[Kevlarman]

I was woken from my peaceful slumber at 10am by a loud knocking at the door. Upon opening, I was greeted by the Fedex delivery guy, who had a long brown box in his hands.

He asked, "so what kind of gun did you get?"

Suspicously, I asked, "how'd you know?"

"Oh, the address says Civilian Marksmanship Program and I can't leave this package by the door." :o

I told him it was an M1 Garand and he was all excited! I immediately tore open the box and was greeted by a U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30 M1. The stock was pretty black and sticky, but the metal is pretty good. Serial number is 1437XXX, which puts it being built around March 1943. Awesome! I know that this rifle has seen some sort of action, and it makes me very proud to being hold such a piece of history! Oh, if this rifle could talk!

Pics and more to follow!

[dshimm]

Congrats on your new Garand. They're a blast (so to speak) to shoot, and, as you said, you're holding a piece of living history in your hands. Now get your hands on a CMP 1903 Springfield. One hundred years old and still working. Gotta love the CMP.

[RustyHammer]

I love my Garands ... have 5 and more on order w/ CMP.

Post pictures if/when you can?

Lock and load!

Rusty

P.S. Check out www.battlerifles.com for more

[Mike Irwin]

SWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTT!

[CGofMP]

CONGRATULATIONS on your CMP Garand! Great stuff.

My family and I have made use of the program and have always been pleased with what we got (though my Garand had to go back to CMP twice).

We really enjoy the program.

Please consider this your Engraved Invitation To My M1 Garand Website (http://www.memorableplaces.com/m1garand/) There you'll find a lot of goodies as well as OUR M1 Garand / CMP story.


I also share your sentiments about "If these guns could talk"... Ya know I LOVE my modern shiny Nor-Cal Precision Rifle (http://www.norcalprecision.com/) but there is a romantic-type-of-allure to the Garands, particularly those with a early war serial number range.. Ya just gotta wonder where they have been and what they have done...


http://www.memorableplaces.com/m1garand/navimages/soldier.jpg (http://www.memorableplaces.com/m1garand/)

[DJJ]

What I want to know is what the :cuss: are you doing asleep at 10AM on a Tuesday?

And do they have any openings? :evil:

Go to ammoman.com for a couple of varieties of surplus .30-06, at least one of which is already on clips.

Open the action and look through the op rod gap between the stock and the handguard and you should be able to see a date stamp on the barrel.

[Kevlarman]

Charles, I've been reading your site for weeks now in anticipation of my Garand. In fact, I had it open as I was disassembling the rifle. Very cool.

I've also been to
Swampy's (http://www.swampworks.com/SwampysStuff-Home.html) page, as well as Battlerifles.com.

Information overload!

BTW, the barrel is marked S-A-9-51.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=403387
Here's the receiver.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=403474
Czech VZ-24 and M1 Garand
Stock is kinda ugly eh? What do you think, should I do the dishwasher treatment?

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=403464
Y'all hear of M1 thumb? Well in the first 5 minutes of examining it, I got an M1 finger! The action was locked (or so I thought) open and when I went to grab it the bolt slammed on my finger. Ow!

[CGofMP]

Looks like you got an arsenal rebuild which is quite common. The barrel on mine was from 1941 when the rifle was made and the end looked like a shotgun it was so smooth from the muzzle down about 3 inches :-)

Looks like you got a nasty little bite on the finger there! The M1 can be deceptive! If that bolt is not ALL the way back getting similar results is quite a possibility!

Glad you enjoyed the site!

Charles

[Justin]

Cool! Congrats on your new purchase.
I'm just gonna scoot this one over to the rifle forum real quick.:)

[chetrogers]

fed ex....and a gun?

can you have these type of guns sent to your house.Do they shoot ect'..
Where can i buy one? If anyone wants to email me at cchheett@cascadeaccess.com with any info it would be much appreciated.I dont wanna take over this thread with my question..Thanks

[CGofMP]

If you quallify the Civilian Marksmanship Program will send you an M1 for a few hundred bucks. All the details can be had on their site at http://www.odcmp.com/ As noted above I have penned a website and if you click on the "OUR GARANDS" link and the "CMP PROGRAM" link you will be able to see how we did it step by step in 1999. Some minor changes have happened since then but the program is about the same.

Charles

[RustyHammer]

To the door baby .... !

[cool45auto]

Stock is kinda ugly eh?
NO! All my battle rifles look just like they did when I got them. I don't know how some of the scratches and dings got there and don't care. It just adds to the uniqueness of each one.

[Kevlarman]

NO! All my battle rifles look just like they did when I got them. I don't know how some of the scratches and dings got there and don't care. It just adds to the uniqueness of each one.

Oops.

I just took the stock out of the dishwasher, and it looks mighty fine! All the dirt and grime and oil is gone! I'm gonna let it dry overnight, do some light sanding, refinish it with a walnut stain, then slap on some polyurethane clearcoat. I can't wait.

