On Thursday, 05-20-2010, I had an opportunity to visit the CMP North store on my way back home from business. For about the last year or so this has been something I had planned to do this summer, but due to an unplanned business trip I got to do it a bit early, and on the company dime for travel expenses (which is always nice! ) 
FYI: The store is only open Wed -> Saturday, from 8:30 am -> 4 pm.
I arrived at the store at approx 1PM. It’s very easy to find with any online program such as Google Maps. The directions took me to the front entrance of Camp Perry. From there you travel back about 2/3s of the way on the main road until you see Building 2500 off to your left, with a big CMP sign outside. I missed it the first time, that’s how I found out it’s about 2/3s down the road.
I pulled into the parking lot and was pleased to find not that many cars in the parking lot. I walked into the main building, then back into the CMP office. Just follow the signs. Once inside, I was greeted by 2 gentlemen behind a desk, and a bunch of M1 Garands in racks.
My first course of business was to make sure I had everything I needed in order to meet their eligibility requirements. So to the desk I went with paperwork in hand. I told the guy that this was my first time, so please be gentle. He just laughed and said he had heard that a lot today then asked what I needed. I told him I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed so I could buy an M1 today. I had brought at least 2 items for every one of their eligibility requirements, just in case one didn’t work out. He took one of each made photocopies, attached the photocopies to an order sheet (exactly the order sheet you would download from the CMP website) and then asked if I needed to join a club. I did. They had 3 options: 1) the Garand Collectors Association ($25), 2) The Ohio Pistol and Rifle Club ($25), and something else for $14. I had heard the GCA membership was worth the money for the magazine alone, so that’s what I signed up for. The gentleman gave me the paperwork for everything, said I can fill it out now or wait until I find what I want, but it had to be done before I completed the purchase.
After that, he asked if I wanted to borrow a muzzle gauge, which I did, so he took my driver’s license as collateral, and off I went!
First, I will say, if you’re going to the CMP with a specific item in mind, do yourself a favor and call the CMP office during business hours to find out if they have what you want in stock. DO NOT rely on what the website says, or you could be disappointed. They did not have any M1 Carbines, Krags, or 1903s in stock. They had only M1 Garand rifles, some 1903 and Krag stocks, NEW M1 Carbine and M1 Garand stocks, and some different kinds of barreled receivers.
I had two goals in my quest for an M1: One was that it had to be WWII vintage, it 1942 -> 1945, and the second was I wanted a ‘Service Grade’ rifle. I was disappointed for one reason: They were out of ‘Service Grade” M1s. All of the Service Grade rifles they had were “Special Service Grade” rifles for $895 and up, which either had a new stock, or new barrel and new stock installed. Were they worth it, hell yes they were, but not exactly what I was looking for. Every “special service grade” rifle I looked at had a 5,xxx,xxx serial number, which puts it out of my most important requirement: WWII vintage.
From there I made an adjustment to my requirement. I had to have a WWII M1, but I decided I might be able to pick out a suitable Field Grade rifle (a step down from Service Grade), so the hunt began. I started by checking the muzzle wear in each rifle. Most of them were over 2, I found a couple about 1.5, and then a bunch that would almost swallow the muzzle gauge (and one that I would have dropped the muzzle gauge through!). The big down fall to Field Grade rifles is they are very rough in the finish department, and their stocks can be anything from decent, to mismatched, to downright FUGLY! I had finally narrowed it down to 4 or 5 rifles, two of which had 8XX,XXX serial numbers, i.e. tail end of 1942 build dates and had good (1.5) muzzle wear, but their stocks were horrible, and their finishes were pretty nasty. I don’t mean they were lacking a finish, but they looked to have been butchered at some point and had been painted by ‘Bubba’.
After talking with one of the guys behind the counter (Bob Bell I believe was his name), having him gauge the throat erosion, and ask him about the rifle in general, I picked one with a good stock, pretty decent finish, and a 2 muzzle and 3 throat erosion. Not bad he said, and would have plenty of life left in it for what I would use it for. It’s a Springfield, most of them are but there were a few HRAs, and a few Winchesters as well, but no Field grade versions, they were all Rack Grade, or barreled receivers. My rifle has a 3,1xx,xxx serial number, putting it in around an August or Sept. 1944 build date. I’m still debating in my head if I should have bought one of the 8XX,XXX rifles, but they would have required (for my tastes) stock replacements AND some kind of refinishing. The rifle I selected will require nothing but some cleaning and shooting, i.e. no more money dumped into it. Bob (I believe) also said he thought that my rifle was probably refinished in Greece at some point, as the black finish was typical of rifles that they re-arsenal. Fine with me as the finish looks pretty good.
So then I filled out the paperwork, added some ammo, a tin of Greek .30-6, and a tin of 250 belted rounds of British .30-06 in a US WWII ammo can, and went to the check out desk. They ran my info through the NICS system, and then took my payment (no 4473, they just use their paperwork). They loaded the rifle and ammo onto a cart and sent me on my way. I wonder if I should have got more ammo
Another thing to note, if you go to the store, you have to pay Ohio sales tax, which I think is 6.5%. Now, on a rifle you end up paying more than if you have it shipped. On ammo, you save some as their shipping is more than the tax, so in the end, I came out about the same money.
Overall, I’m glad I went, had a good time, and basically had the place to myself. The staff was more than willing to help out when I asked questions, and the girls who processed my paperwork were nice as well.
