M1 Garand or M1A

[joshuarwright]

To start, this isn't supposed to be a which-is-your-favorite-of-the-two threads, though I guess that debate is welcome as well. I want to try to get into competition shooting and I am wondering if anyone has any opinions on which is better to start off with/if either is just better in competition inherently.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[gunnutery]

Well, aside from drooling over both types of rifles in the store, I haven't been able to buy them for myself yet. However from what I've been reading from other guys here is for the M1 Garand, you have to get a certain type of ammo that's made to older specs (lower pressures) as opposed to the current factory ammo. I don't know how much of a hassel that is, but I'd opt for the M1A if it were me. I'm sure if my information is wrong someone will be along shortly to correct me.

Whichever you buy, enjoy.

 

[Slamfire]

To start, this isn't supposed to be a which-is-your-favorite-of-the-two threads, though I guess that debate is welcome as well. I want to try to get into competition shooting and I am wondering if anyone has any opinions on which is better to start off with/if either is just better in competition inherently.

If you are thinking of shooting in High Power Competition the “easiest” rifle to shoot is a NM AR15. You can buy one for $1100 or so, and people have won Service Rifle, President’s 100, etc, with stock box NM AR 15’s. Armalite, Bushmaster and Rock River make outstanding stock box NM AR15's.

I shot a Garand match yesterday. I hate shooting rack grade Garands as they are 4 MOA rifles and I don’t like the blunderbuss aspect of shooting them. Where the bullet lands and my call are two entirely different things.

I have never owned a “rack grade” M1a, but I have heard that they are more accurate than rack grade Garands.

I have shot thousands of rounds through match grade Garands. Here is my current favorite in 30-06.



NM Garands loose their tune faster than NM M1a’s. Until that point they are just as accurate, but harder to shoot as the 30-06 does kick more in rapid fire. Match Garands have the upper handguard glued to the upper ferrule, the operating rod will bend and bump things, and the trigger guard lugs deform changing the action tension to the stock. The gas cylinder will get loose, I peened the barrel splines and then glued the gas cylinder in place on this Garand.

I find seating a box magazine more positive than a clip, it is faster to reload with a clip than the box magazine. The ka-ching of the ejected clip is beyond cool.

This is a minor beef but a Garand tosses your brass everywhere and far. About 10% of my brass was scarfed up by shooters a couple of points away.

I am on the third barrel of this M1a Super Match. While I like both rifles, the M1a is a product improved Garand and the few weaknesses of the Garand were corrected in this rifle.

 

[mm1ut1]

If you want to shoot high power just get an AR-15 made for that purpose. You can get a Rock River service rifle for around $1000.00 which is very competitive out of the box. To get an M1a or Garand that shoots as accurate you will spend a lot more. You rarely see anything other than an AR-15 on the line in high power.
Get into reloading. Really lowers the cost of shooting and you can get the best accuracy for your rifle.
If you just want to compete once in a while a Garand is fine. You generally get what you pay for. Go for a shooter rather than a collector to keep price down. there are Criterion barrelled Garands out there for under $800.00 if you look. The current Greek ammo is just fine and fairly accurate. You can get it from the CMP.
If you just want to compete in rifle look into vintage matches. Swedish Mausers and Swiss K31s can be had for well under $400.00 and are accurate to boot. Typical match is 30 rounds plus sighters and figure 50 cents a round. These matches can be very competitive and are a good cheap entry into rifle competition.
If you are set on getting either a Garand or M1a I'd stick with the Garand. Cheaper, nearly as accurate, and parts are plentifull. I own three Garands and some day will get an M1a, but when I shoot in service rifle matches I'll stick with the Rock River.

 

[madcratebuilder]

If you are planning on just local shoots a 'loaded' M1A is going to be hard to beat. A NM AR well probably out shoot it but it's a different platform.

 

[loadedround]

I enjoy shooting military rifles CMP competition and have both an M! Garand with a NM barrel and a NM M1A from Springfield Armory. My M1A is the more accurate rifle by far and their both fun to shoot. I do love the history envolving the Garand, but would pick the M1A for a SHTF defense rifle. Also bear in mind it's almost impossible to buy cheap or surplus 30-06 ammo and those en-bloc clips are getting more and more expensive when you can find them. Surplus 7.62(308 win) is still around and there are still some bargins if you buy in bulk also. So is it a Ford or Chevy?

