M1 Sales
M1 Sales
“What year did the Garand become available to the general public?”
That is the question that was asked. That is not an easy question to answer. The first time the M1 was available for sale to civilians, by the Army, was an announcement in the “American Rifleman” for October of 1955, though they may have been available and the 1954 National Matches. However, they were not available to the “general public” as you were required to be “NRA members who are enrolled with the Director of Civilian Marksmanship.” I do not believe that the DCM ever sold to the ‘general public’ as the purpose of these DCM sales was to advance the cause of civilian marksmanship. It was not intended to supply the collector or the gunsmith for ‘bubbering’ into a sporting rifle. When I purchased my M1NM in 1962, all correspondence was through the ARMY not the DCM (though the DCM was an army function). At that time and up into the 1970’s I believe that one was allowed to purchase “one in a lifetime”; though later it was determined that M1’s did wear out and competitors would be allowed to either exchange their present M1 or purchase another one. (Someone who knows the details please help me out here.) The last M1 that I purchased through the DCM was a “service grade” M1 and while the first letter was addressed to the DCM all subsequent correspondence was through the Department of the Army. I was required to submit (1) my NRA membership card, (2) High Power Competition classification card, and my membership card in a DCM affiliated club. To the best of my knowledge, the M1 (unlike the M1903, M03A3, M1917, M1 carbine) was never declared “surplus” while the DCM controlled the sales and distributions
Sometime in the 1950 – 1960 time frame, some dealers got a supply of M1’s from a source that I never determined and sold to the general public. This created a lot of”hate and discontent” among NRA members who had to wait months to receive their M1’s. There was quite a lot of discussion in the “American Rifleman” and some discussion about the legal ownership of these firearms. It was published that M1’s that had been furnished to our allies in WWII could be sold by the receiving country to bolster its post-war economy. Note; this does not include the “Lend-Lease” M1’s - or initially it did not though this may have change later.
After the CMP was established the rules changed and since I have never purchased through the CMP, I have not followed the rules there so cannot speak to them
Here is an ad that appeared in the February 1960 edition of the American Rifleman
https://imgur.com/5YDVwOq
FWIW
M1 Sales
“What year did the Garand become available to the general public?”
That is the question that was asked. That is not an easy question to answer. The first time the M1 was available for sale to civilians, by the Army, was an announcement in the “American Rifleman” for October of 1955, though they may have been available and the 1954 National Matches. However, they were not available to the “general public” as you were required to be “NRA members who are enrolled with the Director of Civilian Marksmanship.” I do not believe that the DCM ever sold to the ‘general public’ as the purpose of these DCM sales was to advance the cause of civilian marksmanship. It was not intended to supply the collector or the gunsmith for ‘bubbering’ into a sporting rifle. When I purchased my M1NM in 1962, all correspondence was through the ARMY not the DCM (though the DCM was an army function). At that time and up into the 1970’s I believe that one was allowed to purchase “one in a lifetime”; though later it was determined that M1’s did wear out and competitors would be allowed to either exchange their present M1 or purchase another one. (Someone who knows the details please help me out here.) The last M1 that I purchased through the DCM was a “service grade” M1 and while the first letter was addressed to the DCM all subsequent correspondence was through the Department of the Army. I was required to submit (1) my NRA membership card, (2) High Power Competition classification card, and my membership card in a DCM affiliated club. To the best of my knowledge, the M1 (unlike the M1903, M03A3, M1917, M1 carbine) was never declared “surplus” while the DCM controlled the sales and distributions
Sometime in the 1950 – 1960 time frame, some dealers got a supply of M1’s from a source that I never determined and sold to the general public. This created a lot of”hate and discontent” among NRA members who had to wait months to receive their M1’s. There was quite a lot of discussion in the “American Rifleman” and some discussion about the legal ownership of these firearms. It was published that M1’s that had been furnished to our allies in WWII could be sold by the receiving country to bolster its post-war economy. Note; this does not include the “Lend-Lease” M1’s - or initially it did not though this may have change later.
After the CMP was established the rules changed and since I have never purchased through the CMP, I have not followed the rules there so cannot speak to them
Here is an ad that appeared in the February 1960 edition of the American Rifleman
https://imgur.com/5YDVwOq
FWIW
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