CMP Garand Pricing: Which one does it make sense to buy now?

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Highland Ranger

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Looked at a number of Garand Threads here on THR.

Criteria is primarily to buy a good accurate shooter. Cosmetics important, historical value less so. I'm not a collector and the rifles in my price range aren't really of historical value over and above the pleasure of shooting the design itself.

The question, considering the new higher CMP pricing on Garands, what does it make sense to buy now?

CMP:
Rack: $295/$350
Field: $395
Service: $500
Correct: $850/$900
Collector: $1400

Refurbished from Fulton: $1400 - $2100
Refurbished from Garand Guy: $795 - $1295

NEW from Springfield: $1378 list (assume will be be less)
 
My thoughts on your list, since I'm doing the same thinking:

All CMP has at the moment are Greek loan returns. Those may be fine but they are out of Service Grades at the moment, and to me that's the one to buy.
They are claiming they will have another batch of Service Grade rifles for $500 sometime in the next few months. I'm watching close and my plan is to buy one of those if they are what that grade has been in the past.

Fulton does some beautiful work, but good grief that's a lot of money.
You could buy a RACK full of Greek returns for those prices.

New from SA: Not even on my list. Those are not "real" M1s in my opinion.
 
For a shooter, you absolutely can't go wrong with a CMP Service Grade. The whole "Greek return" label is really a non-player: all CMP Garands are originally USGI issue -- these just happened to be lent to the Hellenic Army, and were returned a couple years ago.

The two most recent Greek-return Service Grade rifles I've put my hands on were FANTASTIC.
 
for a shooter you have 3 options: service grade, collector grade, and aftermarket.

service grades have TE of 5 or less, which means good accuracy and at least 5,000 rounds left in the barrel. the rough rule is 1000 rds per TE number. the MW, a function of cleaning abuse, will be less than 3. CMP will run out of collector grades, then service grades, and then some years later, rack grades. another reason to prioritize.

the correct grades have the same barrel specs, but are historically more correct. they do not shoot any better.

the collector grades have like new or low TE barrels. the ones I saw all had barrels of TE2 or less. MW of 1 or less. these will shoot better than a service or correct grade. and, they are historically more accurate and have greater value.

Fulton's garands are on GI receivers and will have new barrels and stocks and will shoot as well as if not better than a collector grade, but they will retain less value. fulton is a good outfit, though.

I will have nothing to do with the garand guy ever again.

the SA, Inc. garands will have new barrels and stocks like the fulton garands, but will have new, aftermarket receivers and will not hold their value as well as a fulton. they also have more problems, but a no-questions-asked, they pay the shipping, lifetime warranty.

of all the above rifles, I would start with a SG and then move up to a collector grade. they aren't going to get any cheaper, and the CMP guns are by far the best value IME.

now, if you are going to compete, you may eventually have fulton build you a match gun, and they offer a good value for that, and it's something the others don't really offer.
 
What kind of shooting?

Plinking? Go for a field or service.
Match? Probably going to rework whatever you get.

You want somethign that looks nice and shoots good? I've seen one of this guys beautiful M1's at a gunshow, and hear nothing but good about them. Get a Dane rack without wood, and send it to http://dgrguns.com.

If I wern't a poor college kid, I would.
 
I will have nothing to do with the garand guy ever again.
Click to expand...

Any details you'd like to share? Never heard of the guy but he's not far from the office. Be nice if I could actually shop locally for once. But if he's a problem . . . well let's just say that I'm at a point in my life where I don't need you to kiss my butt for dropping a few thousand in your shop, but I do need you to be minimally helpful and respectful. Really tired of bad customer service.

What kind of shooting
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Just plinking initially; maybe competition at some point; I've shot handguns for years but never rifles. Got a new Browning Semi-Auto 22 for Christmas and I've got the bug.

On the cost issue; I don't buy guns that frequently. When I do, I like to get something a cut above and a little special in some way.

I'll use the 22 rimfire as an example. I looked at a Ruger 10/22 and the Marlin 60. Both good guns, but both mass produced and a bit rough from an aesthetic standpoint (machining and what not).

The browning was a limited issue semi auto in stainless. Very nice machine work, but not so pretty that I won't shoot it.

So I don't mind paying the $1500 for something nice, that will retain value, AND that I can shoot with some decent accuracy if I do my part.
 