 

[Jeremy2171]

I just made the best of both worlds.....

 

[Birddog1911]

As much as I love my M1 and M1A, they truly aren't competitive anymore in NM circles. I still plan on competing with my M1A when I get it finished, and get my body tuned for comp., but I do this understanding that I will never be a top shooter with it. That's okay, when I get more competitive, I'll get a poodle shooter. But I love shooting my wood rifles.

 

[Rshooter]

I have to agree that the M1A is more accurate if you are buying off the shelf and not getting a tweaked out gun. I believe that the Garand has more of the feel of a true rifle though. If I was shooting for fun I would get the Garand and buy some ammo from the CMP. If I was shooting for purely score I would get the M1A.

 

[joshuarwright]

Well being that my skill with rifles isn't going to surpass the inherent accuracy of either of those rifles it seems like it comes down to which is more fun. From what I'm reading that seems like the Garand which is pretty good news because that is the rifle I have admired since I first saw a WWII movie as a little kid.

Thanks for the help, all. Further opinion would still be appreciated.

 

[ACP230]

I shot both in NRA Highpower matches years ago.
I did better with the M1A.
I kept the Garand when I went to the M1A and am glad I have both.

 

[Birddog1911]

It really boils down now to just what you want to do. Just a shooter, well shoot, you're own your own. Hunting? I'd lean to the M1A; a little lighter, a little more accurate. You're just gonna have to break down and buy both! Only one isn't good enough for me!

 

[Old Shooter]

If I was shooting for fun I would get the Garand and buy some ammo from the CMP. If I was shooting for purely score I would get the M1A.

Me too!

And I love the Garand.

 

[benzy2]

It also depends on what competitions you want to get into. If you want to shoot the Garand matches then obviously the M1 is the right rifle. The M1A is a better match rifle. It has shown this over the years. That said, a match M1A isn't a cheap animal. Neither is a match M1 though. If I were getting into competitive shooting I would buy a M1 from the CMP, as much ammo as you can get your hands on, and head to some matches. Find guys who are more local to you, make friends, get a ton of pointers, and go practice. At this point, the biggest issue is range time as well as proper instruction. A $500 M1 with $1500 worth of ammo is going to do you much more good at this time than a $2000 M1A. Thats isn't to say the M1A isn't better, just that there are many hurdles you need to jump before a service grade M1 is your bottle neck.

I would get a $500 m1 with $500 of ammo. Burn that ammo and figure out where you sit on your rifle needs. If you feel the M1 is a limit gunbroker is selling them for a couple hundred more than CMP is charging so you can get your money+ back out of it and move to a M1A. If it feels like more ammo would be the better use of your money at that point buy more ammo. Whatever you do, don't spend so much on equipment you have no budget to shoot. Lead down range, especially early on, is one of the biggest learning experiences and no amount of equipment can make up for it.

 

[GRIZ22]

However from what I've been reading from other guys here is for the M1 Garand, you have to get a certain type of ammo that's made to older specs (lower pressures) as opposed to the current factory ammo.

M1 ammo has to be loaded to milspec because of the pressure curve. The best source for ammo if you don't roll your own is CMP.

According to Springfield Armory's manual, see page 4,

http://www.springfield-armory.com/armory.php?clicktype=rifles

The M1A is designed "to shoot standard factory military 7.62 NATO ammunition.". They go on to mention the potential of slam fires and go on to say to use milspec or SAAMI spec ammo. I have no experience with M1As only M14s (and there only had milspec ammo to use). Can someone with M1a experience verify that any SAAMI 308 ammo function properly in a M1A? 7.62 NATO is lower pressure than SAAMI 308.

I hate shooting rack grade Garands as they are 4 MOA rifles and I don’t like the blunderbuss aspect of shooting them.

True but this can be cured by spending a little more for a Service Grade. You cannot bring a Rack Grade into SG condition by spending the price difference. All the SGs I bought from CMP will shoot 2-2 1/2" all day long. I have one with a VAR barrel (Field Grade no less) that will shoot 1 1/2" or a bit under with Greek HXP service ammo. A bit of judicious reloading will easily bring that to less than an inch.

A major consideration is cost. A CMP SG M1 can be had for about $600. A M1A will start about twice as much.