Again!       |
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Matt_X
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Posted: Jan 11 2026 at 5:46pm |
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My 2 cents. Get a good handle on what how its currently configured and then decide what you want to do. As I look through the pictures what will help us is if you can save them as 800 or 850 pixel wide images. Currently they are posting as 320 wide PNG files. I don't know if PNG is the best for photos, although it is good for diagrams. I assume you are using a cell phone, so Im not going to be a lot of help. I notice friends who send me photos taken on I-Phones are often fairly small, even though the phone is probably taking and saving them internally at a bigger size. What's the paperwork show? It looks like Anniston on the upper left? If this is completed overhaul from Anniston Arsenal I'd be inclined to keep it together. Finishes look great. A stock with the SG running sideways is an S'G'. The means it was on a carbine made at Saginaw's Grand Rapids factory. The stock maker's stamp will be in the slingwell.
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jackp1028
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Posted: Jan 11 2026 at 6:28pm |
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I'm inclined to agree with Matt. If it's an Anniston overhaul, and you have the paperwork to prove it, it's history should be preserved. Besides, it would cost a whole lot of money to buy the correct parts to return it to its original configuration.
The pictures are really too small to tell much. Can you post a clearer picture of the receipt that's readable. When I blow it up, it's still out of focus. Matt's right. It is a Grand Rapids (S'G') stock. My bad. |
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JackP
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RFDK13
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Posted: Jan 11 2026 at 8:11pm |
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Thank you, gentleman. I agree with you about the pictures but I need help figuring out how to post them without them being darker and grainy. I am taking them with an iPhone, then e-mailing them to myself and having to select the smallest size because a 1/2 dozen pictures becomes a massive file size if use anything other than small. I've been opening the e-mail pictures on my desktop and uploading to the forum on the desktop and what you see is trash compared to what the iPhone took. Short of e-mailing each picture individually, I don't know how else to keep the picture resolution?
To answer the question about the receipt, yes, ChatGPT says the receipt is from the Anniston Depot with a date of 1/16/62.
Also, after looking at Jack's pictures of his rifle and then looking back over mine, I definitely noticed some differences, such as: My recoil plate does not say Rock-Ola, it actually doesn't say anything. The underside of my handguard has "RMC" stamped into it, and the slingwell has "RSG" stamped into it. The block at the front of my slide does not say Rock-Ola, but it does have the number "7160091" stamped into the under side. I definitely hear what you're saying about leaving it preserved as an Anniston overhaul. My goal is to make it "period correct", whatever that looks like, for whatever it's last service state was. I just know that people "sporterized" these rifles after they went into the civilian market and I am trying to get it back to proper military configuration, whatever that is. Any suggestions on how to post quality pictures will be much appreciated, and I will try to take duplicate pictures to Jack's post on his original Rock-Ola rifle. Thanks Again! |
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Jond41403
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Posted: Jan 11 2026 at 10:47pm |
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+2 jackp & Matt. If it is indeed an Anniston rebuild and you basically have its rebirth certificate haha, I would also leave it just as it is except I would put an adjustable rear sight on it though because from the staking marks that's what it had. honestly, if you did not have the receipt, I'd be more inclined to try to restore it for your purpose but for me, that receipt changes everything for that particular carbine but that's just my opinion. I'd almost be tempted to leave that one be and just buy another carbine that's closer in parts already to your goal. Even though what you have is not technically correct as it left the factory, the way it sits right now is exactly the way the US military intended it. I mean you could even sell that as it is to a collector that will collect it for what it is and use that money to buy another rockola carbine that already has more original parts in it than yours does now. You have something that most of us with rebuilt carbines would dream to have, the original sales receipt from the army Depot it last came from.hth
Edited by Jond41403 - Jan 11 2026 at 11:03pm |
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RFDK13
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Posted: Jan 12 2026 at 6:35am |
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I get that, and I'm totally fine with changing goals to achieving correct rebuild status with the historical documentation. I still want to get quality pictures posted so people can easily assess things, I guess I may try to log into the forum directly from my phone and upload from there, to bypass the e-mail compression problem. Will try that after work.
So, if I'm going for rebuild status, are you saying the only thing I may have to do is find a correct rear sight, clean it up, and I'm done?
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painter777
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Posted: Jan 12 2026 at 12:10pm |
Simple answer, Yes. The majority of US M1 Carbines went thru at least one rebuild. This is why those few found in original left the factory issue are so coveted. As mentioned above, the stake marks on the rear dovetails are proof your carbine had a rear adjustable sight installed at one time. The addition of the bayonet band is also proof (along with your paper work) of late/post war upgrades while in government possession. Welcome to the forum btw..... Ch-P777
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Living Free because of those that serve.....
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W5USMC
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Joined: Apr 29 2017 Location: Missouri Status: Offline Points: 3640 |
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Posted: Jan 12 2026 at 1:13pm |
When uploading pictures to the forum it is all about the sizing, horizontal pixels need to be around 700, keeping aspect ratio. I will send you a PM with my email address, send any pics to me and I will get them sized and inserted into your post.
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Wayne
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Matt_X
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Posted: Jan 12 2026 at 2:51pm |
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Thanks Wayne. We'ld all love to see that paperwork. RFDK13 I understand your original intent as a gift. Is an originally manufactured configuration a key part of that? If not, as you can tell, a bunch of us think its cool and interesting in the current condition. As far shooting goes, there is a general belief that the later barrel bands (type 2 and type 3) provide more accuracy. The theory is the narrow barrel has wider and more consistant support. Also the tightening method of the later bands with the screw underneath is a better engineered design. The flip sight has an advantage in ease of target aquistion. The later adjustable sight seems provide higher precision, and could be especially useful between 200 and 250 yards where the bullet drop is significant. I can't speak to that since all the ranges around here are 100 yards.
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Jond41403
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Posted: Jan 12 2026 at 4:17pm |
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indeed it is very cool! Being from Anniston, if I had that I would start collecting the six pack magazine bags that are around from the Anniston armory repack program in the '50s to go with it
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RFDK13
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Posted: Jan 12 2026 at 7:11pm |
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I may know what you are referring to, my father in law gave me a pouch-like item that reminds me of a device a carpenter would use to hold nails, screws, etc., but it has multiple compartments. I'll dig it out and take a picture to send to Wayne. I have sent him all the images I have of the rifle, including the coveted Anniston sales receipt. I hope Wayne can succeed where I have failed!
     
     Edited by W5USMC - Jan 12 2026 at 10:36pm |
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W5USMC
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Posted: Jan 12 2026 at 10:52pm |
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Some of the pictures from RFDK13 have been added to the above post. Adam, JonD is talking about actual re-packaged Magazines, the picture that you sent me is actually an M1 Rifle Bandoleer for carrying clipped ammo for the Garand Rifle. |
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Wayne
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painter777
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Posted: Jan 13 2026 at 2:28pm |
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IMO,
Advantages of the adjustable rear sights besides having a better protected aperture are having the left-right windage at your finger tips and multiple elevation settings. In this case the OP having a post war rebuild has the option of putting any USGI type II or III adjustable sight on it. Maybe even run a WTB here to purchase one. Question? Can anyone tell what the stamp above his S'G' on his stock is? Appears to be a boxed stamp. Could this be another Depot or Armory? Just Curious.... Ch-P777
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RFDK13 wrote: