CMP Greek Garand, mismatch stock question

[fatelk]

I finally got my CMP M1 Garand last week. I have wanted to get one for years, then a couple months ago saw that the service grade rifles were all gone. My wife convinced me that I should just go ahead and get a field grade before they were gone too (they were three weeks later).

I'm very happy with it but the mismatched (I assume Greek) replacement handguards I don't care for. I'm considering sanding them down and staining them to match the stock. The stock is rather beat up but that doesn't bother me, gives it character. It has no cracks or bad gouges.
Would stain make it look OK, or should I just try to find some rather beat up handguards to match?

Also, When I got it I looked at the serial number, 586,XXX, and misread a date chart I found online, assuming it was made in 1956. Last night I was looking at it and realized there was six digits, not seven, making it April 1942! Cool! I have a carbine made in August of '43.
The stock has two numbers on it. Halfway between the pistol grip and the sling is the number 576448. I assume this was the serial number of the rifle the stock came from originally, making it WWII also? Above that is the number 347, and at the bottom of the grip is a shallow hole about 3/4" diameter (what went there?). In front of the grip is the letter P. I could find references to P in a circle, but this one has no circle. I'm just curious about these markings and want to know all I can about my new rifle. I seems like there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum about Garands and any input will be appreciated.

Accuracy- I had it out yesterday and shot a couple 8 shot groups, both right around 3 1/2". The first one had five shots in about an inch and the other three grouped closely a couple inches below that. The next one had seven rounds under 2 1/2" with one flyer. It looks like it has definite potential. I will be doing some research on accurizing.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

You could stain it. I wouldn't worry too much. You know, if you want a nicer stock and one that's matched get a new one from cmp. Just be very careful trying to get that handguard off if you need to--it's a bear without the special pliars--leave it on if you can.

Looks nice--congrats!

 

[mustanger98]

Accuracy- I had it out yesterday and shot a couple 8 shot groups, both right around 3 1/2". The first one had five shots in about an inch and the other three grouped closely a couple inches below that. The next one had seven rounds under 2 1/2" with one flyer. It looks like it has definite potential. I will be doing some research on accurizing.

This is just me, but that mis-matched stock don't look half bad. I wouldn't worry about it. And with accuracy like that, I sure wouldn't change a thing.

My 2.3million serial# Danish SA SG came with a walnut forward handguarg, a birch stock, and a beech rear handguard. I cleaned 'em up and stained 'em with Minwax walnut and I can still tell the difference. I ain't worried about it.

 

[GRIZ22]

I have a "three wood" SG I got from CMP with birch stock, beech upper handguard, and walnut lower handguard. It adds to rifle's charisma. Many M1s that never left the states wound up with walnut and birch mix during rebuilds.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

For the final word on all things M1 Garand go to

http://battlerifles.ambackforum.com

and select BattleRifles > M1 Garand. They do stocks, accurizing and just about everything else.

 

[mr..plow]

Alot of folks seem to like to put in the Dishwasher method as it takes out alot of dents and gets the stock prepped for staining. Myself I am leaving my garand sjust the way they are for now.

 

[mustanger98]

My recommendation for Garand info is http://rifle-company.com/ and select the M1 Garand forum and there's either an existing thread on stocks or you can join and start one... just start asking questions; it's a helpful group. Tell 'em Mustanger referred you; I've been posting with them since SHTF on 9-11. There's also a section called "M1 Garand Maintainance Shop" which is a forum full of stickies.

 

[GarandOwner]

You can buy a new stock from the CMP if it bothers you that much. It will make her look like she just came off the assembly line (by the way, I love the Armor Piercing rounds in your picture )

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Now remember, those are NOT legally armor piercing rounds per an ATF ruling.
They are particularly suited to sporting purposes.

 

[mustanger98]

What's goofy to me... while it's sensible for .30-06 AP to be legally posessed by civilians, I don't understand why 7.62mm AP isn't. I've heard surplus AP component bullets (pulled) can be bought legally, but don't get caught loading them into .308Winchester cases. But, and I don't mean to nitpick because I'm on another board where thread hijacks are a proud tradition, this is a separate issue to this mis-matched stock set.

To me, this OP's mis-matched stock set gives the rifle an interesting cool look.

