CAI Garand 30-06, shoots great and looking good.




Dave Dee
NRA/ILA and NAHC Member
AR15.COM Moderator of Reloading, General Firearm Discussion & Hunting Forum.
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Wow!  Looking good!  The stock looks like it's polished up and everything.  Have fun!

Your right I refinished it myself. As far as groups so far I have no long range data to give you since I only got it last Friday. But short range 25 yards its putting the holes almost on top of each other and the windage is dead center without any adjustments. $499.99 + $37.99 state sales tax for a total of $537.98.

Dave Dee
NRA/ILA and NAHC Member
AR15.COM Moderator of Reloading, General Firearm Discussion & Hunting Forum.
A great place to get answers to your reloading & hunting questions.
Or come and take a look at my web page at.
members.aol.com/dbrewer842/dbrewer842.html

And yet you could've had a geniune USGI Garand via the CMP for less money than what you've paid THUS FAR. Good luck, 'cause you're gonna need it.

All right Dave.....

Now lets go shoot a match.

Very nice!

What made you get this and not one from the CMP?

The only parts that are not WRA or SA and the 1954 PB Barrel, BMR stock, is the receiver and its the only thing that is CAI. I have personally took the whole rifle apart, and inspected the parts. No Rust, No wear except on the hammer face itself. I have fired 100 rounds threw it already without a single failure as well as rapid fired it 16 rounds with no function problems. I am using Hornady 165 gr. BTSP, mix brass, mag primers, win 760 at 51.7 gr. clocking around 2700 fps at 6 foot from the muzzle. I had a gun smith check the barrel, he gave it excellent on rifling as well as chamber, he states that he see no pits, no rust or no burs or damage common with Garands of age. I look at the CMP page, its all about luck of the draw there also. When you do compare the prices, after you have joined a gun club that is recognized and paid your dues, plus any travel you have to go to get to the club range. You end up paying every bit as much as I did, if not more. There is a local Garand club here that is not directly affiliated with CMP however does goto competition match's. I went to one of their meets to ask questions about quality issues of various marketed Garands. The results were, no matter who you buy one from now days you run about a 50% chance of getting a POS or a Good one. They currently have several people using CAI Garands and with no problems and they shoot every bit as good as any other. Exception is perhaps the New LE Garands that Springfield has released at 10,000 rifles with new receivers, new barrels and new stocks.

Why did I buy this one and not one threw CMP? Because I like to see what I am paying for before I commit myself. I have great gun shop here in town that sells these Garands, it was there, I checked it out and decided it was worth the money and I got it.

Dave Dee
NRA/ILA and NAHC Member
AR15.COM Moderator of Reloading, General Firearm Discussion & Hunting Forum.
A great place to get answers to your reloading & hunting questions.
Or come and take a look at my web page at.
members.aol.com/dbrewer842/dbrewer842.html

SWEET!

The Danish Garand I got from the CMP holds the xring on a standard SR target at 200 yards shooting prone, sling supported. I use 42 grains IMR 4895 behind a 168 Sierra BTHP MatchKing. Standard Winchester primers.

Remarkably accurate and I paid $400.00 I took off the birch stock,and replaced it with a Boyds stock, bringing the cost up to $480.00. I have seen a LOT of CMP Garands (my club is CMP affiliated), and the bulk of them shoot very nicely. I think the best value in a CMP Garand is the Danish service grade with the VAR bbl. The collectors will howl that they are not correct, but they are great shooters. Hitting the target is all I care about.
A lot of state rifle and pistol associations are CMP affiliated, and you can fulfill the club requirement by joining. Being a veteran, or an LEO can fulfill the marksmanship requirment. 90 days and you have a piece of history at your doorstep.

I have heard mixed things about the CAI Garands, but the ones I have seen at the range didnt seem to have any trouble.

Anyhow, congratulations on your new purchase. It is a sweet looking rifle. The Garand is a lot of fun. Try it at 200 yards or greater, prone using the sling. Thats where the real fun starts. The Garand is just a natural when it comes to this type of shooting.



   

Thanks everyone.

