New to M1 Garand

[jblomenberg16]

I always wanted an M1 so Tuesday I put in an order for a Service Grade Springfield and a Service Grade H&R. Hated sending a copy of every piece of ID I own but having to trust the US Postal Service. Really would like to get my hands on an International Harvester model as they were made in Evansville. CMP seemed to be out of M1 Thumbs when I ordered so I got a couple of cases of ammo instead.

Greg

Great news on the order! I've got a nice HRA that was CMP service grade. I swapped the bolt, stock, and gasplug out for HRA parts (had springfield parts) and now have a Correct Grade HRA.

I'm heading to the North store in April in hopes of finding a WWII era springfield to add to the Korean Era HRA.

 

[huntall50]

Planning a family vacation to Sandusky in Sept., I told the wife I have to make the trip to Port Clinton and CMP to pick out my Garand. Can't wait...

 

[03A3]

beez1954
I mailed an order on Feb. 1st and received the Garands on March 14th.
They were still a little backlogged during that timeframe, so maybe you'll get yours quicker.

 

[beez1954]

beez1954
I mailed an order on Feb. 1st and received the Garands on March 14th.
They were still a little backlogged during that timeframe, so maybe you'll get yours quicker.

That's good news. I was prepared for a 2 or 3 month wait.
I guess after procrastinating for 40+years that a couple of months ain't gonna seem like an eternity. Thanks for the encouragement. Hope your rifles were all you expected, and more.

Greg

 

[03A3]

I'm well satisfied, and I bet you will be too. Both are very nice.
The SA has a new CMP birch stock. The H&R has an original USGI stock.
The tags on both say muzzle reading = 1 and throat reading = 2.
Both are Service Grades. This is a very good deal for the money.

 

[beez1954]

I'm well satisfied, and I bet you will be too. Both are very nice.
The SA has a new CMP birch stock. The H&R has an original USGI stock.
The tags on both say muzzle reading = 1 and throat reading = 2.
Both are Service Grades. This is a very good deal for the money.

Sounds really good. I want to find a Winchester and International Harvester to round out the set. Will work to replace replacement parts to correct grade as I can.

Greg

 

[jblomenberg16]

Sounds really good. I want to find a Winchester and International Harvester to round out the set. Will work to replace replacement parts to correct grade as I can.

Greg

IHC's are getting harder and harder to find these days, so start looking and keep your eyes open. IHC's (including thier own variants) are one of the hot ones right now for many Garand Collectors.

 

[beez1954]

IHC's are getting harder and harder to find these days, so start looking and keep your eyes open. IHC's (including thier own variants) are one of the hot ones right now for many Garand Collectors.

Just my luck- Too little(money), too late(interest in the rifle).
Will keep my eyes open anyway, in case I luck into something.
Thanks for the heads-up.

Greg

 

[CandRFan]

My Springfield M1, built in 1944. I've got to take some better pictures too.

The bayonet is a cut down m1905 Oneida. I picked up another cut down m1905 made by American Fork and Hoe with brown plastic grips at the last 1500 that I'm really happy about stumbling on. The sling is a m1907 with steel hardware.

I'd suggest buying some books too. The Army Field Manuals are very helpful, as you can imagine, and there are plenty of reprints around. Or...you can hunt down originals as part of your Garanditis. A great starter book is Canfield's Complete Guide to the M1 Garand and the M1 Carbine. Good info, plus it's also a M1 Carbine book.

To be honest though...while I love my Garand and will be adding a second one to my collection next month...my real love is for the little M1 Carbine and man, I got myself a beautiful Rock-Ola at the last 1500...but that should be its own thread.

It's also a lesson too...I've only got to join a club to complete my CMP reqs. I'll be doing that tomorrow. The CMP is the best place to get your hands on a Garand, period. Take it from a guy who owns a Garand and three Carbines...you can find a decent deal (at current market prices) at a gunshow, but you have to hunt for it and the stars have to align between you and the guy across the table. I've been lucky in that respect, but the prices I've paid are nowhere near what the CMP charges for a piece of American history. I've missed the CMP M1 Carbine boat...I will not miss the CMP M1 Garand boat.

Sorry for the babbling...I'm still very happy with my finds from the last 1500 and I've also been going over all the stampings and cartouches and stuff on my Rock-Ola. Makes for a very pleasant evening when you can carve out a few hours and document your latest "treasure." Though I guess it depends on how nutty you want to get in your collecting...