 

[fatelk]

You know, the two tone look is starting to grow on me a little. I'm afraid if I stain the handguards they might look worse. I might just sand them a little and apply some tung oil. The stock I believe I will leave alone as it is. If I find some old used handguards I might try them to see how they look.

Before I got it I read about how the stocks are generally not that great, was seriously looking into the new CMP stocks. They are really nice! I'm already contemplating buying another M1, rack or stockless, and a new stock set. My bonus from work should be coming in less than a month, not sure if I can convince my wife that I need a second M1 though...

As to the old ammo, I thought everyone might get a kick out of it. Mustanger98, I personally don't mind thread hijacks myself. I'm sure I've done it myself on occasion, hope I haven't offended anyone. I wouldn't really even consider it a hijack to comment on something in the photo.

I have half a dozen of these bandoleers I got from an old timer many years ago. I think some have WWII dates if I remember right. I almost bought his M1 from him too until I looked at it closer. The rear sight was ground off and replaced with an aftermarket sight. Most of the serial number was polished off. When I took it apart I could see that that top part of the receiver had been welded on. The whole thing was polished and reblued. I think it could have been what they call a reweld. He kept his rifle but I bought all the ammo he wanted to part with just because it was cheap ($8 per bandoleer IIRC). I don't see that old AP stuff around much anymore.

Anyhow, a couple of targets, 100 yards. The first two are the ones referenced in my original post. The third is a three shot group shot through a different rifle (Rem 700 custom) just to see if the pulled Hi-Tech Ammo bullets I bought had much accuracy potential. Admittedly something of a lucky group but I thought it was pretty good for pulled, dented, military bullets!

 

[Gator]

The stock has two numbers on it. Halfway between the pistol grip and the sling is the number 576448. I assume this was the serial number of the rifle the stock came from originally, making it WWII also? Above that is the number 347, and at the bottom of the grip is a shallow hole about 3/4" diameter (what went there?). In front of the grip is the letter P.

You have a stock that saw Danish service. The Danes put the serial number on the underside of the butt (576448), and that would be WWII. The 347 above it is probably a rack number. The cutout on the pistol grip was for a brass disk with a unit designation on it. Here's a pic by Gary Holtum of one:



This guy, [email protected], used to make some repros. A Mercury Dime is a good fit and looks cool too. Here's a pic of "Muelstang's", from the Jouster forum (Excellent M1 Garand forum) :



The letter "P" is the firing proof mark.

 

[CU74]

I also have a CMP garand with a "tri-color" stock. My front handguard is split and also missing a chunk. Moreover, the butt looks like the rifle was used as the "designated tent stake mallet" for every bivouac since it was issued in 1942 . I finally decided to order one of the CMP replacement stock sets - got email notification today that my order had shipped.

 

[Eightball]

Moreover, the butt looks like the rifle was used as the "designated tent stake mallet" for every bivouac since it was issued in 1942

Well, at least you know it's authentic

 

[fatelk]

Went to the range again today, in the rain. Target below was eight rounds of 155 Nosler Competitions in match brass. I know, overkill for an old warhorse, just wanted to try some real good ammo in it. The farthest flyer was definitely me, knew it when I pulled the trigger, still working on technique. I'm not the world's greatest shot with open sights, but I now understand why people say the Garand has really good sights!

Discounting the farthest flyer, 7 rounds are in 2.4" and six of the 7 are in 1.4". Some Korean ammo I had shot almost as well. It seems like most of the groups I have shot so far are like this, most rounds in a tight group with a flyer or two. I am very happy with this rifle. It has definite potential as a real good shooter.

I know there are quite a few members at my gun club who shoot Garands. I just need to get to know more people there and learn all I can about shooting the Garand. I've learned a lot from this forum and a couple others (thank mustanger and Guy B Meredith for the links, and thanks Gator for the stock info!), but some things just need to be hands-on.

My wife just grudgingly gave me the OK to order a woodless M1 and a CMP stock set. I told her I needed to get one for our son because they will not likely be availabe when he is old enough. He just turned 1 but it seemed like a good excuse! Hope I get another good one.

 

[Gator]

Looks like you got a good one, congrats!

 

[mustanger98]

Re: Post# 15

Hey fatelk, The group sounds pretty good. And comparing the Korean with the match loads sounds like it's doing pretty good too. What helps is if your weapon is your "best friend", you want to shoot it and the more you shoot it, the better you get.

