Which CMP Garand Company

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SpringfieldArmoryXD

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Hello all! I'm finally looking to fulfill something I have wanted ever since I was a kid. I am a BIG History buff, my parents always thought it was funny that I would rather watch the History channel than Cartoons! So, I would like to become the owner of an M1 Garand. I am planning on getting one through the CMP here in a month or 2. I think I am going to go with a Service grade, and I was curious whether I should go with the Springfield service grade or the H&R Service grade.

What do you guys think?
 
The producer is more of importance to collectors. If you're asking which to get, chances are it doesn't matter to you all that much. They should both be good shooters. Some service grades don't look all that great, though.
 
Depends on if you want to get a WWII or post WWII rifle. Not sure what CMP has as far as Springfields, but all H&R Garands are post WWII.
 
56hawk said:
Depends on if you want to get a WWII or post WWII rifle. Not sure what CMP has as far as Springfields, but all H&R Garands are post WWII.
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Thanks, I did not know that. I'm just really looking for something that can be taken out and shot, and hopefully if/when I have kids they will be able to shoot and enjoy.

Is it worth it do get the next grade? I think the diff is 625 to 995? I can't remember
 
The rifles were held to exacting tolerances to ensure parts interchangeability between manufacturers. That said there were differences in the rifles in terms of fit and finish and function. A Springfield Armory rifle will not let you down. They had the best operation going in terms of quality and quantity. John Garand's office was at the facility.
 
Owning both until the boating accident, I would say either one are both worth having. This will not mean the entire rifle is Springfield or H&R.

I ordered a Winchester service grade and the only thing that was Winchester was the Receiver. Due to some good trading It's got a few more Winchester parts.

BUT!!!! I have seen some very nice S/G Springers and H&R's come out of the CMP. A buddy of mine got a nice S/G H&R that was just as nice as my correct H&R.

Sometimes a sticky note on the application will help. Tell them you want History over the perfect post war. Let us know how it went. I've had some good results from doing this ONE time.

I picked up a Springer field grade which was about 3 pieces away from being WWII period correct. But I hand picked it at the north store while at Camp Perry.
 
I would love to be able to go to one of the stores, but it would be a 1700 mile round trip.

1700 / 18mpg = 94 gallons fuel

94g * $3.95 = $371.30
 
If you want the best chance of a really, really nice gun, the one to buy in my opinion is a late Springfield Armory, specifically a Service Grade Special which CMP advertises as "Collector Grade Metal" (not counting the stock metal which may be new). The wood will be new production, but it will be in new shape too.

The ones I have seen looked unfired and the build quality was excellent: Very good fit on oprod, barrels indexed properly, good maching, etc.
 
I purchased two service grade Springfield Armory M1 Garands from CMP. Both are service grade. One is a 1941 receiver with a 1945 barrel. All parts are SA. The other is a 1954 receiver and barrel. Again, all parts are SA. Both are accurate and reliable, but the 1941 rifle is just ridiculously accurate. They are both good looking, but the 1954 rifle has a more pristine finish. If I could keep one, it would be the 1941. It's got more "character" and shoots better than I can. CMP rifles are good to go. If for some reason you get a problem rifle, they will make it right. Give the rifle a good thorough cleaning and lube it properly with grease. They love grease. Lubriplate or the original reddish brown M1 lube are the correct products. There is a wealth of information on the internet from very knowledgeable folks concerning maintenance and tuning of Garands. Take advantage of them and you'll know your rifle very well in a short period of time. It's always great shooting something that was a piece of history and still performs as intended today.
 
I have purchased 2 CMP Garands. First one was about 35 years ago. Got IH in almost new condition. Tough times forced me to sell it. Got an H&R about 2 years ago. It was a real POS. I hear "all the good ones are gone" about the CMP rifles. But it seems forum members post photos of nice M1s they got. Maybe it was just me they hated.

If you want history get the SA used in the war. I got the H&R hoping for a rifle that was less beat up. That didn't work out.

For $800-$1,000 you can buy a nice M1 in person. Hit the shows if you don't want to buy a pig in a poke.
 
If you want a top grade piece, then go with the service special.

I was at the North Store last august & was really torn between a really clean nicely marked arsenal rebuilt H&R service grade and Service special. The latter won out simply on the basis of the pristine condition of the SS metal and original finish. Besides, if you get one of the specials you can always hunt for a period correct stock and have a correct grade in superb condition. Frankly, I looked at a LOT of rifles that day and nothing surpassed the SS in terms of bore and overall condition. Now, I'll admit if my wife hadn't been along I would have likely picked up both....but!

CMP wood isn't bad either, well figured, fit is tight and the thing will hold three rounds under a dime at a friends 50 yard range.

Be aware tho that the correct grades are just that.....all parts are correct for the date and mfgr......the condition of those rifles I saw was really no better than the service grades. In fact that H&R I mentioned was actually in better condition than most of the corrects in the rack!

Strongly suggest you go on the CMP web site forums....
 
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But it seems forum members post photos of nice M1s they got. Maybe it was just me they hated.
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SaxonPig,

I think that hate is too strong a word, but it is evident that the CMP doesn't like you. :D

Here is a all correct HRA that they sent me in the same time period.

M1GarandHRA.jpg
 
word is that the current HRA Service Grades are quite nice. Only SA Service grades available are post war in the 5M range.

The HRA rifles are very well build rifles and all mine have been very accurate shooters.

