I'm a Garand pusher

[Citadel99]

Just try it once--the first time's free...

Went to the range yesterday with my deer rifle, 10-22, and IHC M1. As usual, a few people came over and started conversations about the Garand. As usual, there's a guy who's never shot one before. So I let him load a clip and blast off 8 rounds--ping. He's hooked. It seems this happens everytime I go to the range--I let somebody put some rounds through it and they're addicted. But, you know, I just don't feel guilty one damn bit about starting and feeding somebody's Garand obsession.

Mark

 

[4DIR]

There's something distinctly American and nostalgic about those rifles. They bring back memories of a time when baseball was the national sport, when men were men and women were women and when Americans were seen by the rest of the world as the good guys on the block. They are a tangable link to days gone by.
They touch a part of us that the plastic guns cannot reach.
.............I have often wondered what those old vets who used the garand in combat could show us about the true firepower capabilities of the garand, if they had their young hands back. Nothing like a Chinese human wave to teach you how to reload FAST!

 

[biere]

Someone recently did that to me and other than my not being used to the sights I liked it.

Nice rifle and most certainly the history factor is what I liked best about it.

 

[swampyMO]

Two & a half years ago I'd never fired a Garand.

Started shooting at our local, newly formed, CMP club with my AR just so I could buy a single M1 before the price jumped from $400 to $500 on June 1 of '00. Wanted a Garand because of the history of it. When I went to that first match I had no idea that not only would I become hooked by the sport of highpower, but by the Garand itself.

Got the first Garand I ordered from CMP on Sept. 1 of 2000. I wuz' immediately entranced by this weapon... Started shooting all the local club "shorty" matches with the M1. Two matches each year are JCG matches. So far I've shot in 5 JCG Matches. I've won 3, took second place in another.

Now I own.... let's just say "in excess of two" Garands and leave it at that. Some USGI Service Grade, some Dane return, and one built up into a "full bore" National Match Grade. Can't seem to get enough.... Love'em.

I'm now shooting X-course several times each Summer and about 12-14 "shorty" courses between April and November. Most all of them are shot with the M1. Service Grade in the "shorts", the Match Grade in the X-course. I only shot the AR in 3-4 matches all year.

That CMP qualifier that I went to in May of '00 was the most expensive shooting event I've ever attended......

Garands forever,
Swampy

 

[KSFreeman]

Good. The more of them "out there" the more President Hillary can't throw in the crusher.

 

[DMK]

blast off 8 rounds--ping. He's hooked

Same thing happened to me. A guy next to me was shooting a Carbine so I struck up a conversation about it and he let me shoot a mag. Cool guy, Nice rifle!

Next he told me "I've got a Garand over here. Wanna..." Me: "Yep!"

Ping! I was hooked. I even saved the targets.

I'm working through the CMP paperwork now.

 

[cratz2]

Yep... the first day I ever fired a Garand was also the first day I ever fired a 10.5" barrel Thompson. A memorable day, to be sure.

 

[Duke of Lawnchair]

Garand...

...was the first rifle I ever shot. The Garand is what got me hooked. Like others have said, as American as apple pie. That Canadian sure knew what apple pie tastes like and implemented it into his rifle, or else he wouldn't have worked for Springfield Armory.

 

[HKguy9]

Ban Garands. They are gateway rifles.

 

[Jimmy Mac]

I read that once a good shooter fired 55 rounds in one minute and kept them all in the scoring rings of a 200 yard highpower target with a Garand.

 

[Southla1]

Gateway rifle?

 

[cratz2]

Gateway rifle?

You know... first it's just one Garand. One Garand won't hurt... Then along comes an M1 Carbine. Then you'll move to first one bolt action, then another. Then you realize that you should get an AR. Then maybe AKs are nice too so you get a couple. Then you start doing the whole military surplus thing. Next thing...

YOU ARE HOOKED!!!

 

[CZ Gunner]

... like a "gateway drug" you mean?

 

[Southla1]

Ok like opening the gates huh? Hell any one gun can do that to me.............actually I was born with that disease!

 

[CGofMP]

Garands.... yes.. an addiction to be sure.

In 1999 I decided I wanted to save but ONE of these old warhorses from "Captain Crunch" the nickname of the machine that so many unused military weapons were going into.

The prospect of Gore / Clinton eviscerating the entire stock of them with but a stroke of the pen was a real and serious possibility then.

Well one thing led to another, my father got a Garand, then each of us got a CMP Mossberg .22, .... and then a pair of 1903's...

Yes it is definitely an addiction... Not only that but CMP Garand owners are somehting of a fraternity... Never met more helpful folks in my life.

This was evidenced in my own experience as well because not long after I got my first M1 I decided to show off some pictures of it on another board... that led to a small web page... then to a webpage showing how to do this or that when asked... and finally culminated in the "M1 Newbie Site" which had hundreds of pages on field stripping nomenclature, assembly, and accessories on it.... Later the CMP had us convert most of the site for them and now most of the Newbie site is CMP property... pretty cool.


Yea the Garand... it IS a gateway rifle!
Pick one up and soon you'll be thinking of little else...

hehehe
Charles

http://www.memorableplaces.com/m1garand/

 

[Citadel99]

Charles,

I sent you an email yesterday--here it is again. THANKS FOR YOUR WORK ON YOUR WEB SITE. I knocked off the bullet guide while cleaning my Garand and wasn't sure how to detail strip the feeding assembly. It was a breeze thanks to your guide. For those of you who haven't seen it, go to http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/

Thanks again Charles--you da man. Keep feeding that addiction!

Mark

 

[Dave P]

Garanditis

I shot my first garand a few weeks ago. Hadn't had much interest until then, don't know why ... but it sure felt right! So I bought a real nice used one, and got another on order from CMP. First JCG match coming up on Sat.

Where will it end???

 

[CGofMP]

Mark/Citadel99

Thanks for the kind words. I really do appreciate them. I wrote you back. If you did not get a reply please resend your email and I will reply again.

It is really quite interesting to watch the interest in Garands take off the way it has... I do not pretend to know how to explain it but it really is pretty darn neat.

 

[1911Fencer]

Garanditis has bitten me. I am a little more of a 'purist' you may call it. I don't call it a 'Garand', I call it an M1. MY M1. I only have one now, but it's just the beginning.

I've put another barrel on it, and I'm working on an aftermarket stock (this one is a shooter, not a historical rifle) that should look good. A TIGHT beretta barrel and a replacement rear site, and replacement op rod for the short stroking problem I got after I replaced the barrel.

I have plans for at least another two. One will be fitted with a nice 7.62 barrel, NM sights, and probably a maple stock from DGR. One more to leave as original as possible.

They are addictive.

Nothing feels as good in my hands, and against my shoulder as an M1. No other rifle is as beautiful, IMHO as the M1.

This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

 

[hagar]

I have never shot an M1 until this year. I started highpower shooting about 2 1/2 years ago, and every now and then I would get squadded with an M1 shooter. There scores never really impressed me, but the rifle sure did, and I ended up buying on impulse one of the new Springfield Armory rifles with a Breda receiver for $800. Saw the rifle in a gunstore, and plinked down the mastercard. Best buy I have ever made, won a bronze medal at Camp Perry with it, and the last 2 Garand matches I shot in. What impresses me is that I can shoot about the same scores with the M1 in offhand and rapid sitting that I can with my 16 pound CLE DCM rifle. You have to try a little harder, but it's a sweet rifle to shoot. The FN-FAL is my first love, it was my service rifle, but I HATE shooting it prone. The M1 is a *****cat compared to it. My next buy is going to be a 308 M1!