If appearance is part of your criteria (in addition to accuracy) then it might be worth taking a drive to the North Store at Camp Perry, Ohio. You can walk thru the racks and inspect the rifles. The staff will provide gauges for MW/TE but the values should be marked on the tag. You can even talk them into finding "something nice" in the back of the warehouse.

Rifles ordered by mail are shipped from the Anniston, AL facility and there is no current provision for visiting there although that is supposed to be changing. At Camp Perry, they can handle all of the paperwork for you including the Notary or bring your own. Just have your credit card oiled up!!

And if you go there (or order by mail) don't forget to get a case or two of the Greek HXP ammo. Great prices and it's every bit as accurate, if not more than, the Lake City ammo.
 
Service grade should give you the best bang for the buck. Granted, I've seen some excellent shooting rack grades.

You could risk a rack grade and rebarrel later. DGR charges $295 for a Criterion barrel and installation. So if you were going to get a rack grade for $350 + shipping, that would be shade under $375. Add the cost of the rebarrel + shipping both ways, that will probably add another $350 or so to the rifle. So a rack grade with a rebarrel could cost around $725. Considering the cost of the service grade is $523 shipped, the SG will probably offer you the best option since you can shoot it for a long time before a rebarrel is necessary.

There's nothing wrong with shooting a collector grade, but I wouldn't spend the $1400 on one for a shooter.
 
Been looking at one, one role would be reenactment. I was looking a service grade at the most, and since I was planning on learning the gun, I'd probably rebarrel it myself, or have a local shop help out. How would that change your prices, Ocabj? This would be a workhorse, and I wasn't looking at paying more than the 500 or so for the service grade, and figured a new barrel wouldn't be that big of a deal.
 
i just recently got a service grade cmp garand for my birthday, and let me tell you it is just dandy. i look down the bore to see what looks like a match grade barrel;) with verry clean, distinct and sharp rifling, the stock is in verry good condition(despite the pins in the upper hand guard). i am going to go shoot it on monday and try out some diffrent ammo, ill give you a range report:)
 
Gifted said:
Been looking at one, one role would be reenactment. I was looking a service grade at the most, and since I was planning on learning the gun, I'd probably rebarrel it myself, or have a local shop help out. How would that change your prices, Ocabj? This would be a workhorse, and I wasn't looking at paying more than the 500 or so for the service grade, and figured a new barrel wouldn't be that big of a deal.
Click to expand...

Well, the one thing about the service grades is that they are currently all Greek returns, which means that you could get one that is not parkerized and instead some sort of blackish finish and/or one with a non Walnut stock such as European beech. Here's a photo of a SG I bought several months ago:


 m1_5588064_01t.jpg

It is a Greek Service Grade. I has the Greek black refinish and the beech stock. A later replaced it with a WWII contoured Boyd stock.

So if you wanted one for reenactments, then a CMP USGI Field Grade would be the best since you will get one that is still parkerized and has a Walnut stock. Of course, you could get the SG and get a replacement stock if necessary and/or reparkerize if necessary.

Rebarrelling can be done in the garage if you know what you are doing. You'll want the Garand receiver vise to make rebarrelling easier. You'll definitely need a set of headspace gauges. Then you'll need a pull through style reamer if you plan on installing a new commercial barrel, since commercial barrels are short chambered and will need the final reaming to properly headspace for the bolt.
 
I got an HRA service grade last summer. It is a Greek return and very nice and accurate.

I might have to get a rack grade or one of those without wood sometime in the future for the purpose of getting it refurbished. Some people have posted pictures before and they are very nice. I might consider a .308 conversion also, but the ammo ain't cheaper and it comes with clips anyway.
 
For a good shooter that ain't gonna hurt the value by being a all matching piece then you can't beat the CMP Service grades. Just got a CMP Greek SG, rifling and action looks terrific. Does have the beech Eurowood stock. No dings and should clean up nicely. Don't get tricked into thinking the Greeks aren't real US Garands. Mine is a 1,089,xxx # that means it was made in December of 1942. So this thing could have been in WWII, Korea, and then Greece. It might have put down a Kraut, Jap, Korean, Chinaman, and even a Euro Commie, can't beat that!:D
 
Thumbs up on the Service Grade. Mine's nice, it works good. The only issue I've had with it is the gas plug unscrewing during firing, which is probably because I didn't tighten it enough (blue locktite maybe? who knows). I've put a good amount of ammo through it and I've never had a problem.
 
As mentioned above, you may want to make the trip to Ohio and pick out your own. Last time I was there, they had very nice H&R Collector grade rifles. I believe "collector grade" means that all parts match, not necessarily a great looker or a great shooter -- although the H&R collector grades did look nice.

