Want a M1 Garand

[Allen]

I will have some extra money this summer and have decided I want to get a M1 Garand rifle. I shot one when I was a teen and have never forgotten those summers of shooting.

I have read over some of the posts here and have noticed the rifle is well liked. What I need is some information about the Garand. There are some small gun shows around here and also some good gun shops, but I don’t know anything about M1. What is a good or bad year or serial number range? Were there different manufacturers, if so, which was best and worst? What would be a good source to read up on the M1? What is a reasonable price range?

I also noticed posts about the M1 needs lower pressure ammo, so I will need to find a source until I can load my own ammo.

Thanks for any help.
Allen

[Jack]

If you really want to know about the M-1 Garand, look up the Garand Collectors Association. Their monthly magazine is a wealth of information on serial number ranges, manufacturers, etc.
Another source for Garands, ammo, information, etc is www.odcmp.com
That's the website for the Civilian Marksmanship program- a good source of Garands, ammo, and information.
The Garand was designed to work with 30-06 ammo loaded to about 45,000 PSI, not some of the hotter ammo like Hornady's Light Magnum stuff. Most loading manuals will label loads suitable for the Garand, and the powders appropriate for the rifle.
Surplus ammo was made to fire in the Garand and is certainly safe, although you might run across some corrosive ammo. As long as you clean the rifle after firing, that's no problem.
The Garand is a lot of fun to shoot, and a wonderful piece of history.

[Adam Helmer]

Allen,

Jack gave you very good information, as usual, and I can only add a few small items of info:

Yes, there were various Garand manufacturers and all years were "good" years of production. Good sources of information are W.H.B. Smith's book, "Small Arms of the World" and Bruce Canfield's book, "U.S. Infantry Weapons of World War II."

The Garand is compatible with G.I. Ball, AP and Tracer Ammo. If you handload, use bullets in the 150 to 165 grain range and powders in the range of IMR4895.

If you happen upon an International Harvester, Harrington & Richardson or Winchester Garand, be prepared to pay a premium over a run-of-the-mill Springfield Armory Garand, although all are servicable arms. Bruce Canfield, in his book, states that all Garands went through at least one rebuild in their military career. That is not a bad thing because arsenal rebuilds merely means the Garand was given proper "factory through repair."

The CMP has various grades of Garands and is my choice of where I would buy a Garand these days. At gun shows, you may find a "parts gun" assembled from GI parts and not an arsenal rebuild or a CMP quality Garand.

Hope this helps.

Adam

[Joe Boleo]

Great rifle. Prices just seem to be climbing off the charts. The Civilian Marksmanship Program has a website and can verify the availability of M1 Garands. As has been noted, the grades, prices and availabilty vary so the website is a good source of current information.

Just about all M1 Garands have been arsenal rebuilt over the years. Look around and get one in the best condition possible and then head for the range. There is a lot of .30-06 ammo around so it is wise to be careful what you shoot in the M1 Garand. Avoid corrosive ammo and commercial ammo that may have the wrong powders for an M1 Garand. Take care...
Joe

[Allen]

Thanks everyone. I will be looking into this. Some tax issues just popped up so I dont know how this will affect my extra money. I will just hope for the best.

Allen