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Another rifle thread - garand

K

KillerCharlie

Diamond Member
I've always wanted to own a M1 Garand just because I think they're awesome firearms. I see you can get service grade garand for $600 from CMP. They seem to be cheaper there than elsewhere and from the sound of it they're supply is getting low.

Of course the only thing that'll get me is ammo prices... $0.75-$1 a shot. From what I heard CMP surplus ammo is more like $.30-$.40 a shot. I could maybe do that. I don't have any rifles yet, only shotguns and pistols, and I think I wouldn't go through ammo as quickly as a pistol.

Another reason I want a garand is because the ranges around here have garand competitions every month, which would be fun.

Does anyone here own one? Do you shoot regularly or occasionally with it? Are ammo costs prohibitive? Maybe I could just get a cheap bolt action like a Mosin, but there's just something about garands I love. A .308 garand would be nice, but they're extremely hard to find.
 
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Yeah, the CMP rifles are a good deal. I went to Perry and picked mine out from the rack and I also picked up a case of the Lake City ammo. The Lake City 30'06 is good stuff, definitely a good deal. I am of the mind though that the rifles are becoming worse in quality over the years as they thin out the ranks. The wood is not as good as it used to be. I have seen some rifles from the DCM (CMP predecessor) that are God damned beautiful. But the stuff I saw on the rack a few years ago looked like beaters. Still, the metal is good and the recievers are good, many people seem to prefer the old receivers to the Springfield Armory ones.

I think I heard they added a collector's grade or something like that where they hand-pick some of the best representations left. You could always go for that to get the best and it probably still costs less than a new SA Garand. Either way, it's easy to get a new stock if you are unhappy with the condition of the wood. But if you are willing to cop for a Mosin I doubt you will be too unhappy.
 
I have a buddy that has a very nice garand. It is a blast to shoot, gotta love the TING at the end of of the shots. I would love to get one myself. We don't take it out nearly as much as we take our mosins out though. Just for the fact that the mosins are cheap, and the ammo is cheap.
 
leglez said:
I have a buddy that has a very nice garand. It is a blast to shoot, gotta love the TING at the end of of the shots. I would love to get one myself. We don't take it out nearly as much as we take our mosins out though. Just for the fact that the mosins are cheap, and the ammo is cheap.
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lol. This time last year, we broke out the Russian ammo with the sardine cans and openers. Mosins are a great impulse buy.
 
I had to wait almost 2 years for mine via the CMP. Mine was a select grade, and it looks almost unissued (got it about 13 years ago). Been to Perry a few times and stayed at the POW camp. Its a blast shooting into Lake Erie with no backstop. I can't imagine how many tons of lead are at the bottom of that lake. Ive never shot mine, because our range has club Garands we can use any time. I've also gotten an 03A3 and .22 trainer through them. Can't beat that!😱

garand2.gif
 
I have one my dad bought back in the 50's. He actually has several. When he was in the Air Force they had the opportunity to buy new ones that had never even been unpacked for $5 each. Quite a bit of $ to a poor kid in the Air Force, but he still bought 4.

The story that cracks me up, and he still has the pics and paperwork to prove it somewhere, is that around the same time they were selling surplus P-38 Lightnings that had been built for WWII but never flown. The low low price was $10,000 per plane. He still says he wishes he had that kind of $ back then to buy his own personal P-38.
 
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shiner said:
I have one my dad bought back in the 50's. He actually has several. When he was in the Air Force they had the opportunity to buy new ones that had never even been unpacked for $5 each. Quite a bit of $ to a poor kid in the Air Force, but he still bought 4.

The story that cracks me up, and he still has the pics and paperwork to prove it somewhere, is that around the same time they were selling surplus P-38 Lightnings that had been built for WWII but never flown. The low low price was $10,000 per plan. He still says he wishes he had that kind of $ back then to buy his own personal P-38.
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I know some WWII pilots who did get one, and flew it out of Thun Field for a few years. There is one picture where he did a Bob Hoover impersonation and shut down both engines in flight, with Mount Rainier in the background.
 
I purchased a CMP garand about 3 years ago. If you purchase ammo from the CMP, it's not that expensive. About a year ago I purchased a couple cans of the Greek ammo, and it cost $0.28/round. Compared to my AR (at least recently) that's a steal.

I don't shoot my garand often, but it is a riot to shoot and always draws attention from other shooters at the range. When it comes to firearms, there are few moments more satisfying than when you eject a clip from a garand.
 
There's a Garand (looks to be in very good condition but I didn't hold it or see it up close) at a gun store here that is marked for $1,200. The lady working said they were thinking about dropping the price, and they have a 3-month lay-a-way. God I want that thing so bad. Is that a half-decent price for a very good condition gun? They have a Mosin-Nagant for about $150 too, not sure of the condition.

