Help with an M1 Garand

usp45ct

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Ok so I am looking for a Garand. Good rifle, great history, my father carried one throughout the pacific in WWII. Problem is I do not know what I am looking for. What are some pitfalls to avoid. I would like a.308 but could easily be talked out of it. Not sure of any cmp shoots. Let me know what I should look for and avoid nd I would appreciate it. Thanks
 
if wanting real us military, stay away from any after market cast recievers (c.i.A., federal, ect) and any springfield armory with serial number 7 million and above as they are also aftermarket commercial. other things to look for are signs of rewatted demilled rifles, or recovered drill rifles. usually signs of welding (barrel tacked on with welds, wrong receiver drawing number on bottom of reciever compared to serial number, ect ect. even m1's that had a 1903a3 barrel stub fused on a m1 barrel stub...


as for caliber, i prefere the original 3006, but cant knock people wanting a .308 one
 
Ok so I am looking for a Garand. Good rifle, great history, my father carried one throughout the pacific in WWII. Problem is I do not know what I am looking for. What are some pitfalls to avoid. I would like a.308 but could easily be talked out of it. Not sure of any cmp shoots. Let me know what I should look for and avoid nd I would appreciate it. Thanks
There is a beautiful one in the classifieds right now.
 
You may want to check out the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) you can buy M1s of different years and grades. Folks with more experience than me can let you know more about the process and quality. I hope to buy one over the next 6 months

Civilian Marksmanship Program
 
Go with a CMP M1 Garand, you won't be disappointed. They're all USGI M1 rifles. CMP prices and customer service are first rate. Be prepared to wait a while for one, because they have been slammed since Newtown.

4 manufacturers made M1 Garands: Springfield Armory (the gov't armory, not the current commercial manufacturer), Winchester, International Harvester (IHC), and Harrington and Richardson (HRA). SA and Winchester made them during WWII, and SA, IHC, and HRA made them postwar. All of them are made to USGI specs, but some wartime production rifles don't have as nice a finish due to the demands of wartime expediency. SA made the most M1 rifles, and therefore are the most commonly found M1 rifles. Winchesters and IHC's command a premium price due to their collectibility. HRA are currently the only field grade and service grade rifles available at the CMP due to overwhelming demand. IHC and SA rifles should be available again in a few months.

Many rifles at the CMP are "mixmasters", meaning that they have been overhauled at some point and have parts from various manufacturers. The really valuable rifles that the CMP finds go on their auction site. There are some true beauties on there: M1 Garand auction link.

If you're serious about buying an M1 then take the steps (really easy: affiliated club membership , ie GOAL, and proof of firearm marksmanship activity) to qualify to buy rifles from the CMP and buy a bigger safe, because you can't buy just one...
 
You may want to check out the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) you can buy M1s of different years and grades. Folks with more experience than me can let you know more about the process and quality. I hope to buy one over the next 6 months

Civilian Marksmanship Program

You better put the order in now. It will probably take 6 months to ship anyway. Also, there won't be any left in 6 months at the rate they are selling. There was a 2-3 year supply of M1's at pre-Newtown buying. Now the rate of orders has jumped something fierce.
 
I put in an order for 2 CMP Springfield Service Grades in the beginning of February, they showed up last week. Not bad, I expected worse. I have now purchased 5 CMP Garands. You will get an excellent rifle but you're going to get Boyds crappy wood. The first 2 had original wood, the last three were the pumpkin colored crap. And unfortunately, original *nice* Garand wood is likely to cost you $200-$300 through eBay or Gunbroker. They are all mix-masters at this point but they are in fantastic shape and great shooters. Even the wood is serviceable, if not butt ugly.

If I were to buy another, I would buy it on Gunbroker. You'll pay $200-$300 above what the CMP is charging but you'll get better wood and in some cases, closer to correct parts.

The Springfield I just got from CMP had a 43 receiver, a 55 barrel, an IHC trigger housing, an HRA safety a bunch of early WWII receiver parts, Korean era gas tube/gas screw. It's a crazy rifle. And I have no idea what the TE/ME is because they attached the wrong tag to the rifle they sent!
 
From their web site.

CMP Sales

Just placed order earlier this month. Was told 30-60 days for order to go through. Much on the option list for rifles is sold out.
 
Go with a CMP M1 Garand, you won't be disappointed. They're all USGI M1 rifles. CMP prices and customer service are first rate. Be prepared to wait a while for one, because they have been slammed since Newtown.

4 manufacturers made M1 Garands: Springfield Armory (the gov't armory, not the current commercial manufacturer), Winchester, International Harvester (IHC), and Harrington and Richardson (HRA). SA and Winchester made them during WWII, and SA, IHC, and HRA made them postwar. All of them are made to USGI specs, but some wartime production rifles don't have as nice a finish due to the demands of wartime expediency. SA made the most M1 rifles, and therefore are the most commonly found M1 rifles. Winchesters and IHC's command a premium price due to their collectibility. HRA are currently the only field grade and service grade rifles available at the CMP due to overwhelming demand. IHC and SA rifles should be available again in a few months.

