Thinking about taking a trip to camp perry and buying my first garand.

I have been wanting one for a long time but I really don't know much about them. The more I read on them the more confused I seem to get. I wasn't planning on buying any guns at this time but I see that they have field grade rifles for 525. If anyone has advice on what exactly to look for when I get a chance to go (hopefully next wednesday) I would appreciate it greatly. If not I guess I will just go in and drool over them all until one tells me it wants to go home with me. Thanks in advance guys.

My advice would be to call before you go to make sure they have some of the grade you are looking for in stock. The people working there are helpful and knowledgable, and they have gages available for you to use. That said, look for the ones with the lowest muzzle erosion. You can get a good shooter with a high TE, but a wallowed out muzzle from cleaning plays havoc with accuracy. Also, a good light for checking the bore condition helps.

Thanks for the advice I actually called today just to make sure I had all my bases covered on what I need to buy one and to double check that they were in stock.
I will call again before I got next week if everything works out.

Make sure you have everything you need for the paperwork.

Ok so I have bring a flash light and look for low muzzle wear. Any other suggestions guys or things to look for good or bad? Thanks

My advice is to spend the extra $100 and get a service grade as your first garand. Muzzle wear will be good and they are usually in a lot better shape, however if you know what your looking for you can usually get a nice field grade as well. The service grades have been excellent lately. Just tell the counter guy that your a newb and they will usually help you out!

I thought about a service grade and may still go that route if they are that much nicer. The reason I was leaning field grade though was I could get the gun and a ammo can for the same price as a service grade rifle.

Get a Service Grade (at least.)

I bought a Springfield Select Grade and couldn't be happier with it. You want a shooter. Forget about collectibility. Other than the fact that they aren't making any more original receivers, the collectors already have all the really desirable models, and they ask a high price for them.

Get the best one you can't quite afford today.

I have been to the North Store many times and from my experience many of the Field Grades are canidates for rebarrel and the wood is rough. That being said they are worth looking at. "Sometimes" you can find a decent rifle in the bunch but be prepared to do some work on the stocks. It used to be easier to find a good FG than it is today.
For your first rifle I strongly suggest a Service Grade , they are worth the extra $$$
Since you know very little about Garands I suggest asking for help from someone working there. If they arent real busy they will help you pick out a FG if there are any good ones in the group.
They have muzzle gauges they will loan you. If the employees are to busy to help you pick one out dont be afraid to ask for help from other shoppers. If I was closer to the Store I would make the trip to help you
If you have any questions feel free to PM me

Ok it sounds like everyone is strongly suggesting getting a service grade so I think I will probably go that route since this will probably be the only gun I buy for a while and I don't really wanna have regrets down the road if the extra 100 dollars will get me a better rifle.

it's been a few years since I went,, so thing may have changed,

take some vinyl gloves, the guns were greasy when I went,
a shop rag may not be bad either,
a light for the bore is an excellent idea,

they had cleaning rods available when I wend, but you may want to take a few patches

be sure to check your credit limit before you arrive, in case you need to max it out

As others have said, spend a little more $$$$$$ for the service grade.

You won't regret it.

Then join the "can o' ammo a month club" via the e-store and Fed-Ex .

Enjoy shooting a true piece of history.

BGF

Don't discount finding a FG with a better barrel. My experience is if you're lucky and they haven't been picked through, you can often find a good shooter in a stack of homely FGs. The times I have been, I have run down the rows and gauged the bores and almost always was able to find at least a handful of guns with better than 2 MW. The lower the better, because throat erosion on a very low MW gun shouldn't be that great in any case. Once you've found your good bores, you can get discrminating on the other factors.

I went there in September, when there were no Service Grades.
A guy in line with me, helped me pick out a nice Field Grade.
WW2 Springfield Armory, with matching WW2 barrel, nice USGI walnut stock.
It is possible to hand select a decent field grade.
Have someone help you pick one out.

As I already stated yes it is possible but you have to ,look very closely for a good one. I have gone away several times empty handed becuase the FG were to worn.

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