Is This a Fair Price ?

[Cueball]

I need a little advice on this since I'm not that familiar with these rifles. One of my neighbors has a M1 Garand which is a Springfield Armory rifle and would be equal to one of the Service grade rifles at CMP (not currently available). He said that it is a 1943 vintage. It appears to be in pretty good shape. The bluing is pretty good and there are no visible cracks or splices in the wood. The wood of course has dings in it from handling and use but doesn't seem to have any actual breaks in the wood.

He also has a 1903 Springfield Armory. He said this one was a 1918 or 1919 vintage, I can't remember which. Again the wood appears solid with only the expected dings etc and the bluing seems to be pretty good as well.

He is asking $700ea for the rifles. What do you guys think? Is this an ok price, a good investment for the money, or should I pass???
Thanks for the help

 

[exar]

Well, I haven't had the chance to do alot of shopping for used garands, but I have heard that the M1 in the condition you described goes for about $700. I will also tell you that my buddy watched a man pawn his garand in the exact same condition that you described and snagged it up when the guy left for $400. That's the best buy on a garand that I have personally witnessed.

Not sure on the 1903 but $700 seems like more than I would pay for it.

 

[MachIVshooter]

$700 is average price for a Garand in the condition you describe. The M1903 is a steal at $700 if it is relatively clean and original. Lots of nice 1903's going for close to $1K these days. I'd snag them both if you have the funds.

Edit: Before you jump on the 1903, be sure it is an M1903, not an '03A3. You mentioned 1918-1919, which would make it an A1, but it dawned on me that you are going off of what he said. The reciver stamping will tell you if it is an A3. A3's are worth $500-$650, depending on condition.

 

[Cueball]

Will the receiver say "A3" somewhere?

 

[MachIVshooter]

Will the receiver say "A3" somewhere?

Stamped right on the top, under the manufacturer name.

 

[Gator]

Well, it's very hard to give a value with the limited information you have given. A Service Grade would have cost $550? from the CMP the last they had them, and a bit more from a private sale. So $700 is not bad in the condition you describe...provided you meant parkerizing rather than bluing. If it is blued...run away!!! If the M1 has its original barrel $700 is a steal, and the more original parts it has the more it is worth. An all original '43 in good condition is worth $2500 easy (Scott Duff sold an original '45 M1 for me a couple years ago for $2300).

The '03 sounds good, but check the serial number to make sure it is over 800,000 if you plan to shoot it. Numbers lower than that had the heat treating problems and are considered unsafe to shoot.

Note: The 03A1s had the "C" stock, which did not appear until Dec 1929. The 1903A3s came out in March 1944 so a 1918-1919 vintage rifle would be a 1903.

 

[Cueball]

I did mean parkerizing on the rifle. And on the '03 the serial number is over 1,000,000. I did know to check that but forgot to mention it.

From what I am hearing so far, it sounds like I should go ahead with the purchase.