How about two of them? I guess I'm now officially a member of the Church of John Cantius Garand and his magnificent creation.
First up, my first M1 ever, a CMP Field Special. A combination of impatience and wanting something serviceable for JCG matches led me to put an order in. Springfield 18698xx serial which I believe is August 1943. WRA trigger housing, SA bolt, hammer, post-war sights. Haven't had time to check the op rod yet or do further disassembly. If I hadn't missed time last week from illness I'd use some PTO to spend all day with it. As it stands, probably first range trip Thur/Fri or next week (away this weekend to in-laws, of course ).
Since it's a special it's got the CMP wood and the new Criterion barrel.
Bolt: D28287-12SA S-A1<>
Trigger Housing: D28290-W.R.A.
Hammer: C46008-5 SA
Only wish I had more time. Rushing as I write this. Some poor quality pics attached.
Now, I mentioned two, and here's the rub: Back on Dec 12 I got impatient waiting on service grades, so I sent in an order for a regular field grade that's been sitting in the estore for two months and change. Today, I get an email asking me if I want to switch it to a service grade for the price difference. According to the CMP email, FGs will be one week to one month back order, but service grades, to quote, "are ready to ship." Here's the caveat though: the next sentence of the email (I half expected this) reads, "Most of the Service grade rifles will have new stocks."
Since I wanted the non-special to be more "authentic" I was really hoping to have USGI wood. I used the majspud special sticky (WW2 Serial, USGI wood) on the non-special FG order. Since I have a WW2 serial now, I'd almost be more interested in an HRA to mix it up, but I do really want USGI wood, so that's the part I'm stuck on.
So, the big question: is it worth the $100 extra to bump to service grade to a.) get it right away instead of 1-4+ weeks, b.) get the SG parts over the FG, and c.) potentially have to hunt for a USGI stock?
Obviously, there's a chance I end up with USGI wood on the SG, but I think it's unlikely. I'm leaning towards taking the offer and switching to SG, but was curious what those of you with much more experience (and knowledge of quality and availability of parts) have to say.
If only all my problems were choosing which kind of Garand to get!
First up, my first M1 ever, a CMP Field Special. A combination of impatience and wanting something serviceable for JCG matches led me to put an order in. Springfield 18698xx serial which I believe is August 1943. WRA trigger housing, SA bolt, hammer, post-war sights. Haven't had time to check the op rod yet or do further disassembly. If I hadn't missed time last week from illness I'd use some PTO to spend all day with it. As it stands, probably first range trip Thur/Fri or next week (away this weekend to in-laws, of course ).
Since it's a special it's got the CMP wood and the new Criterion barrel.
Bolt: D28287-12SA S-A1<>
Trigger Housing: D28290-W.R.A.
Hammer: C46008-5 SA
Only wish I had more time. Rushing as I write this. Some poor quality pics attached.
Now, I mentioned two, and here's the rub: Back on Dec 12 I got impatient waiting on service grades, so I sent in an order for a regular field grade that's been sitting in the estore for two months and change. Today, I get an email asking me if I want to switch it to a service grade for the price difference. According to the CMP email, FGs will be one week to one month back order, but service grades, to quote, "are ready to ship." Here's the caveat though: the next sentence of the email (I half expected this) reads, "Most of the Service grade rifles will have new stocks."
Since I wanted the non-special to be more "authentic" I was really hoping to have USGI wood. I used the majspud special sticky (WW2 Serial, USGI wood) on the non-special FG order. Since I have a WW2 serial now, I'd almost be more interested in an HRA to mix it up, but I do really want USGI wood, so that's the part I'm stuck on.
So, the big question: is it worth the $100 extra to bump to service grade to a.) get it right away instead of 1-4+ weeks, b.) get the SG parts over the FG, and c.) potentially have to hunt for a USGI stock?
Obviously, there's a chance I end up with USGI wood on the SG, but I think it's unlikely. I'm leaning towards taking the offer and switching to SG, but was curious what those of you with much more experience (and knowledge of quality and availability of parts) have to say.
If only all my problems were choosing which kind of Garand to get!