PROUD NEW OWNER...... M1 garand!!

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brian923

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first off, sorry bout the m1a. its just an m1 garand. i was to excited!

i just picked up a new springfield armory m1 garand, and shes a beaut! i dont have it know, as i have to pick it up tommarow, oh it cant come soon enough!!!

couple questions for you guys...

the finish on the rifle is good, normal wear, but no pitting, and the wood is in amazing shape. i dont want to alter the rifle in any way, but was wanting to know if i dura-coated the metal parts, matte black, if it would effect the collectoble-ness, or the worth of the rifle. again, the wood will remain untouched. i would like to do this because i would like to use it on some hunts i have planned in the future. i just dont want to do it, and ruin the rifle.

also, for you reloaders... what kinda recipies are you guys using for reloads?? whats seems to be the sweet spot in bullet weight for the garand? are there any powders that should be avoided due to the gas system?

is it okay to shoot surpluse ammo through them? any to be avoided? any that will leave me with good brass for reloading? is it NOT a good idea? the funny thing though, is that at the local wal-mart, and on the net, 30-06 seems to be about 5 dollars cheaper then .308??? (per 20)

anything that i should no about them?? i am really excited to get her nd shoot her. ill post pics and reports as soon as possible. thanks guys, brian
 
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I'm a little confused - am I correct in that you are a buying an M1 Garand manufactured at the Springfield Armory for WWII? To my knowledge SA does not build any such animal as an M1A Garand.

As for refinishing, I wouldn't do anything to my Garand. I have a post-war H&R. The parkerizing is still very nice. Not to say you shouldn't - but I believe the general rule with some of the more collectible rifles (and it applies especially to revolvers) is that refinishing ruins the value. Hopefully someone can chime in on that.

As for cartridge selection, you should shoot nothing heavier than a 150gr bullet. The Garand was designed for that and heavier bullets will eventually take their toll on the operating rod.

Surplus ammo can be ok. The absolute best deal on surplus ammo I know of is through the CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program). They have Greek 150gr ball surplus for $100/400 rounds. I'm ordering some very soon.
 
Congratulations. Sounds like what you have there is an original Garand. Lots to learn but they are very rewarding as you learn about them and find out what they can do. The primo internet source on these is over at Culver Shooting Pages, www.jouster.com.

Find out what's proper for these and don't deviate until you have done your homework. Granted, it's yours, and if you want you can spray paint it fluorescent green. Better to stay close to authentic. My shooter's stock is tru-oiled, but that's for practicality. The metal is parkerized, and my other Garands are GI.

Ammo should be equivalent to the old 150 grain M2 ball, approx 2700 fps. At most, the 168 grain match bullet. More is liable to bend the op rod, and that is not good.

Buy a couple of good books. Hatcher's "Book of the Garand" is good and may be in the library. Most are pretty technical. One general one I like is "Precision Shooting With The Garand" by Baumgartner (as I recall).

Apropos of another thread here, the Garand could make a rifleman out of you. They are GREAT old rifles.:)
 
refinishing ruins the value
Click to expand...
As long as the gun functions as it did and the materials it is made of have not chemically changed, the gun has retained all of its inherent value.
Refinish away!
 
"...sorry bout the M1A. its just an M1 Garand..." Close sometimes counts when you're exited. And it's not just an M1 Garand. It's an M1! There's something about the M1 that no other rifle has. Not even an M1A Supermatch is quite like an M1. Neither is the real semi'd M14 I have. Mind you, if it's a Springfield Armory Inc. rifle, it's not a USGI issue rifle. It's a copy. If it's a 'new to you' Springfield Armory rifle, it is an issue rifle.
"...if I dura-coated...if it would effect the collectible-ness..." Yep. It'd drop it's value in half if it's a milsurp. If you want to refinish the metal, have it re-parkerized.
"...the sweet spot in bullet weight..." 165 grain hunting bullets and 168 or 175 grain match bullets using IMR4895, IMR4064 or Varget with regular large rifle primers. 168's for distances up to 600 yards, 175's past there. There are 150 grain fmj's both match grade and not, available too. Same powders. Hornady's manual has an M1 specific chapter too.
"...okay to shoot surplus ammo..." Yep. Any M2 ammo will do nicely, but don't expect great accuracy out of any milsurp ammo. There's also a fair bit of corrosively primed milsurp out there too.
Go here for free .pdf TM and FM manuals. Note the need for the provided UN & PW. http://www.biggerhammer.net/manuals/
 
well, glock21sfbreakdownpics003-1.jpg
glock21sfbreakdownpics002-1.jpg

so what do you think. shes a beut!!!
and she shoos well also. i cant wait to get out and try accuracy testing her. ill keep ya posted.

i know thatthe rifle was manufactured form the springfield armory in 1943. does anyone know where i can find info on the other part numbers, and if this particular rifle might of been used in the military for fighting, or even training??? thanks guys, brian.
 
nice looking Grand there,the model is definately among my favorite types.Look forward to seeing what your targets are.:cool:
 
"i know thatthe rifle was manufactured form the springfield armory in 1943. does anyone know where i can find info on the other part numbers"

The best reference I know of for the Garand Rifle is a book by Scott Duff. He published two, one for WWII rifles and one for post war rifles. If your rifle is below serial number 3.9 million it is WWII, 1943 would be between about 1169091 and 2420191. The book you want is called The M1 Garand World War II and is available at Scott Duff's web site or you might find a used one on Ebay. The book will tell you the drawing numbers for every part in your rifle. There is no reference that I know of for where the rifle served - fighting, training, parades, etc.
 
the garand serial# is 2,29x,xxx so i gues that it would fall in the WWII era. cool!! i love the history. i wish i could met the previous owner to see if it was his dads, or grandfathers rifle. all in all, i love it and think it was a good purchase. exspecially since its on the "ban" list, if it were to go into effect. ill post picks of targets as soon as i get them. brian
 
Does it have any cartouches on the side of the stock?The trigger housing is latter date ,a WW2 should have a milled trigger guard.You can tell by the milled would have another hole on the back of it.Your rear sight has been updated also.WW2 era would have a lockbar sight.


