M1 garand barrel replacement

John_Doe said:

If you replace a barrel on an M1 garand would it affect the value ?

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Yes. One way or another.

If it's a Mixmaster with a non-original barrel that is shot out, it can make it go up.

If it is a correct rifle with a correct barrel the value will plummet.

If you are worried about it keep the original barrel and put it back on before you sell it. Headspace should not change as long as you make sure it has good index marks.

Need some more info on your specific rifle. As above, it it's been rebarreled by an arsenal but retains most original parts, adding a NOS barrel would likely enhance value. If it's a full-blown mixmaster, along with some fit/finish enhancement parts, a new made barrel will likely enhance value, but in either case likely not more than you put into it. If it is a Winchester or IHC with original barrel, even if other parts are mixed and the barrel is poor, rebarreling would likely lower the value. The maximum upside of value is probably equal to a CMP special, although good looking rebuilt guns will sometimes go too high at auction. I sold a greek mixmaster with a mediocre bore and a converted Italian walnut stock set at auction for North of $1000. I even labeled the bore condition and called it honestly a mechanically sound, non-collectable "shooter." Externally it looked nice and somebody really wanted it...NOW! Ran into the guy who bought it at a local gun club. He was hammering a rather large 200 yard steel plate with M2 Ball, and evidently quite pleased with his purchase.

I have an old H&R DCM M-1. The barrel was rough when I received it.

I rebarreled it with a Douglas Premium match grade barrel in 7.62X51. A dozen folks have tried to buy it!

Most Garands have been rebuilt at one at some point in their lives.

The few that have not, a barrel replacement will affect its value. In fact, if I wanted to shoot a Garand, I'd put the Correct/Collector grade Garand away and buy a Service grade or CMP Special to shoot.

There are some NOS barrels out there and replacing a barrel with one of these on a Service grade or Field grade should not negatively the value of the rifle. An exception to this might be some of the particular arsenal rebuilds.The rebuilding arsenal marks the receiver and these rifles can have some collector value so a barrel out of the appropriate date range may affect the rifle's value.

CMP has been refurbishing Garands including a current manufactured barrel and stock. They sell for more than a Service grade so their value should always be a bit higher than a Service grade. In my opinion, I do not feel a CMP rebuild is better than some of the reputable Garand gunsmith's refurbishing. Therefore, one of these refurbished Garands should have s similar value as the CMP Specials. Having said that, some folks get excited over the CMP paper that comes with their Grarand.

So, refurbishing a Field or Service grade Garand up to CMP Special levels should improve the value of the Garand.

The OP ought to head over the the CMP forums. Lots of Garand information and opinions on repairs, refurbishing and replacing.

Anyone who has seen a GI Cleaning Party will understand that "all matching" is a myth.

"All Correct" is a much more elusive thing, much harder to nail down, but something that adds value.

Will a replacement barrel damage that imputed value? Maybe. It will definitely improve the value of a shooter, rather than a collector.

For a shooter, there's more than a little debate about whether a 7.62nato barrel is better than .30-06

Get you a correct barrel from the CMP

http://usriflecal30m1.com/ProductionGraph.aspx This will give you the approximate manufacture date of your receiver. Look for manufacturer codes on other parts. Cartouches and stamps on the stock. I'll try and find you a more comprehensive link for those. Edit, it's already there at the link above, just follow the other internal links for ancillary parts.

As far as the barrel, I would see how it shoots before I get too crazy. I've seen some that guage pretty poorly shoot very well for practical purposes. Unless your intent is shooting it at a high level in CMP matches, you may be quite content with the existing barrel.

Are you interested in shooting accuracy, or collector's value?
IME, you can't have both. If you're going to shoot it, re-barrel it. If you're
going for collector value, I'd look at the rifle very carefully, before buying, for all the reasons stated above.

John_Doe said:

If you replace a barrel on an M1 garand would it affect the value ?

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Well that depends. If the rifle has the correct barrel it will reduce value for collectors.
What is your goal for the rifle? Are you going to shoot it or look at it?
The best source for information is Scott Duff or the CMP forum.
A couple of photos would help.
If you have a gunsmith with knowledge go the Garand in your area you can go there for some help.
For myself a gun that I can shoot is worth more than a gun to look at.
If you rebarrel it go for a 308/7.62NATO barrel.

