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Posted: 6/4/2005 4:20:20 PM EDT
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While trying out my new Uzi at a gun shop / indoor range... What do I spot in the corner? An M-1 Garand. So while finger-banging it like a retard and drooling as if I were in love, I notice it is a Springfield Armory, .30-06, has very nice wood (smooth and matching), and has deep grooves in the barrel. The barrel appeared to be the same color as the rest of the metal, so it didnt look like a re-barrel. I dont remember the inside of the barrel being very dark either, so I dont think it's seen much corrosive ammo. Without knowing more about the rifle (like I should, but I was distracted by my new Uzi), the price was $700, but a guy there said the rifle has been there for a while and been marked down from $900. He said I should offer $600........ So what say you? Is $600 good for what I saw, based on the limited description?   P.S. I've been wanting to add some WWII stuff to my collection, and I cant think of anything better than this! |
| I purchased my SA Garand for $650 and it was money well spent. You can do searches on the internet for the serial number and maybe get some info on when the rifle was built. Mine has been a pleasure to shoot. I call it old reliable as it has never jammed or misfired. If you buy the rifle don't forget lots of ammo!! |
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Thanks for the advice! I'm going to make the hour drive back up there sometime before I get paid again and write down all the information I can about it and research it. I'm definitely going to buy it ( maybe....  ) if it's not one of the new Springfield's, but one of the older ones.
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| You should look into getting a M-1 Garand from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). Check out the website; www.odcmp.com . Check out the requirements, they're doable. Make sure to get a service grade M-1 Garand. I have ordered several rifles over the past two years and I was pleased with each one. |
Just go join the Garand Collectors Association. Easy to do, good stuff to read shows up in your mailbox, and you can now purchase high powered rifles and have them delivered to your door. It don't get much better than that my friend.  vmax84 |
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Well, since your not accepting IM's, I'll copy what I tried to IM you. If your law enforcement, that waives a lot of the crap that the CMP make everyone go through. It's a bit of paperwork but in the end, you'll have a great garand with some history behind it. All you really have to do is to send comfirmation that your law enforcement, and join a CMP affiliated club. Then send in the paperwork and your set. They will deliever the garand to your door, by fedex. No FFL required! It's going to be cheaper to go through the CMP. I believe that they have rifles (garands) starting at just under 300 dollars. For 600, you can get a really great garand with a good barrel. I have 6 garands, all from the CMP. If you don't know alot about garands, I would strongly suggest that you go with CMP. Price alot of the time depends on how worn the barrel is. If you have any other questions, let me know. |
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I was going to go back to the store and write down all inspector marks, waffenamts (whatever, i dont even know what i'm talking about here ), serial numbers, etc. It said Springfield Armory, and .30-06 on it, that's all I really remember. I'm going to write down all it's info and try and research it, but check into that CMP thing again, too.
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I have ordered two books on the Garand I hope I can hold off my purchase until I have read a little my father was in the army in his younger days but is not a big fan of gun ownership these day , I told him about my desire to purchase a Garand you should have seen his eyes light up on the way to play golf on Saturday we stopped at the Gun shop where one of the garands Im looking at is, as soon as it was in his hands  BIG SMILE!!!!!I think this is one purchase he may want to shoot!!!!! |
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You definitely need a lot more info on the rifle to make an informed decision. One big factor is USGI Springfield or commercial Springfield Inc. If serial # is over seven million it's a cast receivered commercial Springfield Inc. There aren't anymore complete M1's from the CMP for under $300 nowadays, they fixed that with the recent price increases. I think $350-375 is bottom level anymore. A service grade gets$500-$550. But, the CMP seems to be out of everything I'm interested in anymore, half their choices are in the "not accepting orders" catergory nowadays. Six hundred isn't out of line for a decent Garand that meets Service grade specs, i.e. isn't worn out or terribly beat to hell, it can be worth a little premium to be able to see and inspect what you're getting in person instead of trusting to luck of the draw. But I would expect a six hundred dollar gunshop M1 to be on the more "well used" end of the spectrum. It would definitely need a thorough looksee before buying. All that said though, you might as well get qualified to order thru the CMP since a lot of us can't stop at one Garand and their the cheapest way to feed the habit. |
Donkey USGI m1's don't have 30.06 written on them it's implied . They say US Rifle Caliber 30 m1.Hope this helps. Jim |
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So it's probably not USGI. I dont really care about that, considering how great condition it was. All the ones on CMP seem to have pitted barrels or mis-matched wood or screwy metal..... for that, I could understand only paying $375, but this rifle I saw was almost immaculate. I'm going to drive up there today and shoot some more and write down all the super secret squirrel info on it and get back to you guys. ( I'm not wanting a historical piece of WWII or Korea, I just want a great rifle that I can periodically shoot )
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| There are many copies out there but nothing compares to a CMP service grade Garand. I also work in LE and have purchased 12 so far. The last three have been almost brand new post war mid 1950's HRA M1 Garands. Finish is perfect, almost unissued, look unfired. For $500 you cannot get one like these. No one can mfg one of this quality for 4 times the price. Most are just casting a receiver and building them with surplus parts. You LE affiliation qualifies for the sooting req. all you need as an organization affiliation, Garand Collectors Assoc. is quick and easy. Trust me these boxes of rifles that were returned by the Greek govt. are filled with absolute gems, a real time capsule of quality M1's. They are selling very fast and it looks like none may follow. Get one (or two or three) while you can, they are well worth the $$$. Cheers. |
Without getting into a huge discussion about everything you need to look for when buying a garand from a private party, you need to know some basic things. One, the condition of the barrel a lot of times determines price. The more shot out the barrel is, the less the rifle is worth. Another thing to keep in mind is that the gov. used to cut recievers in half and sell them for scrap. Some people would buy these recievers and weld them back together. These rifles are NOT safe to fire but people do try and sell them. If the steel of the reciever did not have a proper re-heat treatment done after the weld, the reciever could fail, possibly causing damage to the reciever. You can get a book and reference different numbers on the reciever to make sure it isn't a re-weld. The CMP doesn't sell re-welds and if you are not happy with your purschase, the CMP will make it right. I have recieved rifles from them that look brand new. I would rather go the CMP route and then pay someone to re-park/re-stock if needed. At least then you can have a rifle that shoot/look like you want it. Also, I would make sure that the rifle's headspace is checked. A lot of people who don;t know any better like to switch parts/bolts out to make the rifles more correct. If a headspace problem is present, you just need to get a bolt that will headspace to the rifle. This is not a big deal but will be if you fire the rifle with improper headspace. It's your money and it's your choice. Just make sure you know enough about it so whatever choice you make, you won't regret. My advice and it seems like the advice of others here is to at least spean some time checking out the CMP and/or get someone who knows about garands to look the rifle over if/before you buy it. |
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