Garand Group (The)

Usnmars, you have a handsome family!

Charlie

CMP Field Grade Springfield 730xxx

Very worn and ugly stock and obviously used for a lot of "Square bashing"

Looks nicer now.

-kBob

Well I replaced the stock with an american one as that Euro tree branch was gnawed on by rabid beavers, cracked, pinned with brass pins and so worn internally that the barrel and receiver group and trigger group wiggled around in it.

I replaced the butt plate with one not quite as bad. The bands are Beretta and the barrel is a VAB, I am thinking about having the muzzle recrowned or trying a DIY amd considering peening either the gas cylinder splines or the slots for the same in the barrel.

As is it is more accurate than say my Mossberg 500 shotgun with foster slugs but honestly a friend's beater winchester 94 in .30-30 out shoots it.

Still I did not come in last in either of the CMP 100 yard Garand fun shoots I was in and look forward to more.

-kBob

HRA sn 5,575,xxx circa October 1954. I got this service grade M1 through the CMP in early 2008. All correct HRA except for an SA op rod & stock. All I've done is clean it up some apply a bit of tung oil & install a set of Orion 7 springs



Nick

www.dupagetrading.com is an awesome source for Garand parts. I snatch up some of the "distressed" parts bundles when they offer them. For the price and what you get you cant go wrong. They are an awesome source for original stocks too.

Here is a M1 that I put together from a CMP barreled receiver. The stock was split in several places and had a few large chunks missing. I rebuilt the stock and had a little fun with the build. The stock has 143 coats of lacquer on it wet sanded between coats, and I flame blued all of the small parts. I built it to match specs and it shoots the wings off a fly at 100. Purists may hate it but it is a fun and accurate rifle. It is kinda odd, I am young and cant stand the black rifles. Give me a Garand any day......




What it does at 100 before i found out that the front sight was loose

Awesome thread!

I am ordering a CMP Service grade here shortly.

I thought I had some pictures of my Garand saved up on the computer, but I can't seem to find any but this one. I took this one a few summers ago when some buddies and I were home on leave and went out for a little shooting.

The Garand was a CMP Service Grade, Springfield Armory, 1950mfg. The wood stock was pretty soaked in cosmoline, so I grabbed one of these Boyd's when I got the chance. I kept the original stock too, it had a very nice tiger striping to the wood underneath. Someday I'll get the time to clean it up and refinish it. The parkerizing on the rifle is just about perfect, and the bore is in very good shape. It will put a whole clip into a 2MOA circle at 100 yards with Greek M2 Ball. That's good enough for what I need.



EDIT: Hey, found another one of the Garand and some of her stablemates:

Mars- i love it. What a great looking M1.

143 coats of laquer!!! I just about go nuts by coat 4 or 5 - and that is the very easy tung oil.

Looks sweet though!

cal30_sniper, nice laminated stock. I am working on an M1 build project and ought to go that route.

I was very pleased with the fit and finish. A little larger all the way around than the factory wood, and a bit heavier, but that's not all a bad thing with a semi-automatic .30-06 as far as recoil is concerned.

It cut the groups in half. The Boyds stock was very well inletted for my receiver, and the action locks into it very tightly, unlike the factory wood. Besides, it's supposedly much stronger for buttstroking people in the face, haha.

Is it even possible to get a WWII serial SA through the CMP today or will they all be post-WWII? I'm not sure if including a $100 donation and a pleading note will result in any better luck. All they have listed on the site are HRAs and SAs in a service grade. I'm a year or two late for correct and collector grades. The specials available look like receivers but with all new parts and I'm not really looking for a rifle with NM parts. I'm leaning towards purchasing the HRA. I want to grab something(s) at the CMP before there's even less to select from.

Is it possible to search around and slowly buy correct parts if the rifle has been rebuilt with other bits? I wish there was a cliffnotes version to absorb all this stuff. Starting from square one stinks because there is so much information out there, it kind of clutters things up.

There are WWII recievered guns in the inventory. It is not uncommon at all on the Specials - at least not the last I checked about a year ago.

If you want an almost correct gun, buy the service grade special. Everything but the stock and stock metal should be right and in virtually new condition other than handling marks. But these will be late production guns. Safest buy IMO.

Is it possible to buy a new old stock op-rod? Springfield late production preferred. Where might I find one?

Problem is I want a Garand but don't know if I should go with something like the service grade which might be a mixmatch of parts that were naturally replaced as the rifle was rebuilt during it's service life, which might make it more historically genuine and adds character? Or go with a "service special" that appears to be later model productions with more correct parts. The idea of having something used in WWII or Korea is appealing but I want to shoot the snot out of it without having to put up with a fussy gun with a tired barrel. There is also the consideration of what will hold the most value in the future. I don't plan on selling but making a selection now that might pay dividends later is worth taking into account.

Looks like I made an error. CMP has "service special" and "special" grade and I was confusing the two. The service special has new wood and "associated hardware", which, Welding Rod, sounds like it's just buttstock parts? I assume some people hunt down an old stock or other parts in attempts to bring it closer to period-correctness, but it sounds like the serials on the SA service specials are all late productions?

