Thanks for all the input guys! I'm hoping to get up to the store and officially put the Garand on layaway, although my buddy who works there has already put it back for me. I'll be sure to check for rewelds, but barring that, I'm planning to buy it...if the barrel sucks, I'll just put a new one on!
Strat81 and ReadyontheRight:
Interesting...seems as if we have a few guitar-slingers on THR as well as gun-slingers! After years of looking for the perfect guitar, I ended up back where I started...on the good ole Tele. And the '81 is the year I was born rather than the year of my axe. My first Tele was a MIJ "50's Telecaster" but I built a custom Telecaster from Warmoth parts in 2001. It's absolutely PERFECT (for me)...Joe Barden pickups, '54 V-shaped neck with a compound radius fretboard, one-piece swamp ash body. Nothing too fancy. Just a good, solid working man's instrument built like Leo intended!