Disappoint your inheritors. Make the rifle the way you want it, and let those at your estate sale cry, over the loss to their profits, because you shot your firearms and paid no concern to their problems. Relatives prefer cash anyway, or, pallets of cigarettes and Jack Daniels.

maxxhavoc said:

Yes. One way or another.

If it's a Mixmaster with a non-original barrel that is shot out, it can make it go up.

If it is a correct rifle with a correct barrel the value will plummet.

If you are worried about it keep the original barrel and put it back on before you sell it. Headspace should not change as long as you make sure it has good index marks.

Click to expand...

I rebarreled a few rack grade M1's from the CMP. Literally takes less than 30 minutes to pull a replacement barrel and install the original.

Most garands were rebarrled before being issued for service in the korean war. Yous should be able to find the barrel date of manufacture by opening the action and looking at the side. If you cant read it from the pics my garand barrel is stamped “S-A-1-50”

John_Doe said:

I took a picture of my berrel , bolt , and the recever.

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On a Garand, the serial number on the receiver is the only unique number to that rifle. On all other parts, the numbers stamped in them are drawing numbers and some indication of the manufacturer. The barrels do have a date stamped in them indicating when they were made.

So, unlike many rifles, the Garand does not have parts stamped with the serial number to make them matching for that rifle.

That said, there is information out there that indicate the manufacturing date range of various parts based on the drawing number and revision number. This is how collectors determine if a rifle is "Correct". But, even this information is not 100% reliable as left over parts from earlier production runs or parts from a new revision production run get installed in a rifle as it is coming off the assembly line.

One of the beauties of the Garand is most of the parts, except the bolt and barrel, do not have to be hand fitted to the rifle. And for the most part, the bolt is checked with a headspace gauge and if it does not gauge correctly, another bolt is tried.

There are many photos out there that show field armorers working on Garands. They have buckets full of parts and stacks of receiver/barrel combinations. Except for checking the parts for wear against a gauge or standard, parts are grabbed from the pile and placed in the rifle under rebuild.

Stateside arsenals rebuilding Garands did the same although they probably used more new parts and replaced more barrels than the in theater armorers did.

Very few Garands managed to get through life without at least one rebuild. One of the favorite pastimes of some Garand collectors is finding parts to make one of their Garands "Correct". It is getting more and more difficult to accomplish these days.

Hence the affectionate name "Mixmaster" for most Garands.

This is kind of the "Cliff Notes" version of the life and times of a Garand.

Looks like a newer barrel. If you have a round of M2 Ball, stick it in the muzzle and compare to the pics below. First is a brand new (0) criterion barrel, second is a almost-not-good-enough-for-government-work barrel (5+)
-old-



-new-




And then some with .308 FGMM if you dont have M2 Ball...

The 6 digit serial number is 1940 or so, I'd have to look in my library to pin down exactly.
The barrel was installed & proofed in 1955. That should be a fair to good barrel.
Numbers you see on the bolt are the drawing number, revision number (after the dash) and below them the heat treat lot number. You'll see the same types of numbers on the front right leg of the receiver.
All the other numbers are telling you the same things, the drawing, revision and manufacturers.
SA is Springfield in MA, WRA is Winchester, HRA is Harrington & Richardson
Marlin made some barrels too.

Slamfire said:

Disappoint your inheritors. Make the rifle the way you want it, and let those at your estate sale cry, over the loss to their profits, because you shot your firearms and paid no concern to their problems. Relatives prefer cash anyway, or, pallets of cigarettes and Jack Daniels.

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Are we related?

CapnMac said:

Anyone who has seen a GI Cleaning Party will understand that "all matching" is a myth.

"All Correct" is a much more elusive thing, much harder to nail down, but something that adds value.

Will a replacement barrel damage that imputed value? Maybe. It will definitely improve the value of a shooter, rather than a collector.

For a shooter, there's more than a little debate about whether a 7.62nato barrel is better than .30-06

Click to expand...

Nature Boy said:

Are we related?

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Research your family tree, far enough, and we are! The odds are, we are also related to William the Conqueror. But even though distantly related, I think we have a lot in common, Bro!

So the bullet test the farther it goes in the better the barrel?

lionking said:

So the bullet test the farther it goes in the better the barrel?

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No, the opposite, the further in the more Muzzle Wear.

P5 Guy said:

No, the opposite, the further in the more Muzzle Wear.

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What I thought makes more sense must have read the post with pics wrong