 

[kcwolf200]

I just received my first Garand this week. I would agree with others in that the descriptions on CMP's website make the grades to sound worse than they are. When I opened my Service Grade, I was speechless. The rifle was way better than I was expecting. Looks like mine had a new stock on it, and it has muzzle erosion of 1 and throat erosion of 2.

Took about a month and a half from paperwork submission to receipt of the rifle. I could not be happier with CMP. May have to make a trip to Port Clinton....

 

[03A3]

You guys should think about acquiring a small collection of spare parts for your Garand. There are several good sources, These guns are very easy to work on.
I don't like having a brokedown gun and waiting on parts to be shipped to me.
I keep parts in those tray-type tackle boxes that have the movable/removable dividers and label each one as to which gun it is for.
The tackle boxes I have are all the same brand/size and they stack real well.
I used to keep my parts in ammo cans, but got tired of digging thru them.
I still don't have a good way to store operating springs, but I'm probably going to keep them in short pieces of PVC pipe capped on each end and marked as to which gun they are for.

 

[meyer4589]

I'm also taking a firearms here at college... It's an easy A. But for a class project we took a trip down to the local VFW to clean all of the M1 Garands they have. All in all we disassembled and cleaned about 10 of their rifles. It was a really cool experience learning the history of these rifles and getting to take them apart

 

[sakima]

You guys should think about acquiring a small collection of spare parts for your Garand. There are several good sources, These guns are very easy to work on.
I don't like having a brokedown gun and waiting on parts to be shipped to me.
I keep parts in those tray-type tackle boxes that have the movable/removable dividers and label each one as to which gun it is for.
The tackle boxes I have are all the same brand/size and they stack real well.
I used to keep my parts in ammo cans, but got tired of digging thru them.
I still don't have a good way to store operating springs, but I'm probably going to keep them in short pieces of PVC pipe capped on each end and marked as to which gun they are for.

Spare parts turn into rifles...jut get a spare rifle or two...

 

[mikebaker1129]

CMP all the way !
Most prices I see at gunshows are asking double what the CMP sell for and they are not the nicer grades. I see mainly rack grades selling for $700-1,000.

 

[JRR85]

I purchased mine through the CMP, that is the only way to go in my opinion. Also if you can make it to the north store you can pick out the rifle you want.

 

[ronald wilson]

gas block and modern ammo?

I too am new to Garands. I am just about to purchase my first one. I read somewhere on the net (not this site) a few years ago about an adjustable gas block. The theory was that it could be closed down some to restrict the gas pressure therefore allowing the use of modern ammo. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this? Does it really work? Is it reliable? Or is it hard on the rifle?

If there is such a thing, what is a good one? Any that should be avoided? And where is a good place to get them?

Thanks for any help.

 

[jblomenberg16]

I too am new to Garands. I am just about to purchase my first one. I read somewhere on the net (not this site) a few years ago about an adjustable gas block. The theory was that it could be closed down some to restrict the gas pressure therefore allowing the use of modern ammo. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this? Does it really work? Is it reliable? Or is it hard in the rifle?

If there is such a thing, what is a good one? Any that should be avoided? And where is a good place to get them?

Thanks for any help.

There are adjustable gas plugs that actually do the opposite...allow more gas out to regulate pressure. The M2 cartridge they were designed to shoot is not as "HOT" as modern 30-06 hunting ammo. Too much pressure an the op-rod in the Garand can bend (more than it already is) and cause the rifle to stop functioning.

Here is one of the available plugs on the market.

Schuster DCM Adjustable Gas Plug with Wrench M1 Garand Steel Parkerized - MidwayUSA

 

[Ricnzak]

Remember to take your BC or Passport with you. I didn't and had to have mine both shipped to me. They overnight and it saved me 20 bucks per rifle paying shipping compared to tax so it wasn't all bad. Bob at CMP helped me pick a couple out. Very Very helpful nice people.

 

[Gaffshot]

CMP. Mine was $200 before Clinton got ahold of the program. I think they're about 700 or so these days. There website has the price details.

 

[beez1954]

I got my notice today that my order info was received. I'm relieved it got there due to nature of info sent, so I can sit back and wait for Fed-Ex.
If anyone's interested_ Sent by regular mail on 3-22, received by Anniston on 3-24, and got my confirmation # today>

Greg