[Northslope Nimrod]

I think I qualify for everything but the club membership. I'm a citizen, have a concealed carry permit, no crimes, etc. I live in Utah. How can I fulfill the requirement without paying some lame annual fee? Is it possible? If not, who has lowest rate to join? There is one in Utah with a $15 fee.

ALSO, what model do you recommend? Many appear to be sold out or on back order. I was looking at Rack grade or Field Grade price range. Which manufacturer and why?

Any other suggestions on buying through CMP?

[SomeKid]

Regarding the club, do the Garand Collectors Association. The Journals have a fair amount of stuff in them.

If I was you, I would look at the Field grade, and get this one. R001GK-SAF*

Then again, if you do not mind the wait, get the R001SAF. I hear stories about the Greeks being slightly poorer quality.

[Dionysusigma]

Poorer quality, or poorer condition? I thought the Greek M1s were built in the US, then shipped over to Greece... :confused:

[alamo]

The Garand Collectors Association is $25. You get a quarterly magazine with the membership.

Check out your state rifle association if it has one & see how much that is.

[Mac Attack]

Ditto on the Grand Collectors Association. It's the easiest way to become qualified for CMP purchases.

I highly recommend you purchase a Service Grade rifle. They quote a time frame from 60-120 days but usually deliver in less time than that.

[Northslope Nimrod]

Thanks.
Second thought: Is the Garand really a good HD/battle rifle anymore?

1. For urban: It does not have detachable mags. I'm not familiar with Garand clips but wouldn't they slow you down in a stressful situation.

2. For rural or mountains: No scope. I don't want to drill my Garand should I get one. I shoot MUCH better with a scope if it is beyond 100 yards. I'm also better with a scope on moving targets that are say....75 plus yards away. Perhaps because of my experience.

Talk me into or out of buying the Garand. I was set on getting an SKS and a Garand.....but the "no detachable mag" issue has me doubting again.

[Mac Attack]

IMHO comparing a Garand to a SKS is like comparing a Mercedes to a Hugo. Not taking historic value into consideration.....

I own Garands and a SKS's and much prefer the overall quality, solid feel, reliability and accuracy of the Garand over the the lesser quality, toy like feeling and significantly less accurate SKS. Sure you could buy 4 SKS's for the price of one Garand but you get what you pay for.

Sure the SKS can be altered to accept detachable mags but the trade off is reliability. One thing to consider when talking about putting a detachable mag on a SKS is reliability. I had two friends who had detachable mags on their SKS's and both had reliability issues. With the standard 10 round internal mag the SKS is a very reliable but once you fool with it by adding all sorts of bells and whistles you make an otherwise relieable rifle into PITA to shoot. A Garand has a 8 round enblock of 30.06 which with practice can be reloaded just as fast as a magazine change. I would not feel undergunned with 8 rounds of 30.06.

I guess it all depends on what you want and how much you are willing to spend. When I purchased my SKS I paid $99 + tax which was still a lot of money to me back then. Back then spending $550 on a Garand was not a reasonable purchase. Now a days $550 is still a lot of money but quality is more important to me now then it was before. Another thing to consider is the cost to feed your Garand or SKS as well. 7.62x39 ammo is significantly cheaper and easier to find than GI 30.06. Weight the pros and cons and then make your decision.

Better yet, just buy both :)

[Eat Beef]

No one gun is going to be ideal for urban/cqb duty AND long range duty.

A Garand is a big, heavy son of a gun:D , but I like that. Might come in handy should one use it as a club.

Like someone else said, you must evaluate your situation and pick what will fit it best. That said, you could always buy an SKS and upgrade later. Its not like they are going to get any cheaper (although the Garand may get more expensive).

[ScottsGT]

Owning a Garand is like ...Well, it a Garand thing. If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand.
You own a piece of history that you wish could talk, you have one of the finest rifles ever made, and will never be reproduced at the same level of quality, and shoots one of the best rounds ever made that comes in hundreds of flavors. One small modification, and you can shoot all these rounds. (Adjustable gas port)
Maybe you should be looking at an M1A if you want detachable mag with a scope mount? I know, big bucks though.