I wouldn't duracoat or reblue it,leave it as is,it looks in good shape and it would devalue it collectors wise to refinish it,but up to you.Either way I'm sure it will send pointy things down range real good.
 
Quote sunrayAny M2 ammo will do nicely, but don't expect great accuracy out of any milsurp ammo


Oh I beg to differ.My other 2 Garands print 2 to 3 inch groups at 100yds typically but this one delivers on average slightly under 2 inches with old surplus HXP ammo.

Not just that but M1917 and 03 Springfields do quite well with HXP ammo also.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=4959651&postcount=93
 
THis may be old news but I just read that Hornady is now manufacturing catridges specifically for the M1 Rifle. Their cartridge consists of a 168 grain bullet exiting the barrel at 2,700 fps. The stock number is 811870 and the MSRP is a whopping $41.41 for 20 cartridges.

I guess it generates pressures that will not damage the gas operating system (the operating rod mostly) while burning cleaner than a lot of the mil spec surplus ammo. Some of which is prettty foul burning.

If you are a reloader than this of little moment. Since I do not reload, yet, an off-the-shelf cartridge known to be appropriate is useful. I get the feeling that much of the 150 grain Winchester and Remington ammo may be getting hoter and hotter. Or, maybe my shoulder is just wearing out!
 
Congrats!

re: refin

This one got a light sanding and re-oiled about 40 years ago. Since I'll never sell it the refin's not a consideration to me. YMMV

carbine5-1.gif
 
I don't pretend to understand the magic of the M1. All I can say is when I hoist it up to me shoulder it feels way different than any other combat arm I have shot. There is a sense that I can really reach out into my environment and make the necessary changes that duty, public safety, and good sense demand.

I don't get that feeling with any other rifle, although I have never shot an FN FAL or a BAR (the Model 1918).

So, Brian, congratulations and prepare yourself for more fun than you have ever had with a firearm.
 
LionKing,

"a WW2 should have a milled trigger guard.You can tell by the milled would have another hole on the back of it."

This is not true. The stamped trigger guard was adopted as standard in October 1943 as drawing number C7312631. It is possible that the trigger guard on this rifle is original and it is possible that it is not. Parts in the Garand overlapped and it depended on how quick they were put into production and how many older ones were still in stock. However, the stamped guard was a WWII part and it could have been installed on this gun.

"WW2 era would have a lockbar sight."

You are right about the lock-bar sight. WWII rifles had a lock-bar rear sight and this rifle has a T105E1 rear sight. Most WWII Garands went through a rebuild program at one time or another. At the least, if the gun was rebuilt after 1950, the old lock-bar sights were replaced with the new T105E1. Not many of the lock-bar sights survived the rebuild program.
 
really?Guess I misunderstood about the trigger guard thought they didn't change that 'till late '45.I'll have to brush up on my Canfield book and read up again.A book that is great btw.


Yes the feeling you have when you hold it sure is sweet,though I just shot my M1A today and I must say it feels like that great feeling just like a Garand.


Doc450 your carbine might have been sanded but it looks like there is a good cartouche on it still.What is it a Inland?I see another one besides the crossed cannons and I "think" Inland stocks only had the crossed cannons so what is that other cartouche?
 
Congratulations on acquiring a mighty Garand!

It is my favorite gun.

Much information to be had on them, as said before Scott Duff's books are the go to places to start.

Garanditis.com is a low traffic site that many of the top Garand collectors frequent. Jouster.com is another site, more traffic, and lots of good info.

Be forewarned: sometimes the Garands get lonely and want some company:

(If anybody is interested I will give a run-down on the following)

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i cleaned the bore today, with some aqua (water baser)bore cleaner. the stuff worked really good. i came across one problem though, it cleaned it so good, that it must have taken some old grit out of the pits inside the barrel, i did not see before buying the rifle. the pitting is not bad, but you can see it inbetween the rifling. i believe its called the grooves. (low part of rifling.) i cant see any piting or breaks in or on the the raised rifling (lands?)

should i worry about it or should i just continue, and maybe replace if i get more serious and think about compitition?

today, with winchester 150 grn powerpoint ammo, i was able to shoot a rapid fire string of 8 rounds into a 2" group. (before cleaning the barrel and discovering the pits) i am still trying to learn how to sight in the rifle.

which leads to my next question... how do you sight in the rifle to use the elevation to its corrisponding incroment??? i had to raise the elevation t 350 meters, and move the windage 3 clicks right to get a rough adjustment to about 1 inch right of bullseye at 75 yards. is there a way to sight in at 25 yards, like an AR-15? and after getting sighted in at 100 yards, can the drum be lossened and returned back to 100? does this make any sence???

thanks guys, brian.
 
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