Really, I hope I have another meeting up there so I can go back and look around some more. My goal for sometime in the future is to go back and pick out one of those nice “Special” grades, or even a ‘Correct’ grade at some point.
Here are some pics of my haul:
FYI: The store is only open Wed -> Saturday, from 8:30 am -> 4 pm.
I arrived at the store at approx 1PM. It’s very easy to find with any online program such as Google Maps. The directions took me to the front entrance of Camp Perry. From there you travel back about 2/3s of the way on the main road until you see Building 2500 off to your left, with a big CMP sign outside. I missed it the first time, that’s how I found out it’s about 2/3s down the road.
I pulled into the parking lot and was pleased to find not that many cars in the parking lot. I walked into the main building, then back into the CMP office. Just follow the signs. Once inside, I was greeted by 2 gentlemen behind a desk, and a bunch of M1 Garands in racks.
My first course of business was to make sure I had everything I needed in order to meet their eligibility requirements. So to the desk I went with paperwork in hand. I told the guy that this was my first time, so please be gentle. He just laughed and said he had heard that a lot today then asked what I needed. I told him I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed so I could buy an M1 today. I had brought at least 2 items for every one of their eligibility requirements, just in case one didn’t work out. He took one of each made photocopies, attached the photocopies to an order sheet (exactly the order sheet you would download from the CMP website) and then asked if I needed to join a club. I did. They had 3 options: 1) the Garand Collectors Association ($25), 2) The Ohio Pistol and Rifle Club ($25), and something else for $14. I had heard the GCA membership was worth the money for the magazine alone, so that’s what I signed up for. The gentleman gave me the paperwork for everything, said I can fill it out now or wait until I find what I want, but it had to be done before I completed the purchase.
After that, he asked if I wanted to borrow a muzzle gauge, which I did, so he took my driver’s license as collateral, and off I went!
First, I will say, if you’re going to the CMP with a specific item in mind, do yourself a favor and call the CMP office during business hours to find out if they have what you want in stock. DO NOT rely on what the website says, or you could be disappointed. They did not have any M1 Carbines, Krags, or 1903s in stock. They had only M1 Garand rifles, some 1903 and Krag stocks, NEW M1 Carbine and M1 Garand stocks, and some different kinds of barreled receivers.
I had two goals in my quest for an M1: One was that it had to be WWII vintage, it 1942 -> 1945, and the second was I wanted a ‘Service Grade’ rifle. I was disappointed for one reason: They were out of ‘Service Grade” M1s. All of the Service Grade rifles they had were “Special Service Grade” rifles for $895 and up, which either had a new stock, or new barrel and new stock installed. Were they worth it, hell yes they were, but not exactly what I was looking for. Every “special service grade” rifle I looked at had a 5,xxx,xxx serial number, which puts it out of my most important requirement: WWII vintage.
From there I made an adjustment to my requirement. I had to have a WWII M1, but I decided I might be able to pick out a suitable Field Grade rifle (a step down from Service Grade), so the hunt began. I started by checking the muzzle wear in each rifle. Most of them were over 2, I found a couple about 1.5, and then a bunch that would almost swallow the muzzle gauge (and one that I would have dropped the muzzle gauge through!). The big down fall to Field Grade rifles is they are very rough in the finish department, and their stocks can be anything from decent, to mismatched, to downright FUGLY! I had finally narrowed it down to 4 or 5 rifles, two of which had 8XX,XXX serial numbers, i.e. tail end of 1942 build dates and had good (1.5) muzzle wear, but their stocks were horrible, and their finishes were pretty nasty. I don’t mean they were lacking a finish, but they looked to have been butchered at some point and had been painted by ‘Bubba’.
After talking with one of the guys behind the counter (Bob Bell I believe was his name), having him gauge the throat erosion, and ask him about the rifle in general, I picked one with a good stock, pretty decent finish, and a 2 muzzle and 3 throat erosion. Not bad he said, and would have plenty of life left in it for what I would use it for. It’s a Springfield, most of them are but there were a few HRAs, and a few Winchesters as well, but no Field grade versions, they were all Rack Grade, or barreled receivers. My rifle has a 3,1xx,xxx serial number, putting it in around an August or Sept. 1944 build date. I’m still debating in my head if I should have bought one of the 8XX,XXX rifles, but they would have required (for my tastes) stock replacements AND some kind of refinishing. The rifle I selected will require nothing but some cleaning and shooting, i.e. no more money dumped into it. Bob (I believe) also said he thought that my rifle was probably refinished in Greece at some point, as the black finish was typical of rifles that they re-arsenal. Fine with me as the finish looks pretty good.
So then I filled out the paperwork, added some ammo, a tin of Greek .30-6, and a tin of 250 belted rounds of British .30-06 in a US WWII ammo can, and went to the check out desk. They ran my info through the NICS system, and then took my payment (no 4473, they just use their paperwork). They loaded the rifle and ammo onto a cart and sent me on my way. I wonder if I should have got more ammo
Another thing to note, if you go to the store, you have to pay Ohio sales tax, which I think is 6.5%. Now, on a rifle you end up paying more than if you have it shipped. On ammo, you save some as their shipping is more than the tax, so in the end, I came out about the same money.
Overall, I’m glad I went, had a good time, and basically had the place to myself. The staff was more than willing to help out when I asked questions, and the girls who processed my paperwork were nice as well.
Really, I hope I have another meeting up there so I can go back and look around some more. My goal for sometime in the future is to go back and pick out one of those nice “Special” grades, or even a ‘Correct’ grade at some point.
Here are some pics of my haul:
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