[Dr. Dickie]

Col. Cooper once said something along the line of: Everyone should have a Garand at home.
Good enough for me!

[SomeKid]

Scott was dead on with pretty much his entire post. Read it again. It tempts me to invent a device that COULD let rifles talk. I already have one, so the need for a second one has greatly lessened, but I still want another one. M1 Garands just rock.

Dion, poorer condition. You were correct, made here, shipped there, shipped back.

Nimrod, the Garand is my #2 SHTF rifle, right behind my AR15. That is right, I am placing it above an AK47. That is how highly I think of the M1 Garand (and how much I hate that Norinco POS). While you cannot scope the garand, the sights are decent enough, and that is good enough. Getting the clips out of the bandolier pockets takes longer than anything else, loading is quite easy. Get a Garand, I am telling you, it IS worth it.

[Northslope Nimrod]

Mac Attack: I should have been more clear. I wasn't leaning toward SKS because of the detachable mag capability. I know of the reliability issue with those. I was leaning AWAY from BOTH the SKS and the Garand because of their feeding systems and leaning back toward AK's and AR's. As my post states, I was going to buy BOTH the SKS and Garand. Now I have doubts. Hope that clarifies.

More advice on which model?

[SomeKid]

Nimrod, get the Garand first. The SKS can be gotten soon, whereas Garand prices are going to shoot up after CMP runs out.

The Garand would make a good SHTF gun. Later, after you have more time and money to test, you can switch as you choose, but in the meantime you are starting a collection as well.

[Skeptic]

I have been looking at getting a couple of them for me and my son. Is it really as easy as they make it sound?

[HankB]

I've gone the CMP route, and am happy with what I've gotten.

If you're only going to get one rifle, make it a Service Grade. For $500 - oops, price went up to $550 - you're likely to get a rifle in decent shape with a good bore . . . though many will want to clean up the stock. (Note that "decent shape" does NOT mean "new in the wrapper" . . . you have to have realistic expectations.) My first M1 gives me 8 shot, 3" groups with 30 year old USGI milsurp ammo . . . which is about as well as I can shoot with iron sights.

Field grades are functional, but will be in much "rougher" shape. Stocks may be REALLY rough, metal finish quite worn, bores seen a lot of use, etc.

Rack grades are generally for people who fully intend to renovate the rifle - they don't make the cut for field grade. Safe to shoot, but quite heavily used.

There's a no-gunsmithing "Scout-type" mount for the Garand which replaces the rear handguard. From what I've read, it works well for mounting something like Leupold's 2.5x IER 'scope. Otherwise, there are a few reputable gunsmiths around who will make the "M1D" modification to your barrel, though that results in an offset optic.

[alamo]

I have been looking at getting a couple of them for me and my son. Is it really as easy as they make it sound?


It's not as difficult as a lot of people think. They are pretty loose on the requirements. You need to get the paperwork notarized - your local bank where you have an account will often do it for free.

http://www.odcmp.com/Services/Rifles/eligibility_requirements.htm

[SkyDaver]

I got a Field Grade Greek last month, and ended up with one that had negligible muzzle and throat erosion (<1.5 muzzle, <2.5 throat) Stock was serviceable, but there was a sale at Midway for stocks, and I put on a new one. Good shooter.

It's not something I'd want to lug around all day, but it's a piece of history, a fine shooter. Get one before they're gone.

There are no-drill scope mounts, including one that replaces the rear handguard.

If I'm remembering what I read correctly, there are new in box, unissued Garands that will be going for sale sometime over the next year. I'll need to hit the lottery first, as they'll be auctioned, and are expected to go in excess of $10,000!

