Quoheleth
Member
I got my service grade Garand the week of Veterans' Day (ordered 08/09). Sticker price was $595, but then you gotta add in the "extras" (rounded off)
- Shipping: $22
- TSRA membership: $25 (you have to be a member of an affiliated club)
- TXCHL: $200 (you must show firearms proficiency. Other methods are acceptable, but part of the rationale for my CHL was to use it for this)
- and I'm thinking there was something else, too...
So my $600 gun was significantly more than $600.
Either way, I would say if you can find a clean, tight specimin from someone who is reputable for under $700, you've got a pretty good deal going. At the $800 mark, I think CMP is a better deal.
Service grades are good, servicable guns. Stocks can be mixmaster GI or they might be new. Mine was old GI in very good condition. Their gauging will vary, of course, but mine is outstanding. I don't have a muzzle gauge, but a buddy showed me the poor man's "stick a bullet in the barrel" and the cartridge case mouth was a good 1/8"+ above the barrel - and he said that was excellent. It shoots sub-baseball groups at 50 yards. I haven't been able to get to the 100 yard line, yet, because that's been a swamp all fall.
Rack grades are a bit rougher. Still quite usable, just don't expect them to be in the excellent category.
Someone here posted his story about his disappointment in a service grade. In his opinion, he was hosed and got a rack grade instead. I'm not calling him a liar, but use this story to illustrate that when ordering you are placing your gun's grading in the hands of the shipper. General consensus is they do a good job, but every now and then...
All this talk about Garands has me jonseing to go pull mine out. As the temp is almost above freezing (it's now 9am), I might pull it out, lube it up, and get ready for a range run!
Q
- Shipping: $22
- TSRA membership: $25 (you have to be a member of an affiliated club)
- TXCHL: $200 (you must show firearms proficiency. Other methods are acceptable, but part of the rationale for my CHL was to use it for this)
- and I'm thinking there was something else, too...
So my $600 gun was significantly more than $600.
Either way, I would say if you can find a clean, tight specimin from someone who is reputable for under $700, you've got a pretty good deal going. At the $800 mark, I think CMP is a better deal.
Service grades are good, servicable guns. Stocks can be mixmaster GI or they might be new. Mine was old GI in very good condition. Their gauging will vary, of course, but mine is outstanding. I don't have a muzzle gauge, but a buddy showed me the poor man's "stick a bullet in the barrel" and the cartridge case mouth was a good 1/8"+ above the barrel - and he said that was excellent. It shoots sub-baseball groups at 50 yards. I haven't been able to get to the 100 yard line, yet, because that's been a swamp all fall.
Rack grades are a bit rougher. Still quite usable, just don't expect them to be in the excellent category.
Someone here posted his story about his disappointment in a service grade. In his opinion, he was hosed and got a rack grade instead. I'm not calling him a liar, but use this story to illustrate that when ordering you are placing your gun's grading in the hands of the shipper. General consensus is they do a good job, but every now and then...
All this talk about Garands has me jonseing to go pull mine out. As the temp is almost above freezing (it's now 9am), I might pull it out, lube it up, and get ready for a range run!
Q
