What Garand from cmp?

[Awsomepossum]

Hello,
I am going to purchase a few M1's. Should I go with the field grades or spring for the service grades(worth the extra 100$ or so)? I will get one international harvester. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[ford8nr]

If you're not going to the store to pick it out yourself spend the extra money for a service grade or special. A good Field grade and a poor Service grade are pretty much the same rifle. But a poor Field grade and good Service grade are WORLDS apart. My HRA I got a year or two ago had a bbl the gauged in the new range and NO wear on the parkerizing internal or external.

 

[Jackal]

Field grade will be a good shooter that you arent afraid of taking out and using. Service grades can look almost new. Get one of each and decide for yourself. Worst case, you can always sell it.

 

[cfullgraf]

If you're not going to the store to pick it out yourself spend the extra money for a service grade or special. A good Field grade and a poor Service grade are pretty much the same rifle. But a poor Field grade and good Service grade are WORLDS apart. My HRA I got a year or two ago had a bbl the gauged in the new range and NO wear on the parkerizing internal or external.

As ford8nr said, if you cannot pick out the rifle in person, get a Service grade.

Also, just for a first M1, get a service grade. I have purchased several Field grades over the years and all of them required some TLC.

The Special grades are even better as they have been rebuilt with new stocks and barrels. But they do not have the "as issued" charm and they cost a bit more than a Service grade.

 

[HexHead]

The Garand availability is changing quickly. Keep in mind no more can be imported back into the U.S. When the CMP is out of them, that's it.

This is from an email I got that originated from the CMP....

All IHC M1 Garands are limited to one per customer. We will begin accepting orders March 11th. Any orders received prior to this date will not be accepted. The quantities available of the Garands listed below are limited and will be sold to qualified purchasers "first come first serve" with no preferential treatment. A small quantity will be offered in the stores with the majority going to mail order customers. The M1s are no exchange due to severely limited quantities available. The XM855 is limited in our inventory and probably the last we will ever see or be allowed to offer.

RM1IHCS- M1 Garand IHC Service Grade. Only part guaranteed to be IHC is the receiver. Some other parts could be IHC but not guaranteed. Please see M1 Service Grade description on website.
$960.00 - Free Shipping except AK, HI, PR.

RM1IHCF- M1 Garand IHC Field Grade. Only part guaranteed to be IHC is the receiver. Some other parts could be IHC but not guaranteed. Please see M1 Field Grade description on website.
$810.00 - Free Shipping except AK, HI, PR.

RM1IHCSLMR- M1 Garand IHC Service Grade with IHC receiver and LMR barrel. Some other parts could be IHC but not guaranteed. Please see M1 Service Grade description on website.
$1010.00 - Free Shipping except AK, HI, PR.

RM1IHCFLMR- M1 Garand IHC Field Grade with IHC receiver and LMR barrel. Some other parts could be IHC but not guaranteed. Please see M1 Field Grade description on website.
$960.00 - Free Shipping except AK, HI, PR.

RM1IHCSGAP4- M1 Service Grade IHC with 4 million Gap Letter IHC receiver and LMR barrel. Some other parts could be IHC but not guaranteed.
$1110.00 - Free Shipping except AK, HI, PR.

RM1DSPECIAL- M1D Garand Service Grade Springfield. Reparked SA receiver with new 1952-1953 dated M1D barrel. Reparked parts. New Walnut stock/handguards. Reproduction HI-LUX optics M82 scope and reproduction M82 mount.
$2000.00 - Free Shipping except AK, HI, PR.

 

[agtman]

The Special grades are even better as they have been rebuilt with new stocks and barrels. But they do not have the "as issued" charm and they cost a bit more than a Service grade.

Depends on what you mean by "a bit more."

For just under $1000 OTD, I picked up an HRA "Special Receiver" M1 in .308 last July.
I have some SG M1s as well, but these SRs are about as close you're ever going to get to buying a "new" M1.

The HRA SR M1 starts with a new Criterion barrel (30.06 or .308, your choice) mated to an in-spec HRA receiver. The rest of the rifle uses in-spec, USGI parts (e.g., bolt, op rod, gas cylinder, springs) and is hand-assembled by CMP armorers who know what they're doing. Then it's dressed in new wood.

I think these SR M1s are a great value that will appreciate over time.

HRA SR M1.

 

[Orlando]

Take it from somone that has personally handled many hundreds of Field Grades I would never mail order one. I have gaged them with muzzle wear of 7 which is a barrel that needs replaced .
That being said many will make nice shooters but you need to hand pick the FG
Service Grades are the way to go, you will be garunteed a barrel tha is within shooter specs

 

[carbine85]

Spend the extra $ and pick out a nice service grade. I bought a Field Grade and it was so bad I sent it back in exchange for a Service Grade. I ended up with a nice rifle.
Sometimes the only difference between a Field and Service are the muzzle and chamber gauge readings.

 

[P5 Guy]

You are not that far from Anniston Alabama. Take a vacation and go to the South Store and pick out a couple.

 

[cfullgraf]

I will get one international harvester. Anyone have any thoughts?

If you have not yet sent in the order for the IHC Garand, chances are excellent that they are already sold out.

Orders needed to have been into CMP by 3/11 or 3/12 at the latest as the IHC's will be very popular items. In the spring/summer of 2014, all available rifles were gone in a day or two.

 

[chris in va]

What the heck? These Field Grades are double what I paid for my SA just 6 years ago.

 

[P5 Guy]

What the heck? These Field Grades are double what I paid for my SA just 6 years ago. said chris in va

IIRC in 2003/4 I paid $295 plus shipping for one of the Greek RG Springfields. MW 1 and TE 1.5. I guess the nasty stock made it a RG. A few hours cleaning and I was a happy camper. I did some steaming on the dents and BLO finishing.

 

[The Alaskan]

Wow, I can't believe those prices.

Those were all for IHC guns, but I wonder what the selling price/value of a Springfled is these days. Mine is as nice as agtman's. I've been thinking of selling/trading lately. I think I may be undervaluing it.

 

[cfullgraf]

All you ever wanted to know about current Garand pricing at CMP.

http://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/rifle_sales/m1-garand/

 

[johnmcl]

An alternative strategy is to find the biggest POS Garand possible, and then ship it off to James River Armory for restoration. Your rifle will be returned to you in As-Issued condition.

I believe the base restoration program is $389 for M1s. I've seen there work and am very impressed.