M1 Garand - Originals vs. Reproductions, and Prices

[Rich Miranda]

I was looking at some M1s today for the first time. What if any are the primary differences between the original and reproductions? (I'm assuming there are reproductions). Are they a good range rifle for a rifle newbie? What should I expect to pay for a decent example? Anything I should know about them?

Thanks in advance for the info.

 

[Swampy1]

TR,

A pretty broad question.....

Repro M1's are no longer being made but are still available. Made off of a cast commercial receiver by SA Inc. (Commercial company), commercial barrel, commercial wood. All other parts are used and re-finished GI parts made both in the US and in Italy. Good quality, but not original.

Original USGI rifles are still available in several grades from the CMP. Go here: http://www.odcmp.com for full details on how to qualify and order.

The CMP is a Class act and hard to follow. Their customer service is the standard by which all other should be judged.

If you want a good shooter, the "Service Grade" is your best chance at a barrel with lots of remaining life at least expenditure. They run about 6 bills right now.

I have bought NUMEROUS M1 rifles from the CMP over the years in all grades and never been disappointed.

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever
2007 NRA Missouri State 600 yard Service Rifle Champion... with an M1

 

[P99AS9]

I have an original M1 and I love it just for its history. It helped us win WWII, what else can I say.

Here are some drawbacks:

-It's the heaviest gun i've ever held
-It can't reload during the middle of a clip
-Ammo is expensive
-Most indoor ranges don't let you use them because they are too powerful
-It has a metal buttplate that hurts your shoulder
-and its worst drawback, the recoil. The recoil on these guns are relentless, and to answer your question, no, it is not a good first gun for a newbie.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great gun and has many good things about it too, but I just want to warn you before you buy one.

I got mine from CMP for $900 and if you want one is excellent condition, I suggest you buy a more expensive one. You can get them as low as $650, but they are in bad to fair condition.

Good Luck,
P99AS9

 

[Rich Miranda]

Wow, thanks a lot guys. I have more than enough info to chew on for a while.

Yes, the historical value of the gun appeals to me very much. I look forward to owning one. Thanks again!

 

[P99AS9]

No problem

 

[David the Gnome]

If you think recoil in the M1 Garand is relentless then you should never shoot a Mosin Nagant or a Mauser, they might break you. I think the Garand is a pretty soft recoiling gun compared to the other military small arms of the era. The semi-auto mechanicals absorb a lot of the recoil. With those old bolt actions it's all up to your shoulder to bear the burden.

 

[support_six]

My experience is closer to Swampy's than P99AS9.

I've purchased twelve from the CMP (and I finally think I'm done!). I've restored several myself, sent a couple off for a very professional restoration (reparkerizing, new barrels, new stocks, etc.), and left some "as is". Your question about a range gun depends on your access to a range and the rules at that range. You should probably visit a couple of ranges in your area and see what is fired and what the rules are.

Ammo is very cheap, if purchased as milsurp from the CMP – less than .30 a round shipped! You can do a whole lot of shootin' at that price. That's much cheaper than even milsurp 5.56mm! Only .22lr seems to be cheaper, at least in my small stable of firearms.

My M1 kicks a lot less than my Ruger M77 bolt action rifle in .30-06. In fact, my wife (who only allows me to take her shooting once every 33 years), prefers shooting my M1s to my AR15s! It isn't a recoil issue with her, she just likes the look and feel of wood over plastic! ...but again, the recoil of the M1 doesn't bother her.

I suppose the reproduction M1s can be fine rifles but for the price, one can have an authentic piece of military history, or maybe two pieces of military history!

Anyway, look into the CMP and I think you'll be happier.

 

[Swampy1]

P99AS9 wrote:

-It's the heaviest gun i've ever held
-It can't reload during the middle of a clip
-Ammo is expensive
-Most indoor ranges don't let you use them because they are too powerful
-It has a metal buttplate that hurts your shoulder
-and its worst drawback, the recoil. The recoil on these guns are relentless, and to answer your question, no, it is not a good first gun for a newbie.

I have to take exception to most of the above....

Re weight: Yes, it's a bit heavy, but no more so than any other battle rifle with similar firepower. Pick up a loaded M14 or FAL someday and see.... and a scoped M14 or "SUITed" FAL.... forget it.

Re mid-clip reload: Really?? I've done it numerous times. Why can't you??

Ammo expense: M2 ball @ 25 cents a round from the CMP is HALF what 7.62 Nato is going for at just about any supplier you care to name.

Re indoor ranges: So if these indoor ranges won't let you shoot a 30-06... will they let you shoot a .308, .303 British, 7.62x54 Nagant or other full power cartridge?? If not, then what's your point? If you have to go some place else in order to shoot anything but a pistol cartridge or .22 then I'm not sure what you mean. Sorry, but I don't get it....

Re buttplate hurting the shoulder: Either you have something wrong with the internals of your shoulder, or you have something seriously wrong with the way you are holding and shooting the rifle. The M1 buttplate is better suited to comfortable shooting than any other military rifle I've ever fired.... MUCH better than either the Mauser, Nagant, or '03.

Re recoil: You are kidding... right?? The M1 rifle is a *****CAT compared to any other comparably powered rifle. The long recoil direct impingement gas system attenuates the recoil to a very large extent. I get less felt recoil from the M1 than from any other 30 cal rifle I've ever fired...... and I own and shoot (or have shot) 8mm Mausers, .303 British, 7.62 Nato, 7.62x54 Nagant, etc..... The old turnbolt rifles have a MUCH heavier felt recoil than the M1. I even experience less felt recoil from an M1 than from my Ruger M77 Varmint weight in .243.