It is very nice to be able to pick out your own rifle.

I was in a bind after my Garand was stolen a few years ago and I bought one from Tony at GarandGuy.com to get one quickly. I had him add a nice tight barrel. No complaints whatsoever. He has friends who buy their allotment (eight/year?) from the CMP to build up matching rifles and they sell him the extra parts -- which he reparkerizes and builds into shooters. My rifle from him was a little "gritty", like a new rifle. I replaced the very heavy trigger after shooting a very bad match with it and it now shoots great.

CMP is the way to go, but you may want to at least chat with Tony at Garand Guy - especially since he's so close. He also re-barrels Garands at a good price - so you could buy a $300 rack grade, shoot it for a while and then add a nice new barrel.

Avoid the "new" Garands. At least while the real deal is still available.
 
I would say buy the nicest you can afford. When I look at surplus rifles the bore condition is usually my primary focus, as that is the hardest and most costly to replace. Surface finish and wood condition can be touched up by anybody in the garage, a shot out barrel a bigger problem.

Instead of CMP I looked around on the auction sites and found a good one that was gauged. I prefer this method as well when buying any mil-surp rather than having somebody else pick out my rifle sight unseen. You may want to consider that as well, although you would need to involve an FFL.
 
ok heres the range report

the thing is pretty darn accurate, using some of that steel cased russian stuff off the bench, i could do a 5" group, and with the remington 150 grain soft point i could turn out a 3.5-4" but keep in mind im not the bet shooter and i was using iron sights. the best group of the day was 1.5" printed by dad:rolleyes:, it functioned smoothly with no jams and no misfires. it is in great shape and even with cheap ammo it will do well, definately a good rifle to have around. and cleaning is a brease take off the triger guard and pop it out.
 
I too am looking at getting a Garand, I have wanted one for a while, and I figure '06 is a good year to buy a rifle that chambers the .30'06.

I want an accurate rifle, but 3MOA is just fine by me. I don't plan on shooting matches, so correct is a non-issue. I DO want to put a MKIV stock on it:
jjsgmb.gif
so the Danish Rack seems like a good deal.

I wonder how bad a TE of 5 will shoot. Common lore would tend to indicate that it is past its accuracy peak and will only shoot another 5k rounds. But how bad will it shoot? This page from the Fulton ARmory Garand FAQ leads me to believe that getting a rack grade and then replacing the barrel a few thousand rounds later isn't a bad idea, (Since it will just be a plinker/gen purpose rifle.)

Any thoughts for what makes a decent shooting non match Pistol Grip Garand?
 
in the hands of an average shooter, a TE5 rifle will shoot just about as well as a TE 0 barrel. the muzzle wear is a bigger deal.

I have shot a T7 garand that shoots well enough, a TE6 that shoots pretty well too, a TE3 HRA that shoots no better than either of those. any SG you get will shoot well enough.

rack grades are no deal, there is a reason they cost less.

you could get a RG and have it reparked, rebarreled, and put a new stock on it, but now you are looking at $1000.
 
ReadyontheRight said:
AAAarghhh! My eyes!! My eyes!!!

What IS that thing behind that Garand's trigger guard?

:eek:

Seriously -- Here is a site that sells these things:

http://www.reesesurplus.com/grips.html
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's where I got the picture from. I like their tri-comps too. I can understand the dislike of a PG on a Garand, it sure is weird. But I am not trying to stay traditional, I want functional. I have a service-connected wrist injury that makes normal stocks more painful, and PGs more comfy, so there is a method to my unaesthetic madness.

Too bad they don't have service grades less wood. I don't feel like paying $50 for a dinged up stock I am not gonna use anyway.
 
No_Brakes23 said:
I want an accurate rifle, but 3MOA is just fine by me. I don't plan on shooting matches, so correct is a non-issue. I DO want to put a MKIV stock on it:
jjsgmb.gif
Click to expand...

Okay I thought I would never see an ugly Garand, but I stand corrected. One man's trash is another's treasure, but sheesh that's just wrong. ;)

Tex
 
http://www.garandflash.com/m1sounds.html

check that out

No_Brakes23 said:
Too bad they don't have service grades less wood. I don't feel like paying $50 for a dinged up stock I am not gonna use anyway.
Click to expand...
Actually I have to rescind this comment. I can get a field grade for $100 more, a full rifle in better, (Theoretically,) condition. That might be the deal.
 
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