airbornetrooper
Active Member
Known as the Gevær m/50 in Denmark, the M1 Garand was used in quantity by the Danes for several decades after World War II. The majority of these rifles were given as military aid, but the Danes also ordered some from Italy. At the time Italy was a primary contractor for M1 Garand replacement parts for NATO forces in Europe. Contrary to popular thought, although Italy had been given the old Winchester tooling, it did not actually use this to produce rifles. The tooling was deteriorated from being stored outside for years and the Italians needed to reverse engineer it.
Once complete, Beretta built Garands under contract for various counties. There are lesser known (and exponentially more rare) contract rifles for Yemen, Indonesia, and Sudan amongst others. The Danish contract is the most well known, with approximately 20,000 rifles produced and split evenly between Breda and Beretta. Breda rifles will be marked BMR on the receiver heel, and Beretta made rifles will be marked PB in the same place. In truly annoying fashion, the Italians marked nearly every single part (BMR & BMB for Breda and PB for Beretta). Due to inhospitable political conditions in the United States during the 1990's, the Danish rifles had varied fates. The US made rifles given as foreign war aid were by and large sent to the CMP. The Italian made rifles however were by and large parted out, with the spare parts (sans receivers) going to the states and the receivers going north of the border to Canada. Inevitably some snuck south of the border.
This rifle is essentially a parts rifle. The stocks were serial numbered to the guns and this one does not match. Most parts on the rifle are correctly marked PB for Beretta, with the exception of the op rod (which if anyone has one please PM me). The rifle has Danish VAR barrel (one of the few parts the Danes made for them). VAR barrels are renowned for their accuracy amongst Garand collectors. I have seen very few all matching Italian produced Danish contract Garands here in the states. Stripped receivers typically fetch around $500 and complete rifles for around $1,500 usually.
Once complete, Beretta built Garands under contract for various counties. There are lesser known (and exponentially more rare) contract rifles for Yemen, Indonesia, and Sudan amongst others. The Danish contract is the most well known, with approximately 20,000 rifles produced and split evenly between Breda and Beretta. Breda rifles will be marked BMR on the receiver heel, and Beretta made rifles will be marked PB in the same place. In truly annoying fashion, the Italians marked nearly every single part (BMR & BMB for Breda and PB for Beretta). Due to inhospitable political conditions in the United States during the 1990's, the Danish rifles had varied fates. The US made rifles given as foreign war aid were by and large sent to the CMP. The Italian made rifles however were by and large parted out, with the spare parts (sans receivers) going to the states and the receivers going north of the border to Canada. Inevitably some snuck south of the border.
This rifle is essentially a parts rifle. The stocks were serial numbered to the guns and this one does not match. Most parts on the rifle are correctly marked PB for Beretta, with the exception of the op rod (which if anyone has one please PM me). The rifle has Danish VAR barrel (one of the few parts the Danes made for them). VAR barrels are renowned for their accuracy amongst Garand collectors. I have seen very few all matching Italian produced Danish contract Garands here in the states. Stripped receivers typically fetch around $500 and complete rifles for around $1,500 usually.
Attachments
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M1 Garand Beretta 887 Barrel.jpg80.1 KB · Views: 1,137
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M1 Garand Beretta 887 Bolt.jpg65.9 KB · Views: 1,110
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M1 Garand Beretta 887 Handguard clip.jpg67.5 KB · Views: 1,120
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M1 Garand Beretta 887 Clip latch.jpg39 KB · Views: 1,035
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M1 Garand Beretta 887 Gas plug.jpg34.1 KB · Views: 1,095
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M1 Garand Beretta 887 Receiver heel.jpg80.4 KB · Views: 1,066
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M1 Garand Beretta 887 Stock right.jpg32.6 KB · Views: 1,093
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M1 Garand Beretta 887 Stock left.jpg41.6 KB · Views: 1,101
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M1 Garand Beretta 887 Sight front.jpg78.5 KB · Views: 1,074
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M1 Garand Beretta 887 Sight rear.jpg56.7 KB · Views: 1,070