m1 garand owners..what to look for?
 

In the local paper here today there is an personal ad for 2 garands. It reads that these rifles are from the springfield armory and they also put the first 3 number into the serial codes follows by x's and then agin in a second set. E.G 999xxx 999xxx.

I called today and it turns out this gentleman is a collector and part of a m-1 society here locally. The 2 that he has for sale are a 1942 and a 1944 model. He's asking 650. for each. I really want to get me an m-1 as i have wanted one for a long time now. What should i look for when i go to check these rifles out? :confused:

The WWII, Springfield built ones were about the nicest of the Garands (according to last months article on the Winchester made ones in American Rifleman). The price is fair too if they are in reasonable shape. At the show I was at last month, Korean service junkers were priced near there. But here is the thing, you really need to know these guns to know whether or not it is a spruced up POS or a gem. I sure don't.

Case in point, the FFL dealer I buy from regularly had one for sale that to my eye, looked like a fair deal. It was clean overall, the park was good and the wood was very nice too. His comment was "You really don't want that one, it's a mutt & needs work. I'll probably have to spend some money on it to be sure it doesn't come back."

:confused:

Not trying to scare you off, just be sure you are cautious. That said, I've got a mint National Match that is near perfect in everyway and shoots like it. It is my favorite on the range and overall, a remarkable piece of engineering. If I could only have one rifle, this would be my choice without regret.

soundmotor

1: Op Rod. Check the op-rod and make sure it's bent. Early Garands were made with a straight op-rod, and had a nasty ( and deserved ) reputation for making their owners eat the bolt and trunnion. The problem was corrected in 1941-42, but occaisionally a rifle with the original, dangerous configuration pops up. Garand collectors, however, will pay nice money for such a weapon, so it's still an option.

2: Matching Numbers. There is no such thing as an all-matching-numbers Garand. They were cannibalized, swapper, parted-out, and tweaked so much and so often that they're all "mutt" rifles. If you -do- see a Garand that appears to be matching-numbers, don't touch it. It's been re-engraved with new ( artificial ) serial numbers, may include sketchy Chinese-made M1A parts, and it pretty much worthless anyway.

Pretty certain my National Match is all matching. However, I've never had it fully apart either. The Chinese weren't making them when I got it in the early 80's.

soundmotor

First rule for me: Look in the action and see if there are the appreciable remains of a human thumb caking up the works. If there is, pass.

Unless you're a WW2 memorabilia collector is there any reason not to order a new one from the Springfield armory?

New SA garands are expensive and not necessarily manufactured as well

Over the years I've heard bad stuff but nothing of late. I'd also start at Gunboards for the real deal on that. I wouldn't let the past influence my decision if it is apparent that is all well behind. It could also be just myth & rumor too. Shame on me as I've never owned one & really am just passing on the gossip.

For the same money though you could buy an excellent, fully depreciated, now gaining, original Garand. SA also offers some kickass variations like the Scout M1-A1 (shortened M14 pattern). Also, the SA's are .308, a great caliber, the originals are .30-06. another great caliber with even more whacktion!

It really comes down to what you want as they should both will shoot about the same. If the original I ended up with had not come my way, I would have bought either the SA or a Beretta BM-59 (a Beretta-made, M14 copy & oh so sweet!)

soundmotor

the new Springfield Garand's are available in either .30-06 or .308....