Just about any 8mm Mauser is brutal in comparison to the M1... especially over a long period of shooting. If I shoot 20 rounds of 8mm from a Mauser or M2 from an '03 I'm generally done for the day and want to do something else. I can and have MANY times fired 200 rounds from an M1 and still been ready for more......

Even though the actual recoil from the 7.62 Nato cartridge is less than from M2 ball, the recoil pulse from an M14 feels "sharper" than does the recoil of the M1 rifle.... same goes for the FAL, even with the gas valve turned to best position.

Just my 2 bits on that....

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever
2007 NRA Missouri State 600 yard Service Rifle Champion... with an M1

 

[30Cal]

If I was going to recommend a first rifle, I'd say get a .22LR. It doesn't hurt to build sound fundamentals (cheaply) before you bring a fair amount of recoil into the scene. An M1 should be your second. +1 on the CMP. Surplus 30-06 is fairly inexpensive as far as real rifle calibers go. It's got a fair amount of recoil (40rds comfortably in normal summer clothing). Weight is a good thing on a rifle that has recoil.

 

[STAGE 2]

+1 to what others have said about the recoil. Its not non-existent, but compared to the 03, k98 and enfield, its much less.

 

[Nar3]

Max Recoil

since recoil of the various battle rifles has been mentioned, have shot all of the above but for my money the worst felt recoil is from the Styer M.95 in 8x56r. 200+grain bullet at a good clip from a bolt action short (very) rifle. Every collector should have one they are neat but the do remind you to hold it CORRECTLY every time.

 

[50 shooter]

So what do you guys think an SA Garand with all the numbers matching and in near mint condition be worth? A dealer that I know said he would let me have it for 1K being that we're friends.

From looking around a little it seems like it's a good deal but I want to see the rifle first.

 

[OnTheFly]

CMP sells correct grade and collector's grade from $950 and up, so I would think if it meets the "correct grade" criteria listed on their website, then it would be a okay price. However, if it meets the criteria listed for "collector's grade" then it would be a GREAT price.

Fly

 

[Swampy1]

So what do you guys think an SA Garand with all the numbers matching and in near mint condition be worth?

Define "matching numbers"....

There is a LOT more to determining whether an M1 has "matching numbers" or "correct parts" than meets the uninitiated eye. Just becaue everything you see may have "SA" stamped on it does NOT mean that it's "matching".

Whats the serial number?? Also, what's the numbers, month and date on the barrel?? Drawing and revisions on bolt, op-rod saddle, trigger housing, hammer, safety, BOTH rear sight knobs, etc..... What's the markings on the buttstock?? Many other parts can only be ID'd by subtle manufacturing differences as they have no markings.

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever
2007 NRA Missouri State 600 yard Service Rifle Champion.... with an M1

 

[ISC]

for my money the worst felt recoil is from the Styer M.95 in 8x56r.

I agree, the M44 is second worst recoil. 50 rounds from either of those and you'll feel it unless you shoot ALOT.

The Garand doesn't come close.

 

[Unclenick]

The information necessary has mostly been given out. I'll just address here the reloading in mid-clip. It is one of the topics that was hotly debated during the Garand's development when a choice had to be made between a design for en-bloc clips or one for a detachable magazines. Box magazines were rejected at the outset because of the slower speed of reloading from stripper clips. The military ultimately made the mistake, corrected in the M14, of rejecting the detachable magazine. They believed the fact the latter needed a magazine in place to have a follower available for easier single-loading was a problem. It meant the gun's battle value would be reduced if the magazine was lost. If you've single-loaded an M14, you know you have to manipulate the cartridge into the chamber, and the military didn't like that idea at the time.

But if they thought single-loading without a follower was slow, they should have tried topping up an en-block clip in-situ. Swampy1 is the first person I have ever heard of claiming to do it, unless or I misunderstood his response or he misunderstood PSA99AS9's comment? Talk about awkward to impossible, not to mention the risk of getting M1 thumb with every round loaded. No soldier ever bothered to try, AFAIK. Every time a soldier wanted his magazine full, he just ejected the clip and its unspent rounds, and put in a full clip. The battlefields wound up littered with millions of unfired rounds. The waste was huge, and nobody wanted to hang around wiping off rounds and re-loading en-block clips. By the time the M14 came along, the waste problem and the need for more magazine capacity for full-auto mode overwhelmed the en-block clip, and it was relegated to Garand history.

 

[gandog56]

since recoil of the various battle rifles has been mentioned, have shot all of the above but for my money the worst felt recoil is from the Styer M.95 in 8x56r. 200+grain bullet at a good clip from a bolt action short (very) rifle. Every collector should have one they are neat but the do remind you to hold it CORRECTLY every time.

Oh great. My shoulder is still sore from last Monday shooting my Mosins, and I just ordered a Steyr on sale from SOG!

Isn't having a C&R FUN?

 

[50 shooter]

I have yet to see the Garand, he was back at the east coast SAR show. Once I get a chance to see it then I'll know more about the rifle, from the way he's talking it up it sounds good. Plus another friend saw it and said he would've bought it on the spot if he had 1K in his pocket.

 

[Swampy1]

Plus another friend saw it and said he would've bought it on the spot if he had 1K in his pocket.

I'd have to question whether this friend really understands how to evaluate an M1. There is a lot more involved than just how it looks, how new it looks, etc......

Just because it "looks new" don't make it worth anywhere near $1k. In point of fact, "looking new" may be a result of metal re-finishing, which may possibly cause it to otherwise be worth less than if it had been left alone.

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever
2007 NRA Missouri State 600 yard Service Rifle Champion.... with an M1

 

[MythBuster]

I have seen Bluy Sky imports that "looked new". They were worth about what the market value of the receiver was.