Danish Issue Garand Question

[priv8ter]

For my birthday, I have already discussed with the wife that I want an M-1 Garand. What I want is a rifle that is a decent shooter, and looks decent. I am not really looking at it as a collecter would, but more as a gun guy, who wants something historic and fun.

With that in mind, I am leaning towards a Danish Issue, Service Grade with the VAR barrel. Mainly, because it is $75 cheaper than the American Service Grade Springfield Armory Garands.

So, what I'm wondering is, is their any hidden reason why I should NOT buy a Danish Issue Garand?

By the way, it's not like the $75 will go to waste...I'm already trying to figure the best deal for my money on ammo for my new toy.

greg

 

[Nando Aqui]

I got three M1s from CMP this year, all SG: an SA, an HRA, and a Danish w/VAR. The Danish w/VAR barrel gauged the best, but the stock was the most beat up, but definitely OK.

You may ask at www.battlerifles.com >> Garand M1 - there are guys there who order and receive these rifles daily and report on their acquisitions.

Alex

 

[Swampy]

priv8ter,

Nando Aqui is about right....

You stand a better chance of an almost new barrel going with the Dane SG with VAR, but also a better chance of really abused wood.

Eighty dollars buys you a brand new set of Boyd's M1 wood if that's what you want to do.... It'll even out with the USGI Service Grade on the money spent.

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever

 

[VG]

Sir, if you are buying one, I would go with a plain ole USGI Service Grade at $500.

The VAR barrels have an excellent reputation, but most of the Danish rifles come through with Beech stocks that fit well but don't look very good and aren't USGI. Or they may have an original USGI Walnut stock that is well beat up. The Danish rifles also need a lot more cleanup. The CMP certificate is marked Danish issue as well. I got a Danish Navy rifle that's in great shape, although the stock was beat, so you can get lucky.

Now, you can buy another stock and replace BMB parts etc and you won't be out much. But you're going to have to put some effort into it. If you just want to shoot, it may not be worth it to you.

By contrast the worst US SG rifle you get will probably be pretty good, and some of them are spectacularly good. I got a late SA with original stock and new looking original parkerized finish. Only thing that wasn't correct was the trigger group, and it shot 2.5" groups with milsurp ammo.

IMHO if you are going to buy several, the Dane VAR is a good choice, but if you're buying one, for fun, (and I think Orest says something like 97% of CMP customers buy one) than the US SG is the best bet. Have fun!

 

[Trebor]

VG,

Nice looking rifles! What did you do to the stocks? All the wood on my CMP rifles is still in original condition because I'm not sure of the best way to "restore" it or otherwise make it look better. Any advice?

Rob

 

[M2 Carbine]

I got my Danish M1 with VAR barrel this week.
As has been said the stock is below average but I think it can be made to look passable.
The metal is above average.
Well worth the $445 , total it cost to my house.

I already have a nice Springfield M1 but now I want a "USGI Service Grade"

I took a friend and his two teenagers to the range and we "broke in" the CMP with about 200 rounds of Korean ammo. (the stuff in the M1 clips)

The last few clips, one of the boys and I got to shooting "PIECES" of clay targets at 285 yards.

We couldn't see the target but were being directed by the "spotter" with the spoting scope. (the target was less than 2 inches square)

I spotted for the boy and he nailed the target with the third round. (the shot of the day)

I did worse, I hit my piece on the 8th round.

That's a lot of fun.

 

[Poodleshooter]

I've got a Dane. If there's no interest for you in having a 100% US M1, then I would definitely go with the service grade Dane. I've got a walnut stocked Dane that isn't in bad condition. It's frankly hard to tell what's US and what's not. Everything I've seen has H&R,Winchester or Springfield on it. My barrel is a 6/44,as is the receiver.

 

[VG]

One of those rifles is also 6/44, it's a 2,929,xxx

 

[Matt_S]

I've Got two Danish Garands

One has an excellent walnut stock, the other has a rather ugly beach stock.

The first (apparently Dane Naval issue) guaged at 2.5 both throat and muzzle. The second gauges 3 throat and a 3.5 at the muzzle. The only non USGI parts on them are both have BMB gas cylinders and one has BMB rear handguard band. Both shoot excellently.

If you just want a shooter with lots of history, I think the Danes are fine.

They wait period when I got mine 6 months ago was about 6 months on the Danish Service Grades. Might wanna keep that in mind. Don't know what the wait is now.

 

[Kestrel]

I have a Danish VAR. It seems to have a walnut stock (it's darker than beech). It has "PB" stamped on the stock, near the butt. Don't know what that means, though.

It's in really good shape, but I bought it from a dealer that had just gotten it on consignment from a Garand collector. I paid $600 for it. I assume I paid too much?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Houndawg]

PB is Pietro Beretta

 

[ksnecktieman]

steve? if you have it and you are pleased, you did not pay too much,,,,,,,,,,, consider all of us that did not

 

[longtom4570]

Definitely get one,but do your homework and then get what sounds best for you.

 

[MacPelto]

It's in really good shape, but I bought it from a dealer that had just gotten it on consignment from a Garand collector. I paid $600 for it. I assume I paid too much?

Well, if you're not eligible to order from CMP for whatever reason, or take into consideration that you didn't have to wait for CMP to do its thing (which can take awhile), and then you figure what a gi-effin'-normous pain in the butt it is to get all the cosmoline out of every single part of the rifle - especially the stock... I'd say 600 isn't too bad at all. Especially when you look at what Springfield is charging for new ones.