Is that target a B-16 or SR-1?

Tell you what I did for a handload... and don't quote me on this; consult a manual before you do anything... took some 147gr BT-FMJ's and loaded 'em over 42grains of IMR 4895. I was thinking they'd run about 2400fps based on comparison with 150grain soft-points running similar speeds, but I think they're actually running a bit faster. I've only had time to sight them at 25yds (the old "thousand inch range") and they grouped real tight at point of aim... cycled the action reliably too without battering the system. I'm still needing to run them to 100yds... preferably 200yds if I can get somewhere I can shoot that far.

The link... think nothing of it. It was my pleasure to tell you. They're a good group over there.

Those woodless M1's... those being rack grade, I've heard good about them. From all the info I get, rack grades tend to shoot a lot better than CMP lets on. And I agree with you about getting another one before they get gone. I fully intend to as well if I can get my order in before they quit taking orders. The difference is, in the absense of stock hardware, I'm thinking of dropping mine into a Ramline synthetic. I like walnut as well as anybody, but I'm thinking synthetic will be a bit lighter to carry.

 

[fatelk]

The target is a NRA "Official 100-yard small bore rifle target", just what I happened to have. The only number I see on it is TQ-4.
I'm real happy with the Korean ammo, wish I had bought more. I bought one can from Century last year, advertised as corrosive, real cheap. I sold half of it to a friend (minus the M1 clips) then found out that with the PS74 headstamp it is non-corrosive.

You know, that's a great idea about the light loads. For punching paper I don't need full velocity, just something that will cycle the action and shoot straight. I was going to order some surplus powder from Pat's Reloading last year and kept putting it off. It was $64/8lbs IIRC. I thought I could find someone to split an order with me on several cans, save on shipping. I checked today and the new price is $99! I did buy a bunch of surplus M2 150FMJ bullets though.

I want to get my order in for a woodless rifle in a few days, but I don't think I could do synthetic in an M1, I'll have to go for the CMP new stock set. I totally understand synthetic from a practical perspective, but aesthetics overrules practicality for me here.

 

[mustanger98]

You know, that's a great idea about the light loads. For punching paper I don't need full velocity, just something that will cycle the action and shoot straight. I was going to order some surplus powder from Pat's Reloading last year and kept putting it off. It was $64/8lbs IIRC. I thought I could find someone to split an order with me on several cans, save on shipping. I checked today and the new price is $99! I did buy a bunch of surplus M2 150FMJ bullets though.

If that surplus powder is IMR 4895, or whatever else as long as the buyer and seller know for sure, $64/8lbs or even $99/8lbs sounds like a decent price. Retail, IMR 4895 is going $20/lb or a little over, so $100 won't quite get you 5lbs.

Like I said about my lighter loads, I haven't run them to 100yds yet, so I don't know how they'll group out there. Plus, they might group real well in my gun and then not do so well in your's. It's funny how that works. I'd give it a try... nothing really to lose. Thing is if you want to do any long range work, you'll hafta have the speed back up to 2900fps, so you might as well use M2 unless you handload a 168gr or 173gr match load. I was reading "One Shot, One Kill" recently and they said the sniper's .308 load was a 173gr running 2500fps and that's good to 1000yds... if you want to punch paper that far out.

I want to get my order in for a woodless rifle in a few days, but I don't think I could do synthetic in an M1, I'll have to go for the CMP new stock set. I totally understand synthetic from a practical perspective, but aesthetics overrules practicality for me here.

Nothing wrong with being a purist either. I looked up prices for the stock hardware that doesn't come with the woodless and from Numrich it came to $50 +shipping. Add that to the new stock at $125 +shipping. But it seems to me it may be well worth it when it's all said and done. But, those stocks the CMP sells... they're Boyd's and you can get them a mite cheaper from MidwayUSA if not direct from Boyd's. They just won't have the CMP cartouche on the right side.

 

[offthepaper]

My wife just grudgingly gave me the OK to order a woodless M1 and a CMP stock set. I told her I needed to get one for our son because they will not likely be availabe when he is old enough. He just turned 1

-------------------------------------------------------------
If that works, you may want to think about expanding both of your "new" families.