Should I trade a Sig 516 for an M1 Garand?

A nice m1 is worth 1000.00-1500.00 on the open market.
What's your Sig worth ?

It may be a sign to find out more about Garands.

I hope it turns out to be what it is and that you get a good deal on it!

Upon further consideration I wish to change my reply to: Yup! I would.
It’s just an AR...
Provided, of course, the other rifle is as stated, perfect, matching and unique, and with a bayonet.

It all depends...Garand prices are all over the place depending on the rifle. The condition of the finish, parts and throat/muzzle readings are just some of the main things that affect values. I can tell you that a var barrel on a Dane is considered to be a plus as they are very accurate. What is your 516 worth? As always buy the gun and not the story. It could be a $500 rifle or a $2000 rifle depending on what it is...

I wouldn't trade an AR for a Garand unless I had another AR. Not right now. It will probably be easier to find another good Garand than AR in todays gun climate.

I have a total of 4 AR's in the house and if someone offered me significantly more than I paid for it right now I might consider trading one to buy a Garand. But if it were the only AR I owned I'd be keeping it. If you can afford to buy the Garand without letting the AR go, or by selling something else then go for it.

colton1337 said:

I've only seen pictures so far but the guy is local to me so I plan on meeting up at the range to take a look at it first. I'm with you though. I can go out and get an AR any day of the week. Unfortunately, not right now because I have a wedding in one month, but you get what I'm saying haha!

As far as value, If I were to sell my Sig tomorrow I would be asking 1400 with all I have in it it. Of course, what someone wants out of a gun and what someone else is willing to pay is very different. There's a guy on GB right now that wants 5k for his ?

My biggest question is what should I look for on the Garand that could potentially cause the value to drop? I believe that I would get a fair deal, but I'm looking to get the better end.

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If your sig is worth 1400 the garand will need to be a really nice one. Go to the CMP website and see what you can get a shooter garand for...

If you really want a Garand then this may be a good opportunity but in the current market, the Sig has a much higher demand than the Garand. The Garand owner should be putting some cash into the deal.

colton1337 said:

So, the title says it all. I have a Sig 516 that I am contemplating on trading for a 1953 all matching M1 with bayonet and sling. It's a Danish return and from what the seller says it is unique in the fact that it does not have the barrel swapped out for the VAR barrel. I don't know too awful much about the M1 Garand other than the fact that I have always wanted one. I offered the trade not expecting him to (possibly) accept it. So, now I'm torn because I really like my Sig haha!

Would I be getting a fair deal if I did decided to trade? Should I offer cash instead? Also, what should I be looking for when inspecting an M1 Garand? Again, I don't know a lot when it comes to the rifle and I have been burnt in the past going into a deal not knowing enough about the firearm.

I will say this, however... I was gifted 4 enbloc clips a few weeks ago loaded up with Lake City stamped '53. Is this a sign?

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Well...

The Danish Returns were a nice batch of M1 Rifles.

The VAR Bbl's are a Premium, similar to the LMR Tractor and '60's SA Arsenal Bbl's.

But the Std. SA Bbl's are good shooters, too, as that is what my shooter M1 Rifle sports.


Matching parts are nice - to a rifle collector. (which happens to be a mental disorder )

...but as long as all the parts are in spec? The rifle couldn't care less.


The only part that is a variable consumable - is the bore.

And you need those accurate numbers.

Under slow-fire conditions:

Throats will Erode(TE) ~ 1.0(One) gauge number(0.001")/ Two-Thousand(2,000) rounds fired, out to ~ Gauge 8-10.

Precision may begin to slip past ~ Gauge 6.

Muzzles will Erode(ME) ~ 1/3 the rate of the Throat, or ~ 1.0(One) Gauge number(0.001")/ Six-Thousand(6,000) rounds fired.

Counter-boring can alleviate excessive ME.


That said...

The M1 Rifle - is the American Samurai Sword.

It is a timeless Wood and Steel Mechanical Marvel, that inspires both respect and love.


It is my rifle...




GR

Garands are nice but not especially versatile, more of a fun gun by my estimation. If you're squared away on defensive arms then get the garand, if it will leave you needing an effective carbine then don't do it. Nostalgia isn't a substitute for versatility .

Obturation said:

Garands are nice but not especially versatile, more of a fun gun by my estimation. If you're squared away on defensive arms then get the garand, if it will leave you needing an effective carbine then don't do it. Nostalgia isn't a substitute for versatility .

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For a Defensive Rifle - would probably go w/ the SA SAINT Victor in .308.





GR

Obturation said:

Garands are nice but not especially versatile, more of a fun gun by my estimation. If you're squared away on defensive arms then get the garand, if it will leave you needing an effective carbine then don't do it. Nostalgia isn't a substitute for versatility .

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Then again...






GR

Garands are nice but not especially versatile

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On it's face that may be true: Garands were designed to kill people at 400+ yards and they will do that very well. Mine is a war time issue Springfield that came from the old DCM and was use at Camp Perry in 1966 to shoot Service Rifle (not by me, I was 14 then). I get 1.5 MOA off a bench with my handloads using Hornady Interlocs and H4895.

If the balloon goes up I'll grab my AR but I certainly would not consider myself unarmed with a Garand. A 30-06 can solve a lot of problems.

Millions of soldiers felt perfectly well armed with a Garand. There may be better choices, but there are probably better choices than AR's, too.