Eh, I'll own one some day regardless.
 
clamum said:
There's a Garand (looks to be in very good condition but I didn't hold it or see it up close) at a gun store here that is marked for $1,200. The lady working said they were thinking about dropping the price, and they have a 3-month lay-a-way. God I want that thing so bad. Is that a half-decent price for a very good condition gun? They have a Mosin-Nagant for about $150 too, not sure of the condition.

Eh, I'll own one some day regardless.
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Make sure you do a throat erosion test to see how worn the chamber is!
 
Modelworks said:
Consider making your own ammo, it really isn't that hard and saves cost by recycling spent shells for at least one more use.


edit:
Forgot about the video that got me started. He goes through all the steps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oys7VQC1EZk
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You better know what you're doing when you load for a Garand. I've seen many people load their 30-06 loads over spec pressure levels for garands and that is a no-no because it can end in a very serious injury or death to the shooter.
 
Modelworks said:
Consider making your own ammo, it really isn't that hard and saves cost by recycling spent shells for at least one more use.


edit:
Forgot about the video that got me started. He goes through all the steps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oys7VQC1EZk
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IF YOU DO THIS PLEASE WATCH THE LOADINGS AND CHECK THE RECIPES!

Military brass tends to be thicker than the commercially available stuff.
Since the casing is actually thicker, you will need LESS propellant. Most of the books will tell you how much to reduce the grain quantity for military brass.
It may not be much, but if there was an error in throwing the powder, then it could lead to potential problems and missing fingers/teeth/face!
Also, military brass has a crimp in the primer pocket that would need to be removed. Once removed and you know how much to reduce your loads then everything should be fine.

Another thing: A lot of the European ammo is Berdan primed and not boxer primed. Berdan primers are difficult to remove without the specialized tool AND you will be hard pressed to find large rifle Berdan primers in the US.


Now that I had to say that, the Garand is an AWESOME rifle. Got mine thru the CMP program as well...and it happened to made by Winchester. DOUBLE AWESOME.
 
Analog said:
I had to wait almost 2 years for mine via the CMP. Mine was a select grade, and it looks almost unissued (got it about 13 years ago). Been to Perry a few times and stayed at the POW camp. Its a blast shooting into Lake Erie with no backstop. I can't imagine how many tons of lead are at the bottom of that lake. Ive never shot mine, because our range has club Garands we can use any time. I've also gotten an 03A3 and .22 trainer through them. Can't beat that!😱
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Erie, eh? Where do you live?
 
I've talked to a few people who reload 30-06 and they've all said that they barely save any money, especially when you factor in how much time it takes.

I'll probably get a service grade CMP. They only have Springfields left, which is fine since I don't care about the manufacturer, just how well it shoots. Most of the guns are a complete mishmash of parts anyway. Oh, and the Springfields are cheaper than the Winchesters.
 
KillerCharlie said:
I've talked to a few people who reload 30-06 and they've all said that they barely save any money, especially when you factor in how much time it takes.

I'll probably get a service grade CMP. They only have Springfields left, which is fine since I don't care about the manufacturer, just how well it shoots. Most of the guns are a complete mishmash of parts anyway. Oh, and the Springfields are cheaper than the Winchesters.
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If you ever plan on getting into competition shooting you'll want to reload your own stuff vs buying matchgrade (which is still good). Doing it yourself you can vary the seat depth to your liking and match it to your chamber and control when the bullet actually engages the lands of the barrel. BUT...that is some pretty serious reloading requirements that the average shooter will most likely never worry about.
I have a few hundred shells for most of my stuff and it is cheaper for me. If you only have about 20 or 30 shot a time, then you'll most likely want to buy more ammo vs reloading. Save your brass though anyway.
 
i inherited one from my grandpa when he passed away, its a 30-06 but i dont know who the manufacturer is. he kept it from when he was in the army in the 50s, so its pretty old. ive shot it a few times, but yeah the ammo is expensive. its just a collector item for me now, i have it in a safe. its actually the only rifle i own.
 
JJ650 said:
If you ever plan on getting into competition shooting you'll want to reload your own stuff vs buying matchgrade (which is still good). Doing it yourself you can vary the seat depth to your liking and match it to your chamber and control when the bullet actually engages the lands of the barrel. BUT...that is some pretty serious reloading requirements that the average shooter will most likely never worry about.
I have a few hundred shells for most of my stuff and it is cheaper for me. If you only have about 20 or 30 shot a time, then you'll most likely want to buy more ammo vs reloading. Save your brass though anyway.
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That sounds like a lot more work than I'd want to get into.

I think they have CMP matches around here where they issue you surplus ammo that you have to use.
 
HybridSquirrel said:
i inherited one from my grandpa when he passed away, its a 30-06 but i dont know who the manufacturer is. he kept it from when he was in the army in the 50s, so its pretty old. ive shot it a few times, but yeah the ammo is expensive. its just a collector item for me now, i have it in a safe. its actually the only rifle i own.
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Make sure to clean and oil it every now and again.
 
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