New to the Garand Party...Need Help

[another pake]

I am new to Garands but very interested, and need your help.

Some maybe relevant facts

1. I live in western Minnesota. Not isolated but nowhere near a CMP store or even a large gun show.
2. I need to get up to speed and would appreciate any help. I am trying to avoid unnecessary/ costly mistakes.

My goals are to learn what I need to so that I can acquire a representative sample of a Pacific theater M1 Garand. My dad was a WW II vet who took part in three amphibious invasions. My service was 68-69, also a draftee. My only brother, 16 months my senior, never served and is as "anti" as anyone could possibly be. I am trying to put together a collection of relevant family memorabilia, possibly helping me to bridge this divide.

Thank You for any help you can offer.

pake

 

[Jackal]

Buy a service grade H&R from the CMP. Purchasing from anywhere else will likely only get you ripped off. Too many $650 CMP guns floating around for $1,000 on the gun boards/gunbroker/local shops.

 

[9mmfan]

I will second the CMP recommendation. You will get a rifle that has been gone over by an armorer. It will be less expensive and less of a crapshoot than a gun show buy.

You have to meet a couple qualifications and belong to an affiliated club. I have a CHL, which covered the proficiency requirement, and joining the Garand Collectors Association is only $25/yr. the last time I looked. The GCA also gives you the option of informing the CMP that you are a member.

http://www.thecmp.org/sales/m1garand.htm

https://www.thegca.org

 

[tark]

The CMP is the way to go, but I'm afraid that getting one that you KNOW served in the Pacific Theater will be next to impossible. The Us government didn't bother to keep much track of which guns went where....I think. I may be wrong on that, and I wish they did. I have a nice Winchester, made in October of 1943, that I would love to know which direction it went. Buy copies of Scott Duff's Garand books for all the info you will ever need about Garands.

 

[MutinousDoug]

I would recommend the CMP route as well however the Garands available through them will not meet your criteria of being WWII issue. Only Springfield Armory and Winchester made rifles prior and during that war. H&R and IHC made post war rifles.
In order for a rifle to have been possibly used in the Pacific in WWII, A Springfield with serno lower than about 3.9 million or a Winchester serno below about 2.6M would be required. These sernos represent rifles produced through June 1945. (someone here with more knowledge than myself could tune these sernos more accurately I suspect)

 

[TheVision]

Buy copies of Scott Duff's Garand books for all the info you will ever need about Garands.

At 872 pages, Bruce Canfield's newly released The M1 Garand Rifle is even more comprehensive:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Garand-Rifle-Bruce-Canfield/dp/1931464561

 

[cfullgraf]

Buy a service grade H&R from the CMP.

If you want a WWII era rifle, get one with the serial number less than 3.5 million and made by Springfield Arsenal or Winchester.

Harrington and Richardson (H&R), International Harvester, or Springfield made M1s in the Korean war era. Serial numbers will be greater than 3.5 million.

As said, the government did not keep records on what rifle went where. So, unless you buy it from a WWII vet that brought his rifle home, there is no way of knowing the rifle's history.

CMP is a good source but virtually all rifles from them these days are "mixmasters" unless yoiu get one of the Service Grade Specials. Most M1s and virtually all WWII era Garands have gone through at least one arsenal rebuild. Since the parts are not numbered to the receiver and the ease of interchanging parts, it is doubtful a rebuilt rifle will exit the rebuild with the parts it entered with.

The books mentioned are good sources for information.

Hope this helps.

 

[another pake]

Thanks for all of the info so far, and please continue. This is the kind of help I was hoping for.

I have become a member of the Garand Collectors Association and meet the other requirements to purchase from the CMP, but as has already been stated they are into the H&Rs now. If push comes to shove I'll go that route, but would prefer an older serial # Springfield or Winchester. I guess that means dealing cautiously on the web.

Once again, Thanks!

 

[cfullgraf]

You may be able to get a WWII serial number if you purchase a CMP Special. These are refurbished rifles with a new production barrel. Several years ago, that was the case.

The Service Grade Specials are post Korean war era rifles.

As far as appearances, the H&Rs look just like the WWII rifles. The H&Rs have the reputation of having the best machine finish on the metal parts. But they all shoot well.

There is a whole subset of Garand collectors that search for the correct parts that are of the proper vintage for their rifle. I admire their tenacity.

I would suggesting getting an M1 on order form CMP regardless, then work on getting a rifle with a WWII vintage receiver. Garands are kind of like Lays potato chips, no body can have just one.

The standard Service Grades are excellent M1s to start with.

 

[bigdogpete]

Garand info

Go to the CMP forum and make a request for what you are looking for. You might get lucky and someone may part with one of their WWll era Garand. If you find one. Make sure it has the CMP certificate with it. At least you would know that the weapon came through CMP.

http://forums.thecmp.org/index.php

 

[ford8nr]

If you wait it out the CMP will probably get back to Springfields. They ran a big bunch of HRA's, which I acquired a beauty - looked to be I fired. Then they got behind on HRA's and released some Springfields and just recently went back to the HRA's

 

[M1GarandDeerHunter]

A budding Garand enthusiast! Warms my heart. Any Springfield Armory under 3.5 Million will fill the bill, as will a Winchester. Neither is available at this time through CMP. If you post on the board with the forum what your interested in youll most likely be hooked up. You can wait too. CMP recieves rifles all the time from various sources around the world via the Army. They are always looking. You cannot go wrong with them. Also it wouldnt be a bad idea to pay them a call. You can get the skinny directly from them if they are planning a sale of these rifles. I know of exactly one guy that got the rifle he carried during the war. He was very old and he remembered his serial number. Talk about luck. The Army had taken good care of it and even overhauled it. (probably several times)

Good Luck!

 

[bainter1212]

I know that many of the folks here in CA who rushed to get a Service grade HRA from the CMP before Jan 1st registration deadline, ended up getting emails from the CMP asking if they would rather have a Springfield. Many took this offer.
This leads me to believe that there are a decent number of Springfields mixed in with this batch of HRA rifles. A call to the CMP may be in order....they may be able to set one aside for youe.