ei276b

Does anyone here have any knowledge of Italian Garands? Not Beretta. BMR/Breda garands. I have a friend who is selling one that is all correct. Finish is 95 to 100%. Has Danish crown on receiver heel. Throat errosion is .75 and muzzle wear is at 0 on the guage. Date on brl. is 1955 and S/N matches. Any info. will be greatly appreciated.

rightwinggunnut

The Italians were given permission to manufacture M1 Garands after the end of the war. The Italian Government assigned the task to Breda, and Beretta. I'm not clear on the tooling at Breda, but the machinery at Beretta was said to be purchased from Winchester. They are manufactured to USGI specs and are interchangeable to US made Garands. Though fairly rare here, the Italian Garands were fairly common in Europe, and it's not uncommon to see Italian parts on US lend/lease returns. It appears that they re-arsenaled their rifles like we do, put all the parts in a pile, and reassemble. I'm not sure if Breda was the same as Beretta, but Beretta marked just about every part with PB.

One of my favorite Garands is a .308 chambered all Beretta Garand, they were built in the mid-fifties, before that they were all 30.06 rifles.

HTH, rightwing :m16:

OnTargetFL

I have a correct Italian Garand with Danish Crown marked PB12XX
on receiver and bolt and PB throughout.

Beretta made a limited number for Denmark (you will hear 4000 or 8000 - I've never seen a serial number above 4000)

Date of 1955 is correct. Bayonets with Danish crest were also available.

I had two of these rifles. They both shot and functioned well.

Good luck, and enjoy shooting!

Gerry

RenoF250

I have a Breda that is all correct and everything is marked BMB. It has been flawless and I am very happy with it. I am curious to know what they are worth. I know mine is worth much more than I paid to me.

garand

I can't say exactly what an Italian Garand is worth but I paid $750 for an all Beretta one at a VA gunshow and thought that I got a fairly good deal.

Mechanized

Get It!!!

No collection is complete without one. I have both a Beretta and a Breda. Both are nice rifles, I got a new VAR barrel on my Beretta. It shoots like a dream too. I think more collectors are starting to look for them and the price will just go up like all the others. If I find a deal on another, I won't hesitate to get it.

kjohn

Hello. Canadian boy here. I have PB 6312

bearcat6

A few years ago some one imported a lot of Danish Garand parts. Including receivers. I think it may have been CIA but I'm not sure. I know a of a couple of these receivers thatb were built up using GI parts. They even had some Danish marked M84 M1D scopes.

stand watie

bearcat5,

Fwiw, CMP sold a BUNCH of "Danish-returns" some years ago. = My buddy & I both got a 1955 Danish-rebuilt Garand with receiver by SA from the early WWII years.
("Uncle Ed's" treasured "Danish-return" is Danish Naval Infantry marked & has a 1942 SA receiver with all BMB parts. - Mine has a 1944 SA receiver & LOTS of PB parts.)

yours, sw

top soldier

Could not help but see this thread on the WOP Garands... (I am a WOP - so no griping).... While on Active Duty in California...I was Building MATCH M1 GARAND Rifles with Don McCoy.. Finding gage sets was next to impossible... By chance.....at a get together in POMONA CA......there were a lot of Military Personnel there.. One --looked a bit strange.. I went over and had a look at his Uniform.. It was a AL ITALIA Pilot...!!! From the AL ITALIA AIRLINES.. His name was........... BERETTA.
I immediately sat down with him and chatted... He was a CAPTAIN for the Airline..and was in CA for a week... Maurizio was a super nice guy.. We got along real well after he found out my family was from Sicily. I told him I had a M1934 Beretta with a cracked grip....and that I worked with the M1 Garands and the M14 Rifles.... We have kept in touch for many years...He now flies for the SWISS..... I received a package one day.....from Italy..... In it -- there was a NEW - unissued pair of grips for the Beretta - and a barrel...AND !!! A green metal box....when opened - on the top level ..are ALL the gauges for the M14 Rifle..and the bottom are all the gauges for the M1 Garand...All in Italian... WOW... Maurizio sent them to me - no charge --and a note that said - he found the last pair of WW2 Grips at the factory... Neat - huh.??!! Of course, I still have them...

top soldier

Lets hope....with the new AMERICAN President...that Korea and Greece are allowed to return the thousands of Garands that they have...... Write your Congressmen and ask them to push for this....