 

[ARperson]

, but most of the Danish rifles....aren't USGI

At the risk of sounding like a jerk....they're DANISH for crying out loud. Sure, we sent them USGI firearms, but how high can your expectations really be that you'll get them back that way?

Listen, priv8ter, from what you're describing as your criteria, it sounds like the Danish service grade is just fine. If you're not concerned about being snobbish (no offense to those seeking to acquire collectable complete all-USGI models) about its parts, then you have no need to worry about buying Danish.

I purchased 2 from the CMP, both Danish Service Grade. One was a walnut stock, the other a beech. Yeah, the walnut is in slightly better shape, but both show wear (what else would one expect from a firearm that actually saw use) and both are GREAT shooters. And that's the important thing, isn't it?

 

[G.I.Jew]

From what I hear, the Danish rifles shoot really well. Also, they were all made during World War 2, so they more than likely saw the hands of an American GI during the war. Even if you get a Danish rifle and decide that you can't live with it having a single non-GI part, you can still get GI parts, so its not a big problem.

 

[VG]

Listen, priv8ter, from what you're describing as your criteria, it sounds like the Danish service grade is just fine. If you're not concerned about being snobbish (no offense to those seeking to acquire collectable complete all-USGI models).

Sure, as long as you don't care about the resale value, you're correct.

 

[ARperson]

Sure, as long as you don't care about the resale value, you're correct.

Oh, yeah, I buy all my firearms with only the resale value in mind.

Resale is no more a question here than anything else.

If he's looking for a shooter and not concerned about the collector value, then surely there might be others in this nation of roughly 300 million people who might be looking for the same thing. Besides, he's gonna get more than he paid the CMP for it anyway, regardless of whether it commands a higher price tag than the USGIs.


I am not really looking at it as a collecter would, but more as a gun guy, who wants something historic and fun.

In other words, for what he wants, he still gets a great shooter with a lot of history and guaranteed fun (assuming he avoids the "thumb" syndrome).

 

[G.I.Jew]

I really do not see where the collector's value is lost in a Danish M1. When the rifles were returned, they were inspected and repaired to American standards, and any broken or unserviceable parts were replaced with USGI ones. There aren't going to be many parts that are NOT USGI, anyways, so I do not see what the problem would be.

 

[Kestrel]

What parts in a Danish Garand could be non-USGI? Did the Danish make their own parts for these guns? (I'm an M1 novice...)

I'm assuming a VAR barrel is Danish? Anything else?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Swampy]

SteveW13,

The Danes made some of their own repl parts and used Italian made ones too...

The Danes made, among other things:
Buttstocks (out of Euro beech. Not pretty, grain wise,, but very solid and functional wood)
Barrels (the "VAR")
Rear sights

The Italians made virtually everything else. Most common are trigger group parts, gas cylinders, op-rods, and bolts. The Italians made their own M1's on US supplied machinery, so they know their way around the beast.

It is conceivably possible to get a Dane return M1 where EVERYTHING but the receiver is foreign made. I've never heard of a Dane return with more than about 20-25% foreign parts, though. Most have much less than this. I have yet to get a Dane with more than about 10%, and I own several.

In any case, don't sweat it. The Danes and Italians both made EXCELLENT M1 parts. Their quality rivals and exceeds that of USGI.

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever

 

[Nando Aqui]

Swampy,
Can you tell, from the picture, what wood this is? It is a 1941 vintage Dane with VAR barrel. The stock has the serial number stamped on the bottom, in front of the sling swivel, has the counterbore for the inspection disc, and a faint cartouch on the left side above the trigger.



I have other pictures that I can post, but these are the better 'close-ups'. Thanks!

Alex

 

[Swampy]

Nando Aqui,

I can't tell what the cartouche is, too faint-blurry in the photo, but your stock is almost certainly USGI walnut.

Very few, if any, USGI birch stocks were cartouched. Birch was mainly a replacement wood and the jury is still out amid great controversy as to whether any were used as original wood.

In any case, the USGI birch stocks came along too late to be involved in the Dane send offs. Danes are going to have either USGI walnut, Dane Euro beech... and a very rare few may come home wearing Euro walnut, possibly of Italian origin.

Nando, come on down to Springfield for the Osage Orange Sharpshooters Positions Clinic next Saturday morning. March 27th, 8:00 AM.

Nice rifle,

Best regards
Swampy

Garands forever

 

[Nando Aqui]

Swampy,

That's about 220 miles from here, roughly 3-1/2 hr or so, and I would have to go Friday night and stay overnight. Not necessarily a problem, but I don't believe that I'll be able to do it this weekend. If I can get off work early Friday afternoon, I'll go.

If not this time, though, I'll make it there this summer one way or another!

BTW, the cartouche looks like an "H" or an "N" followed by "AB". The "AB" is clear, as are the bottom and left borders of what must have been a rectangle around it.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks!

Alex

 

[priv8ter]

ARGH!

Wow. Thanks for all the input guys. But, now I'm afraid I may have clouded the issue for myself. Because, asthetics are fairly important to me. It sounds like some folks have been happy with the wood on their Danish Issue one.

So, if I decide to take a chance, and go for potential nice barrel over potential nice wood, and it looks WAY rough when it gets here...how tough is it to do the wood swap out using the new wood from Boyd's?

Otherwise, I just may need to get a second one, for the wife. That way, I can have his and hers! One USGI, the other Danish. Then I would have all the bases covered.