Maybe I'll just buy one of those synthetic stocks and put the wood one away for safekeeping.

[WhoKnowsWho]

Very nice!

[vanfunk]

IMO,
Skip the sanding and the poly clearcoat - you'll most likely regret it later.
Just massage the stock with some 000-0 steel wool between coats of boiled linseed oil or tung oil (the real stuff). That'll preserve the rifle's history and provide protection, not to mention rugged good looks:cool: .
Check out the tips at www.jouster.com for details.

Congratulations! You are now the owner of "the greatest battle implement ever devised". I love my Garands and will never part with them.
vanfunk

[CGofMP]

Whatever you do DO NOT sand out or in any way deface any marks stamped into the stock.... These are called cartouches and can mean the difference between a stock worth 30 bucks and one worth literally 400 bucks (of course the range in between is substntial wioth most being lower end).

It also shows histroy of rebuilds etc.


Charles

[Kevlarman]

Alright, alright, I won't sand. Sheesh. :p

I didn't find any cartouches on the stock. However, there is something behind the trigger. Looks like either a 'P' or an 'F' I can't really tell.

On the heel itself is the number '66' (or 99) in white paint, which is most likely a rack number. Most of it came off while it was in the dishwasher.

Also, on the very rear of the stock, underneat the buttplate are a few markings. There's a '2,' a large 'F,' and in the lower corner there looks to be a large 'I.'

Any ideas what they mean?

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=403803

[CGofMP]

The 66 is a rack number for sure.

The P is the "PROOF MARK" put on there when the gun was proof tested.

I SHOULD know about the stanps below the buttplate but..err...

[Poodleshooter]

Very nice Kevlarman! What did you order, a service grade Springfield?
I've had a service grade Danish M1 on order since mid May, so I'm still awaiting that knock at the door.

[4v50 Gary]

Sorry 'bout that finger. Happy healing.

BTW, if the FedEx guy gonna be your shooting buddy now? ;)

[Kevlarman]

Yep, it's a service grade Springfield. Sent in the paperwork June 23 and just git it today.

Fedex guy as my shooting buddy eh? Nah, I work for UPS. :D

[Deepdiver]

Got mine several years ago .....S/N 1526xxx - (May 1943)...great condition/great shooter. Got Love It!!!

Congrats!!

[PenHolder]

Heh. Seriously, though, that's a nice looking piece. If you don't mind my asking, how is it that you were able to avoid having to recieve that WWII wonder through a CA-DOJ licensed dealer, complete with fee, silly lock, waiting period, and (ohh, what else is new) playing utility-bill lottery?

What paperwork did you have to do? I'm not sitting on a pile of money, but for a functioning piece of history like that delivered to my door, I'd scrounge my little be-hind off.

Congrats,

PH

[CGofMP]

Pen Holder...

CMP is closely affiliated with the government, they were in fact as I understand it created by a mandate of congress sooooooooo you do nto have to jump through the ffl hoops! Never fear however you still get a trigger lock with them :p


The way one goes about this is all covered over at http://www.odcmp.com/ You have to do some shooting (or have one of many exemptions) fill out some paperwork, and sign some stuff is what it comes down to.

Charles

[Kevlarman]

PenHolder, the process of getting a rifle from the CMP seemed daunting at first, but with so many sites out there outlining what you have to do (battlerifles.com, CGofMP's page, Swampy's plage, etc), it wasn't very hard at all.

Here's a quick list of the requirements:

Must be 18 years of age or older
Must be legally able to purchase a rifle
Must be a U.S. citizen
Must be a member of a CMP-affiliated organization
Must show proof of marksmanship activity within the last 5 years (at least 50 shots fired)

Of these, the marksmanship activity seems the most difficult if you don't know what to do. I called up the CMP and specifically asked what they wanted. No, you don't have to compete in a formal match or anything. In fact, I took a certified NRA "Basic Pistol Course." The course includes 8 hours of classtime and 50 shots of .22LR downrange. All I did was photocopy the certificate they give you at the end of class and mailed it in.
You could also visit a Garand clinic many clubs have, shoot some rounds at your local range and have the rangemaster verify it on range stationary, etc.

You do not have to do the marksmanship activity if you're over 60, a LEO, or honorably discharged from the military (with DD-214 proof).

As for the club affiliation, I joined the CRPA (http://www.crpa.org/). A 1-year membership costs only $18. You'll get a sticker, some newsletters in the mail, and your membership card (which you must photocopy).

For proof of citizenship, I used my expired U.S. passport. Not only does it show citizenship status, but also age as well.

I was a bit afraid that they'd have to ship it to a local FFL or something and I'd have to wait ten days for my rifle, but this was not the case. As CGofMP said, the CMP operates under a mandate by Congress. In fact, the background check is run through the FBI NICS.

And yep,they included a trigger lock inside the box (which I promptly threw into the closet).