I am looking forward to getting some long distance shooting in with it as soon as I can. I really like the feel of it when it shoots, to listen to my father who had experience with them when he was in the army. He said it was a real shoulder browser. LOL, well it kicks less than my 30-30 Win Mod 94. I also plan to take it with me deer hunting this year and if given a chance, score a kill with it. Unlike my AR15, I can actually hunt big game in this state with this one.

Dave Dee
NRA/ILA and NAHC Member
AR15.COM Moderator of Reloading, General Firearm Discussion & Hunting Forum.
A great place to get answers to your reloading & hunting questions.
Or come and take a look at my web page at.
members.aol.com/dbrewer842/dbrewer842.html

Sweet rifle

When you do compare the prices, after you have joined a gun club that is recognized and paid your dues, plus any travel you have to go to get to the club range. You end up paying every bit as much as I did, if not more.

How so?
USGI Springfield= $500
Shipping= $19.95
Garand Collectors Membership= $20
Total= $539.95

Danish Issue USGI Springfield= $400
Shipping= $19.95
Garand Collectors Membership= $20
Total= $439.95

You spent $537.98 with tax, as I recall, for a parts gun with zero collector value. I can't see that you came out ahead on that.

plus any travel you have to go to get to the club range

Why? As I recall, you were honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy. A copy of your DD214 waives the match requirement. This is a well-known fact.

I went to one of their meets to ask questions about quality issues of various marketed Garands. The results were, no matter who you buy one from now days you run about a 50% chance of getting a POS or a Good one.

Not true. This information is obviously from a source who has no idea about the CMP or its rifles. They are all mechanically sound, with no corrosion and are guaranteed so.

Exception is perhaps the New LE Garands that Springfield has released at 10,000 rifles with new receivers, new barrels and new stocks.

Not true, either. Springfield, INC. uses refinished USGI parts and Lithgow receivers.

Why did I buy this one and not one threw CMP? Because I like to see what I am paying for before I commit myself.

??????? If there's a problem with a CMP rifle, like the owner, they'll issue a refund.

SWEET!!!
I want one of those badly and a carbine.....

cmp, cai, danish, who cares. you bought it at a good price to shoot, not to sell or hang on the wall. it's a garand. be happy. or, you can give it to me?

cmp, cai, danish, who cares.

This is just too ignorant to offer comment.

you bought it at a good price to shoot, not to sell or hang on the wall.

And therein lies the crux of CAI Garands: they're at the bottom of the barrel as far as shooters go. So no, the price was NOT good.

hey, garand guys.
i'm looking at one with a lithgow receiver.

are these any good, noone can seem to tell me one way or the other.

BTW, dbrewer, she looks sweet, but you will always get the coke/pepsi chevy/ford crowd. be happy with it, it YOURS.  did the stock come like that?
edited to add, jim-dandy appears to be pissed off and bitter about something, just blow negative assholes like that off.

jim-dandy appears to be pissed off and bitter about something, just blow negative assholes like that off.

But I'm a nice asshole.

hey, garand guys. i'm looking at one with a lithgow receiver. are these any good, noone can seem to tell me one way or the other.

Dimensionally they're AFU more often than not and heat treating appears to have been an after thought. The Lithgow COMPANY is kind of like Springfield, INCORPORATED: a privately held company turning out somewhat substandard products while trading on a well-known name association tactic.

you will always get the coke/pepsi chevy/ford crowd

This analogy applies to Springfield Armory/Winchester/H&R/IHC. CAI and Lithgow Garands fit in to this little scenario like Sam's Cola and AMC Gremlins.

Quoted: cmp, cai, danish, who cares. This is just too ignorant to offer comment. you bought it at a good price to shoot, not to sell or hang on the wall. And therein lies the crux of CAI Garands: they're at the bottom of the barrel as far as shooters go. So no, the price was NOT good.

look, if we all knew then what we know now, we'd all have cmp garands. and we'd have bought them when they were $89.

but we dont. we pay more than we need to the first time out, and learn from our mistakes. i know i did. i paid $750 for a re-import, then i learned about CMP. If im lucky, i'll sell it at a gun show and get a cmp piece. till then, i'll have to settle for steering others to CMP, and have done so.

meanwhile i dont call others ignorant for buying the wrong brand gun, or not knowing what
flavor you approve of. i congratulate them on owning a rifle that satisfies them.

if he'd asked what to buy, i'd have said "CMP". it's a bit too late for that now. it's his garand, and he's rightfully proud. damn stitch-counting button-pissers!