As to the OP question: They're still making all kinds of AR's, they ain't making any more original Garands. Sometimes an opportunity presents itself...

Also, "all matching" is tenuous stuff.
The only part with a unique serial number is the receiver.
Every other part that is enumerated has a Drawing number for that one part. The drawings have a number based on the part, the date of the drawing, and the size of the drawing page. If you have a large cross-reference, you can sort the numbers by manufacturer and date. But, that requires a bin with about a dozen of every part with a drawing number.

One of the largest "victories" the US achieved in WWII was in weapons mass production to where hundreds of small parts could be contracted out to thousands of small subcontractors, and those parts would be so inter-changable as to be able to build a weapon from them. So, a weapon factory did not have to "fit" a specific part to a specific weapon (which is why some weapons have parts numbers on them all over the place, so you could rebuild that one, specific, weapon).

In actual service, a Squad or Platoon would disassemble all their weapons, pile the parts in tubs for washing, then, once clean, reassemble them into working weapons.

That being said, a good Dane is going to get about $1500 on the street (maybe $1800-1900 in our present crazy times). The SIG is nice, but AR prices are down, overall (despite the craziness). So, while it ought to bring $1400, unless there are really special features to it, you are looking at $900-1000, maybe.

So, if the guy is willing to trade Garand for SIG, straight up, do it, do it now. Why are you still here? Get in the car! Now! Pronto! []

You can build an AR from parts for $500-600, that's easy. Garands in decent condition are much harder to come by.

Honestly, I could only have one, Id keep the AR.

You will still be able to legally buy a Garand ten years from now. ARs? Maybe, maybe not.

It is a sign. Get the Garand. Until you’ve owned one, you just don’t know how cool they really are. If I didn’t have 2 already, I’d trade my AR for a Garand in a heartbeat. You can build another AR after the wedding. What you can own in 10 years is irrelevant. I hate to disagree with @NIGHTLORD40K but sometimes we don’t always agree. If you can’t own an AR in 10 years, why does that matter right now? It’s very likely they won’t come after your Garand, ever. And if it’s going to take you 10 years to save enough for an AR, you have more important problems to address.

If the Sig was my only quality AR, I would keep it. If I had others, I would trade in a heartbeat.

BigBore44 said:

It is a sign. Get the Garand. Until you’ve owned one, you just don’t know how cool they really are. If I didn’t have 2 already, I’d trade my AR for a Garand in a heartbeat. You can build another AR after the wedding. What you can own in 10 years is irrelevant. I hate to disagree with @NIGHTLORD40K but sometimes we don’t always agree. If you can’t own an AR in 10 years, why does that matter right now? It’s very likely they won’t come after your Garand, ever. And if it’s going to take you 10 years to save enough for an AR, you have more important problems to address.

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Its all good, bro.

I dont shoot my Garand that often. I like it, but it aint my favorite. At least one of my ARs seems to make it into the truck on every range trip.

Im just glad Im financially secure enough at this point in my life that I dont have to choose!

Back in '07 when things were tough, I had to press an old Arisaka into the home defense role.......

I'd probably keep the AR at this time. They'll continue to be in high demand until after the election, and depending on how that goes, maybe even more difficult to come by. M1 Garands are way cooler in my opinion, and could certainly be used for defense, but they aren't exactly rare. You'll have other chances to buy one.

As much as I like shooting my M1 Garands I would not do the trade. There are a lot of variables to consider when buying a 70 year old military rifle. If you do not know what these are then stick to your SIG516.
The major concern with firing a M1 Garand is the ammunition the rifle was designed for is not 'standard' .30'06 like the commercial stuff on the shelves today.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?attachments/dsc_0024-jpeg.841587/

P5 Guy said:

...The major concern with firing a M1 Garand is the ammunition the rifle was designed for is not 'standard' .30'06 like the commercial stuff on the shelves today.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?attachments/dsc_0024-jpeg.841587/

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No particular need for concern in that regard - just a little attention to detail.

The fact is - .30 M2 ammo is plenty hot - it just wasn't advertised that way.


Back in the day, the MIC/Mil chrono'd from a distance of 78 feet, not at the actual muzzle.

So, 152 gr. .30 M2 ammo MIC/Mil published in the Manual at 2740 fps... is actually running 2805 fps.


It's just not some of the hot modern loadings.

These loads use slower powders that also create higher port pressures, which is the problem to avoid.


This is a great site and definitive work on M1 Rifle friendly ammunition.



They also advertise a low-compression head "Ported Gas Screw" (which is represented as the green line and red caret in the graphs), which further mitigates excessive port pressures.


Will usually install it in the M1 Rife when in the field - so that there are no limitations, or concerns, RE: ammo.




GR

If I wanted a Garand, I would do it. Then I would buy a basic AR to replace the 516. Piston AR's are vastly over-rated. Most shooters never exploit the FEW advantages they offer.

How well does the Sig shoot for you? Rule #1 for me is if a gun's really a shooter, you don't sell it. Out of all the guns I've shot, I'd say there's no more than 10% of them that I've had "the touch" with.

If the Sig's good but nothing special and you have another semi-auto carbine to replace it, I'd do the deal. But I'd hold on to the Sig if that's all you've got. It may be awhile before you see more semi-autos available, especially at less than panic prices.

The cheapest Sig 516 on Gunbroker right now is $1500 and a new in box gen two is $5000 ! There are only a couple at any one time these days, last year there were many= high demand ! I would not trade unless it was a complete original sniper M1d