[P5 Guy]

The M1 Rifle was designed to be a main battle rifle in 1937. They are long, heavy and recoil is stout. M1s also need ammo that meets M2 specs for the pressure curve: ie fast burning powder. This limits the user that does not reload to military surplus ammo, FMJ, not real good for hunting and illegal in most states.
For HD there are many better choices even in full power ammo like 7.62NATO or .308 Winchester. All of them are shorter, lighter and have detachable magazines opposed to an 8 shot 'enbloc' clip.
That said I've a few M1s and find the intangables far out weigh problems of having a rifle that was put to pasture in 1957.

[gbell]

**Warning**
**The purchase and firing of the M1 "Garand" Rifle can be very addictive**
:D
and Garand Collectors Association is the way to go.

[GarandOwner]

Garand is a beautiful rifle, and in my opinion the greatest rifle ever created. It is fairly large, but the wide stock to me is more comfortable than anything else I've ever shot. The recoil is fairly light for the round, the weight of the rifle absorbs alot of the recoil compaired to other rifles of the same caliber. As far as concidering an SKS?!? Garand is far superior in many ways that I cant even begin to list them. The En-block clip doesnt slow down reloading, in my opinion it is faster, the old clip automatically ejects, and sliding a new one in is easier than fiddling with a magazine. Of course speed of reloading comes with familiarity of the weapon, but I can reload my Garand faster than my Thompson M1 or M1A.

As for the HD part: I can never understand why people always talk about rifles for home defense situations. (Rule #4 anyone?!) They are WAY to powerful for home defense, Inside, they will go through whatever your shooting at, out the other side, and continue going through the walls of your house. Outside they would be good if you live on a farm and need to ward of coyotes or others of the sort. If you live in a neighborhood then they would be to overpowered, not worth the risk of shooting through your neighbors house. Plus I dont think you can ever justify shooting a person with your rifle to the authorities. Any situation where it would still be concidered self defense would be in range of a handgun, or a carbine rifle. Unless of course your HD situation is the attack of zombies, in which case the Garand is the perfect weapon for the job :rolleyes:

[Jim Watson]

I was at the South Store last week.
The Greek returns looked in reasonable used condition... on the metal.
Stocks were battered with some handguards replaced with mung wood inlet with a hatchet.
A Danish return barreled action and a Boyd stock would make a better looking shooter.

[Guy B. Meredith]

Stout recoil? Limited ammo?

I thought the Garand is a pussy cat compared to other 30-'06s I've shot. My normal run is about 80+ rounds with just a T-shirt and shirt. I am a skinny, boney, non-buffed senior citizen. Stout recoil?

I have put an adjustable vented plug on my 1943 model. This will vent pressure and allow use of a wider range of ammo.

[Dr. Dickie]

The Danish may be in better shape, but according to the web site, they have been sold out since December of last year.:mad:

[ScottsGT]

If I'm remembering what I read correctly, there are new in box, unissued Garands that will be going for sale sometime over the next year. I'll need to hit the lottery first, as they'll be auctioned, and are expected to go in excess of $10,000!


Actually, they have already auctioned off 2 at $15,000 each and a matched SN pair at a little over $30,000 for the two. I'm sorry, only if I was a multi-millionair would I spend money that foolishly.

[Jim Watson]

Dr Dickie,

I was there last Friday.
They had a rack of barrelled actions labeled as Danish. No complete guns, just the metal. Not many, probably not enough to list on the site but some to sell to walk-ins.

[MechAg94]

If you get a Garand, go ahead and order a replacement stainless operating rod sprnig and the multi-tool. A weak op rod spring can really affect your reliability. Others might suggest other parts, but you might wait for you rifle for other stuff. You will need gun grease also as the Garand uses grease for lubrication not oil.

I would suggest a service grade. I have one and it is a decently accurate gun even without a lot of practice.

I would also suggest setting aside additional money to buy some of that Greek ammo from CMP. It is good ammo and comes in bandoliers and en bloc clips. You won't need to buy any of that stuff. The Lake City ammo is also pretty good.