Very nice implement you have there! Good luck with it!

Awww damn!!! Now I gots to gets me one!!!!  

It is a beauty, great job redoing the stock.

Hey, how come you only got 2 magazines??

Of course Gun Tests only has one gun to test so maybe they just got a bad one.

Yeah, I'm sure that's it. They just got the bad one. The rest are all good. Yeah, right.

so, seriously, jim-dandy, what would you recommend for a good quality garand? i'm lookin, but don't want to spend more than 700.00.

so, seriously, jim-dandy, what would you recommend for a good quality garand? i'm lookin, but don't want to spend more than 700.00.

Giving you the benefit of the doubt that you're not being facetious, go with CMP and get either a high-numbered Springfield or H&R. Think of CMP rifles as rescuing a homeless pet from the animal shelter. Buying a CAI or Springfield, INC. is like not neutering your pets. They're just bastard spawn.

Quoted: so, seriously, jim-dandy, what would you recommend for a good quality garand? i'm lookin, but don't want to spend more than 700.00. Giving you the benefit of the doubt that you're not being facetious, go with CMP and get either a high-numbered Springfield or H&R. Think of CMP rifles as rescuing a homeless pet from the animal shelter. Buying a CAI or Springfield, INC. is like not neutering your pets. They're just bastard spawn.

The early Lithgow's had some problemsand were recalled I believe, or at least withdrawn from the market to work out the bugs.  I have NO idea how successful they were.

SA Inc. generally does a good job on their stuff and their lifetime warranty is as good as gold. But they do occasionally put out a real stinker.

CMP is the way to go for M1's.

They recently changed their policy to allow folks to request a manufacturer with prices scaled according to rarity.  The wait for rarer mfgrs. (anything but Springfield Armory) is LOOONG.  Forget about getting a Winchester or IHC.   They come in two grades, "rack grade" rifles have a couple thousand rounds in them before needing rebarrelling.  "Service grade" rifles are good to go for thousands more rounds and cost about 100.00 more.

The Danish Rifles are the best deal and also come in Rack and Service grades.  The stocks are often beech (which isn't the prettiest or most stable wood, but wears well) and the VAR barrels are first rate.

ALL CMP rifles are test fired for repeatable function (5 rounds) though not for groups. They are also inspected for headspace and dimensional correctness.  

CAI rifles are the subject of many stories on the net.  Some are pure sour grapes, but some are true.  Maybe they have cleaned up their act a bit since their earlier models, who knows. It's a bit of a crap shoot.  The one thing I might suggest is to stick to M2 ball surplus rather than commercial hunting ammo.  Most commerical ammo is too hot for the Garand and the pressure curve peaks at the wrong point in the operating cycle putting un-necessary stress on the op rod.  A McCann's adjustable gas plug can solve that problem however and is well worth the effort if you plan on hunting with the rifle.

There is a great controversy on the relative merits of the forged steel USGI receivers vs. the cast receivers of Lithgow and CAI.  In theory, cast receivers can be made just a strong and void free as forged receivers.  In practice, however, cast receivers are often misdimensioned due to mold shrinkage, have inclusions or voids in the casting and are not as structurally strong due to random arrangements of non-uniform crystals. It takes a really well thought out process to eliminate these issues. CAI cannot afford that process and still sell their M1's at a competitive price.

I was holding a M1 last night a a club meeting. The guy was selling it for $1200.00 it was a real Springfield NM or that's what he said.

Your post is the last straw dammit it. I am starting this day to claim my "piece of history"

SWEET RIFLE I hope you guy live a long and happy life together.  

Just found out the WRA M1 I had sent for, from the CMP about 7 weeks ago is not gonna be arriving with the 1903. It seems all WRA M1s are sold out and names will be placed on a 12 month waiting list! Now I may have to switch it to a SA.

Guess I could get a SA and wait for a WRA  

Be careful about those Lithgow recievered Garands.  I read yesterday that they are not in spec and could pose a danger to the shooter.

I'll try and find the reference.