Don
 
There are a very few WWII Receiver Service Grades but for the most part they are Post War
Any Service Grade you order will meet the grade description. Its all luck of the draw, to say that HRA SG will be better than a SA SG is simply not true.
Good luck with your choice
 
Which period in history do you want to represent? If you want a WWII, go with a Springfield no later than 3.8 Million. There were no HRA rifles produced in WWII, but they are still my favorite due to the fact that they are REALLY nice in most cases and are interesting to me because they are contract rifles. That said, I have a Winchester, a WWII Springfield Danish return and an HRA. They are all very nice rifles, but the fit an finish on the HRA is better than the other two. Something else to keep in mind is that there were fewer of the HRA's than the other two. I don't have my book in front of me, but I seem to remember that there were only 412,000 HRA's, 800,000 Winchesters and around 3.8 million WWII Springfields. Going on numbers alone, HRA's were second only to IHC (332,000) when comparing numbers produced.
 
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my service grade came in today. brand new wood, barely a scratch on the metal. now I just need some of those en block clips.
 

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I will add my two cents worth.

Everyone's comments are good and it comes down to what an individual wants.

The new birch stock that comes on some of the Service Grades are not very attractive, in my opinion. I did turn one into a blonde stock, but have replaced the other one or two with a CMP walnut stock.

The Service Grade Specials are very nice but only 1950's vintage. No WWII Springfields in this group. Of course HRA are only Korean and post Korean vintage.

When I was last at the South Store, they had some WWII serial number Springfields in the CMP Special grade. These are rebuilt rifles with new walnut stocks and new Criterion barrels. It has been 18 months or so since I was last at the South Store.

The Service Grade metal is usually pretty nice, not perfect, but nice, but if delivered with a GI stock, the stock may be "rode hard and put up wet". Some folks do an excellent job restoring them to like new condition, I did not have the patience. I kept the old stock but also replaced them with a new walnut except for the first Garand that I purchased. That old stock has character.

Just note, I doubt there are many WWII GI stocks left at CMP. But that is only a guess on my part.

The Field grades make good projects and I do not recommend one for a first Garand.

So, get one on order. There may not be any more when this batch is exhausted. Have fun with the Garand. It is a great addition to any collection.

Hope this helps.
 
arent the service grade specials refinished gi parts and new criterion barrel with new boyds walnut?

edit: answered above.
 
Bryan, It's kinda confusing in that the CMP listings call one a service grade special and the rebuild a CMP special grade.

Difference is that the first is all GI service grade metal (ones I've seen are about new condition) fitted to a CMP stock w/CMP cartouche. The CMP special grade is a complete rebuild........essentially a new gun, criterion bbl, new wood, all metal is refinished to as new. The service grade special is currently listing for around 950 and the CMP model for 975.

As I stated in my original post I opted for the SGS as I'd merely have to find the proper stock and I'd have a like new correct. Far as shootin' goes there's likely little difference!
 
In my experience the SGS is a better gun. I have had 4 Specials. Here are the problems I found:

*Two rear sight elevation pinions that were worn out and wouldn't hold under firing
*One rear sight windage knob that the guts fell out of
*One front handgaurd metal reinforcing piece with a broken off ear
*One lower band that was obviously bent on one leg (appeared to be hammered off a barrel at some point) which also prevented a good front handguard fit
*One lower band (same as above) in which the roll pin literally fell out after stock removal as the roll pin hole was bent / enlarged to where it would no longer hold the pin in place.
*One reciever with a bump on the inside the heel from over zealous stamping of the serial number. This bump was severe enough that the top back of the bolt would actually hit it, bind up, and then stay locked fully to the rear when hand cycling the action rather than moving forward to be retained in the normal fasion.

Additionally, one or two wouldn't pass a tilt test (without the stock in place). One had an op rod that was loaded with pieces of rust in the spring way. One had rear sight serrations on the reciever ear that showed a fair bit of wear, though the rear sight would stay in place during firing after CMP sent a new rear sight pinion.

The Criterion of the Special is a good barrel in my experience. The headspace must be pretty minimal as brass comes out with very little stretching. Also the spines on the gas cylinders fit snuggly in the Criterion barrel grooves with no peening. Nice.

Now I must say the CMP is the best about resolving any problems. They quickly responded to the problems I reported, sending me a new rifle to rectify the reciever heel problem, and new parts (at least the ones I reported to them as having problems) as needed to make the guns right. Some of the parts I just replaced myself with my own components.

I have 3 SGSs now. They looked like they had never been fired other than the test fire at the factory and at CMP. Every part looked new with no wear on the rear sight pinions or serrations. All passed the tilt test with no problem. The op-rod to reciever fit on my 2 SA SGSs are the closest I have seen on any M1/M1A rifle I have handled. There is almost no play at all. All the barrels are clocked properly. And obviously a like new gun will have no wear on the gas piston or cylinder. The fact that metal is "Collector Grade" is just a bonus to me. Plus the CMP is about to run out of this grade, at least for the near future.

The only problem I have had with the SGSs was that my HRA SGS required a tool to remove or replace the folloer pin as the hole in the bullet guide was not located as well as it should have been. It still was OK, but the pin couldn't be removed or installed without using tools. So I replaced the bullet guide and now it is fine.

I bought the Specials before I knew what to look for on a Garand. I did so at the time primarly because I wanted WWII vintage recievers and milled trigger guards.

Knowing what I know now, if I were to buy again I would definitely opt for the SGS given it is IMO a better gun and actually cheaper. Probably more collectable too. The SGS is essentially a new gun, and the Special is essentially a rebarelled and refinished used gun that might be well used in some cases.
 
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Take a gamble. It's $600. You'll at least get a great piece of history. People p*ss away $600 on stupid stuff without batting an eye.... lawn furniture, wedding cake, car rims...

Include a note with something that you are looking for, whether it be history, great shooter, etc.

If you don't like it, you can easily recoup your $.
 
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