By "safest buy", is there an inherent risk in purchasing a service grade with a mixmatch of parts? Or it's only risky in that you'll get more mixmatching if the primary goal was a correct rifle? I guess I'm also kind of stuck in the "HRA vs SA" because I can get either in a service or service special grade. I know the HRAs are postwar but it sounds like the service special SA's are postwar anyhow. I've heard anecdotal evidence that HRAs are "nicer" in fit and finish since there was no war-time rush to crank them out, but heard that the SA's are nice as well.

In the end, I haven't made any progress towards a decision at all. :banghead: It's also late and my brain has stopped functioning. I hope this makes sense in the morning.

Seems to me that the best bet on getting one you like is convincing the wife that the kids NEED to visit Red Stone Arsenal to view the rocket museum and oh by the way take a short side trip over to CMP South.

Looks like if you have your paperwork all in order you can treat it like a trip to your local gun store and pick up and fondle to your hearts content until you find the one in your class of condition that has the least onerous flaws then buy it.

Still that six didgit (june'42) Field grade from Danish service I got was and has been a lot better than the Blue Sky South Korean I got skined with in the 1980's and functions and is more accurate than the two rewelds I bought in years past.

I don't see how going with Service grade can be anything but better.

CMP does not take bribes or offer any favors on picking numbers yet I lucked out and got a number like I wanted. ( OK I originally wanted a specific H&R that once sat in slot number 112 of my high school armory and then had still fuzzy parkerization and sharpnumbers...but they laughed at that request)

Still lots of parts out there. One local guy that does shows lets you rumage for the markings you want. Also there is new production wood as has been noted, often much better than 60 plus year ,240 season changes, old walnut, birch or Euro beaver tree, that has been dragged through the mud of a couple of contenients and cared for by GIs speaking a host of languages.

They also serve as great display stands for your Garand bayonet collection......

-kBob

Cesiumsponge said:

By "safest buy", is there an inherent risk in purchasing a service grade with a mixmatch of parts? Or it's only risky in that you'll get more mixmatching if the primary goal was a correct rifle? I guess I'm also kind of stuck in the "HRA vs SA" because I can get either in a service or service special grade. I know the HRAs are postwar but it sounds like the service special SA's are postwar anyhow. I've heard anecdotal evidence that HRAs are "nicer" in fit and finish since there was no war-time rush to crank them out, but heard that the SA's are nice as well.

Click to expand...

Virtually all of the service grade rifles available from CMP will be "mixmasters". It is rare that one has not gone through at least one arsenal rebuild at some point of its life.

One of the great features of the Garand is the interchangeability of parts. Unlike many firearms, parts do need to be fitted to the individual rifle. The bolt is the sole exception. The headspacing of the bolt needs to be checked when replacing a bolt or barrel, but frequently, no machining is necessary for a proper fit if just replacing the bolt.

This is why you will not see parts on a Garand marked with the receiver's serial number.

The service grades are great shooters.

The service grade specials generally are new, or little used rifles with new production wood. They are only available from post Korean war production runs, both Springfield and HRA.

They are also great shooters.

The choice between a Springfield or Harrington and Richardson is a personal preference. Both were made to the same specifications. Some say the machining finish of the HRAs is better than the Springfields, but that has no effect on the function of the rifle. I cannot see any difference in my examples.

A year and a half ago, there were lots of WWII serial number Springfields at the CMP South Store, I was on a search for particular serial number ranges. But, who knows now. Both of my CMP Specials (not Service Grade Specials) are WWII serial numbers. If you want a WWII serial number, order a Service Grade or a CMP Special and request a serial number less than 3.5 million. It will still be the luck of the draw and do not be disappointed if you do not get the serial number requested. Or go to one of the CMP stores and hand pick your own rifle.

Agonizing over the choice of M1 is part of the fun.

Back to the '70's

FOund a couple of pics that are digitial photos of paper film photos from about 1979 or so.

First is a comparison between one of my M-1 rewelds and a buddy's M-1A.

I think it shows the difference in the gas system fairly well and shows how the trigger mechanism was modified to allow the use of a box magazine. Of course the M-1A did not have the auto disconector assembly of the M-14 or a place to put one. My buddy debated supergluing on a fake selector lock and auto disconector for looks but never got around to it. By the time this phot was taken I had replaced all my rewelds innards and still had feeding issues and was about to trade it for an 1903 that had some issues as well.

The second photo is a comparison of another buddy's M-1 , HK91, and a Golden State Arms BM59 on a Springfield M-1 reciever. This is the BM59 I had the kaboom experience with shortly after this photo and which turned out to be a reweld, possibly of three seperate pieces.

-kBob

"Safest" in that it is most likely to contain parts that work correctly and that aren't partially or mostly worn out already.

Looks like I am leaning towards a service special HRA and gamble on a service SA with a request for a sub 3.5M serial. The trip is simply to far for me to do in person, WA state.

I was lucky - I had a business trip out to Chicago and was able to manage a side trip to Camp Perry. It was great. I recommend a trip to CMP for any gun enthusiast if you swing it. You can really learn alot about the Garand there.