Many rifles at the CMP are "mixmasters", meaning that they have been overhauled at some point and have parts from various manufacturers. The really valuable rifles that the CMP finds go on their auction site. There are some true beauties on there: M1 Garand auction link.

If you're serious about buying an M1 then take the steps (really easy: affiliated club membership , ie GOAL, and proof of firearm marksmanship activity) to qualify to buy rifles from the CMP and buy a bigger safe, because you can't buy just one...

Is an HRA Service Grade ($650) going to look like one of these SA Service grade:
Civilian Marksmanship Program - Promoting firearms safety training!

Is the HRA Service GRade "Special" ($950) a "mixmaster"?

If one waits for an SA or Winchester to become available again what is the cost in the past for Service Grade (no pricing currently shown).


Is there any advantage of .308 vs .30-06? What ammo and clips/mags are needed to fire these and where can they be found?

Thanks
 
Is an HRA Service Grade ($650) going to look like one of these SA Service grade:

Yes. But the stock is going to be more of an orangish color. That's what my two HRA's looked like.

Is the HRA Service GRade "Special" ($950) a "mixmaster"?

Not sure but based on the description, I would say no. It says "HRA collector grade metal" so it should be all HRA. But you get a crappy stock.

If one waits for an SA or Winchester to become available again what is the cost in the past for Service Grade (no pricing currently shown).

THe Winchester was a bit more, last year they were $695. The Springfields were same price as the HRAs. I would not expect them to get anymore in unless the feds allow all those rifles back in from South Korea.

Is there any advantage of .308 vs .30-06? What ammo and clips/mags are needed to fire these and where can they be found?

The 30.06 give you slightly more velocity and a little more range. The .308 is lighter and smaller, easier to carry more ammo. The US government thought it was a good tradeoff. Both types of ammo are very scarce lately, as are reloading supplies. You can still get surplus .30-06 ammo through the CMP for a reasonable cost so that might tip the balance in the favor of the .30-06 but all that ammo will be gone in 2 years.

How does the CMP work. I do belong to NRA and GOAL

Join the Garand Collectors Association as your club, make sure you have taken a safety course (I think having a CCW counts), get the paperwork notarized and send it in. It's a paperwork pain in the ass but not difficult.
 
Is an HRA Service Grade ($650) going to look like one of these SA Service grade:
Civilian Marksmanship Program - Promoting firearms safety training!

Is the HRA Service GRade "Special" ($950) a "mixmaster"?

If one waits for an SA or Winchester to become available again what is the cost in the past for Service Grade (no pricing currently shown).


Is there any advantage of .308 vs .30-06? What ammo and clips/mags are needed to fire these and where can they be found?

Thanks

Swamp Yankee covered your questions pretty well.

The 2 SA SG's in that auction link are really nice, and are desirable due to their 6 million serial number range and the fact that they are consecutive. They have new CMP walnut stocks which I'm not crazy about due to the amount of fitting some require. My HRA SG is very nice and has many original parts, but new CMP walnut. I'd say that those 2 auction SA SG's are nicer than something you'll receive through mail order, but you never know.

A $950 HRA Service Grade Special is DEFINITELY NOT a mixmaster. SGS rifles are essentially unissued rifles that were received at the CMP without any wood. So they have "collector grade metal" with new stocks. Collector grade meaning that they have correct parts for their serial number, with metal finish at 95% or better. The SGS are truely beautiful rifles, so if you want one act quickly because supply is almost gone.

SA will most likely be available for mail order again, while the Winchesters probably won't, but who knows. SA were $525 Field Grade and $625 Service Grade before they sold out last month. Manufacturer is like choosing a favorite flavor of ice cream, they're all good, so just pick whatever is available. When your Garanditis goes into full swing you'll want one of each, but for a first M1 rifle you'd be hard pressed to beat the HRA Service Grades that the CMP is selling right now.

.308 vs .30-06... both take the same en bloc clips. Surplus .30-06 is becoming more and more difficult to find since no military uses it anymore, and .308 surplus is hard to find because we're using it all over the world in our bogus war on terror. .308 surplus will probably be easier to find than .30-06 going forward. If you want a .308 Garand then you will need to get a CMP Special rifle, which is essentially a refinished USGI receiver with new Criterion .308 barrel, refinished USGI parts, and a crappy new CMP stock. CMP Specials just don't do it for me.

BTW GOAL membership is an affiliated CMP club, so you are good to go. NRA membership, strangely, doesn't qualify for CMP.

Use the search function on this forum and you'll find many people who have asked the same questions and received answers about Garands. There is a wealth of info about the CMP and M1 rifles here on NES.
 
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