M1 Garand: WHY is it so expensive?

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...but the utility of the M1 Garand and Carbine is not why they are in such demand...

Right on.

If I looked at guns from a strictly utility standpoint, I'd only have three guns: a handgun, a rifle, and a shotgun. None of them would be an "old" gun.

Tend to disagree...



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:D




GR
 
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You do realize the 80's was a long time ago, right? I don't think we are talking about what they cost in 85o_O
There was a time when they came flooding in for sale and were common. Many of the flood were used as parts by companies to build new rifles for those who wanted one as a shooter. Again it's not the 80's any more and has not been for a long time. So only way to see them at what the OP would consider not "The M1 Garand is the most artificially inflated surplus rifle" would be to see them mass produced again. Unless maybe someone thinks there is a mass supply still to hit the market? Doubt that will happen, and doubt anyone is going to tool up to mass produce them again. So I would also very much doubt we will see the day were they were common at places selling use guns again. Price will stay "artificially inflated" as the OP put it because there is many who want one, and few for sale. Still not quite sure why so many seem to not be able to get their head around how this works <shrug>
I am well aware that the 1980 was a few years back. The point is we have come full circle.

Pre-1980 - there was a high demand and a limited supply => High Prices (higher that they are right now, in real terms*)
1985ish to 2010ish - there was still a high demand but there was also an abundance of M1 on the market => Low Prices
Post- 2010 - the supply has dried up to a large extend, but the demand has grown for a number of reasons => High Prices, again.

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In 1985 a Blue Sky import Garand was about $350, about $1000 in today's dollars. This would get you a ex-Korean Army rifle that had not been refurbished since the Korean War that would swallow a TE gauge and was missing all of the rifling for about the an inch of the muzzle.
 
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I'm not comparing the Garand to modern rifles in terms of price but to the other surplus rifles of the war. I think MAKster has the most direct answer. I didn't know it was the least produced WWII rifle.
We have both old and younger people wanting this rifle; the former because of nostalgia of their own lifetime, the latter because of modern media and video games.
I understand the principle of supply and demand, again I didn't know the Garand was the least produced of the WWII rifles.
 
...
1985ish to 2010ish - there was still a high demand but there was also an abundance of M1 on the market => Low Prices
...

Got the "birch twins" in ~ 2011 - $900 CMP Service Grade Springfield Specials:

SA collector grade metal in excellent almost new condition.
Walnut stocks and handguards and associated hardware are new manufacture.
NOT original SA manufacture.
... except sporting Boyd birch furniture, instead.

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... $600/pop. Std. Service Grade price.

:D




GR
 
I'm not comparing the Garand to modern rifles in terms of price but to the other surplus rifles of the war. I think MAKster has the most direct answer. I didn't know it was the least produced WWII rifle.
We have both old and younger people wanting this rifle; the former because of nostalgia of their own lifetime, the latter because of modern media and video games.
I understand the principle of supply and demand, again I didn't know the Garand was the least produced of the WWII rifles.

It's also the last USGI semi-automatic battle rifle you can own w/o an FFL.

... and .30 AP (M2) ammo as well.



:cool:



GR

 
They're a high quality rifle that isn't being made anymore with no reproductions being made. Add in the fact that there is some major history involved with the rifle with movies and tv shows (Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers) and you have your answer.

That being said the CMP is a good source for reasonably prices rifles. I bought mine a few years ago for about $500 and surplus ammo for .50 round. They let you buy ten rifles a year and as much ammo as you wanted with both shipped to your door. The rifles have gone up a bit in price since then and the ammo has dried up.
 
If I believe Wiki, a Garand cost ~$85 each in the 1940’s. That is about $1,200 today. Economics and inflation...
If you bought an M1 through the DCM (directly from the Army) your price was the $94.30 . . . and that was in through 1996.

(Being the Government and all, there was a $125 paperwork fee tacked on, of course.)


The last contract price for M1s (1957) was $97.30, with the DCM, you technically bought the rifle for exactly what the Government paid for it...
 
They're a high quality rifle that isn't being made anymore with no reproductions being made. Add in the fact that there is some major history involved with the rifle with movies and tv shows (Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers) and you have your answer
Again: supply and demand.
 
That is about correct. My father once told me that, in 1946, his sergeant told him that his M1 rifle was worth $80, so as to infer: take care of the rifle.

Expensive rifle, even by todays standards. Now I have a new appreciation for them. No wonder it was the War that got us out of the great depression, makes you wonder why we didn't re-enter one at the same time.
 
Expensive rifle, even by todays standards. Now I have a new appreciation for them. No wonder it was the War that got us out of the great depression, makes you wonder why we didn't re-enter one at the same time.

The M1 Garand must have been a very expensive rifle to make. Receiver machined from a single block of steel. All metal components, almost all of which were of forged steel. Precision (for their time) sights. Superb craftsmanship. I've been to Springfield Armory; a lot went into making that gun.

You can see that reflected in other, cheaper guns of the war. The Thompson was so expensive that the Army went to the M3 Grease gun. Stamped and welded sheet metal receiver. Wire stock. It's a cheap gun, and it looks as such. (But it worked.)
 
The M1 Garand must have been a very expensive rifle to make. Receiver machined from a single block of steel. All metal components, almost all of which were of forged steel. Precision (for their time) sights. Superb craftsmanship. I've been to Springfield Armory; a lot went into making that gun.

You can see that reflected in other, cheaper guns of the war. The Thompson was so expensive that the Army went to the M3 Grease gun. Stamped and welded sheet metal receiver. Wire stock. It's a cheap gun, and it looks as such. (But it worked.)
What the Army paid for an M1 in WW2 is about the same as what the Army paid for an M16 in Vietnam (1968) and is about what the Army paid for the last batch of M4 Carbines, in constant dollars.

About $800 to $1000 dollars a piece, in 2020 dollars.

The M14 and the first contract of M16s were about 10% more, $1000 to $1100 in 2020 dollars.

In 2020 dollars the M3A1 cost about $300.
 
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What the Army paid for an M1 in WW2 is about the same as what the Army paid for an M16 in Vietnam and is about what the Army paid for the last batch of M4 Carbines, in constant dollars.

About $800 to $1000 dollars a piece, in 2020 dollars.

economics and inflation :thumbup:
 
To paraphrase Van Halen...”Everybody wants one...I want one too “
 
When the CMP was selling the Greek returns for $295 plus shipping to your front door, a corporation in Illinois, using the Springfield name was selling their version of the M1 with a cast receiver from Lithgo for $900. Many of which did not work well, you can find threads here on THR about them.

How expensive are the M1As from Springfield?
 
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