I've read that an M1A can be made to shoot MOA or better but they do not retain that level of accuracy without a LOT of gunsmithing work.  I don't recall the actual number but it might have been as little as 1,000 rounds before it had to go back to the 'smith for re-tuning.

So, if that's true in any way, does the same thing apply to accurized M1 Garands?  If I get one bedded and rebarreled, will it shoot well for the life of the barrel?

@borderpatrol

Good for 1 season = 3000 rounds, correct?

A Garand in 30-06 or 308?
That really is determined by you:  the ammo you shoot and what your expectations are.  
Just shoot it and be happy................  If you notice accuracy dropping off, start looking at why..........
If it keeps shooting well.............keep shooting.

Assuming solid methods and material, it should shoot pretty well over the life of the barrel.  Highpower guys are picky and tend to send it off to the shop the second they suspect something is wrong and often long before that; just because.

A lot of that perception is driven by the logistics of maintaining rifles for a team of professional shooters where everything gets worked over once if not twice a season, rather than dealing with rifles on an individual basis.  Guys ask the armorer on a big team how long the bedding is good for and the answer is going to be 1 season or less because that's how they run their business.

A little story with a sample size of one. My brother had an M1 match conditioned at camp perry in the mid 1970’s. As it was the only M1 available at the time in our family so we would go to a match and several shooters would shoot it on different relays. It was not unusual at the peak of our shooting high power for that rifle to see 6-700 rounds a month. We shot that rifle for about 20 years on the original barrel. A bore erosion gauge would drop all the way through and the handle would hit the edge of the receiver. Even with the barrel by all measures toasted it would still hold ten ring on the 600 yard target. When it finally stopped grouping it had no less than 30k through it. They will last a long time if properly cared for- meaning minimal cleaning and minimizing disassembly to no more frequently than once a year

Not true.. you might get 2 seasons out of a barrel it depends upon how much you shoot a season and what material is the barrel.. Most HP/service rifle shooters usually have two rifles.. One becomes the practice rifle after it stops holding the group.. When your a High Master you can tell when its not going to stay in the X/10 ring.. than most will use it has a practice rifle for the next year and than get it barrel replaced. Sometimes 3 years.. Than rotate the rifles.

If my 30-06 Garand would hold the ten or X rings, I'd be well satisfied.  As it is now, using multiple shooters to confirm the result, it barely holds the black.

The barrel will. The bedding, etc...

Right.. most HM shooters are using stainless barrels. Correct about bedding to 99.9% will not open a rifle up during that time due to the bedding will wear..

That is where the expense comes in.. the barrel and bedding and time to have them installed by a good smith...

Many people have moved to the ar game due this.. Easier to make a ar shoot vs a m1/m1a...

I have a m1 (308) I purchased used that was built by AMU. I have it about 15 years now and only 1000 round through it.. It still shoots better than me.. In that time its been out of the stock 3x's

I switched over to a ar to shoot.. cheaper and easier to replace parts...

My other m1 has the barrel off of it has sat there for 16 years.. One year ill get around to get it installed.

.30-06 and .308 match barrels normally last at least 5000 rounds. The bedding is what needs work after a year of shooting tournaments in all kinds of weather. M1 Garands have a larger bedding surface than the M14 series of rifles helping them to last a little longer. Some were double and triple lugged for competition whereby bedding was used and bolts drilled and tapped into welded up additions to the receivers. Springfield Armory eventually added lugs straight from the factory as an option on their Super Match model M1-A's.

I have a M1 Garand built by US Navy Team Armorer, Donald "Mac" McCoy in .308 with a single lug welded to the rear of the receiver. A good bedding job using Marine-Tex or Devcon Steel Epoxy must be done often to insure a great shooting rifle. How long your bedding lasts depends on whether you take the rifle apart or not and how many rounds hammer on it. It's easier to send it in (or do it yourself) at the end of every season than it is to have your rifle go south on you just before Camp Perry or a regional match.

Some people would just skim bed the rifle. Using a Dremel and a file they would remove enough of the old bedding to lay down a new surface coat. The thicker the surface coat the better, meaning the more original material you remove the longer it will last. Another option was to glue the receiver into the stock. Coating the receiver with several coats of Johnson & Johnson's Paste Wax so it doesn't get stuck, you simply do skim bedding job but don't remove the receiver from the rifle. All overflow must be removed from the interior and exterior as usual.

I've been playing with one of my M1-A Super Match rifles lately. I removed the rear sight to see how low I could mount a scope and am pretty happy with the outcome so far. I purchased an A.R.M.S. #18 base, PRS super low 30mm rings and a Leupold Mark 4 2.5x8 MR/T scope. I actually have room to go lower, but .820" rings are close to the lowest available. This particular rifle was rebuilt over ten years ago, but has had less than 70 rounds fired through it since being rebarreled and bedded. It's shooting very well at the moment.

I put nearly 2,000 rounds a year in my LRB M14 with a standard receiver-no lugs. It gets pulled once a year to clean thoroughly. I'm at 5 to 6,000 rounds but the Devcon bedding still looks good. It may have opened up a little but I'm not noticing enough at the 600yd line to be concerned.

As for the M1, get a new Criterion barrel (either 308 or 30.06) and a stock that's in good shape. You'll be fine with it for a lifetime.