jmurman wrote:
Now, what is the real difference between the various grades and whats up with the Danish Garand?
The difference between Service and Rack is EXACTLY what CMP says in the descriptions........
All grades are fully functional and servicable..... the differences being in the bore and the wood.
If you want to be assured of a good serviceable barrel with lots of life left in it, then go for the Service. IF you are thinking that you might want to do an immediate re-barrel to .308, then go for the Rack.
The Rack grade MAY come with a good barrel (i.e within Service grade spec), but then it has to be graded Rack for some other reason..... most likely less than desirable wood. In this case, $90 buys you a brand new set of Boyd's M1 wood.
The Danes are all WWII rifles that were re-arsenaled after the war, then loaned to Denmark in the early 50's. The Danes used them for 40 years, re-arsenaled them too a few times, then stored them for a while, then decided they did not need them anymore and returned to the US Army in the late 80's. CMP started selling them a couple years ago.
Expect a Dane return to be a WWII SA or Win receiver, early 50's SA replacement barrel, and a possible mish-mash of US, Danish, and Italian internal parts. Wood may still be US walnut or may be Euro beech (good solid wood, but uglier than Rosy O'Donnell on a bad day). Expect it to be completely covered either in a preservative grease or in good old fashoned tacky brown cosmoline. Cleaning one is a chore.... but worth it. Many of these are fresh from a rebuild, with brand new parkerizing on all metal.
The Dane and Iti parts are of excellent quality, just not US made, which matters to some folks. The Euro wood is homely, but solid. They are no longer offering them (sold out), but the Danish VAR barrels are PRIMO accurate tubes. I currently have several of these and the accuracy of a couple of them approaches Match quality.
also wrote:
I am not looking for a tack driver, this weapon will be my main rifle. So, I would imagine that 1.5 to 2" moa will be fine with me. After all, I can do some work to tighten the groups, right?
Uhhhh..... 1.5 to 2 MOA WOULD be considered a tack driver in an issue grade, off the rack, autoloading rifle. DON'T expect this...... You MIGHT get lucky and get one with accuracy at that level with decent handloads or Match grade ammo, but DON'T expect that.
The US Army's Arsenal accuracy spec for an issue rifle using issue grade ammo is 4.0 MOA or better at 100 yds. with 8 rounds (this was started IIRC during the 1930's with the M1, still in effect today with the M16). EXPECT a rifle that shoots anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 MOA with GI M2 ball type ammo, a bit better with handloads or Match ammo.
As far as tightening the groups, yes, there is some work and "tweaks" that you can do, but short of tuning the rifle up to Match Grade specs, don't expect better than about 2 MOA even with good ammo and a relatively new barrel.
Best of luck with it.
Swampy
Garands forever
