...of course not! But then, as my friend Eric said, I do know a little bit more about the M1 than he does. So off we went ot look at an M1 in a more-or-less local gun shop. (OK, OK, it's twenty miles away!)
Anyway, 'twas a 1944-vintage SA on consignment. Mike, the shop owner was nice enough to let me break the rifle down -- three major groups, only -- and I discovered the following: 1961 SA rebuild with many spanny-new parts, new Marlin barrel -- the blued variety -- with MW=0 TE=1.0 and no muzzle dings, post-war SA bolt, relief-cut post-war SA vintage op rod, and lots and lotas and lots of reparkerized metal. Parkerizing was the light grey variety, and didn't go with the receiver finish at all. SA-over-R stock cartouche, which is right for the original 1944 production according to Duff; stock was an extremely tight fit, too. Timing was good too, if maybe just a tad late using a timing block/guage.
Then I looked at the price tag: $1100 -- firm price, according to Mike. And no clips, no sling, no cleaning kit, but an M8A1 bayonet. Um... yeah... right.
Well, I told my friend that it might be a good shooter, but that the price was more than just a little high for what is essentially a parts gun. Eric and Mike both agreed that $700 might be fair, but eleven hundred iron men was way too much, for this rifle, anyway. Mike said he'll most likely end up selling it to somebody who just has to have a Garand right now. (I think that's what happened to the present owner.)
So, that was today's Garand adventure. And when I get SAmantha, my SA woodless Dane up-and-shooting properly, I'll post some more about her!
Cheers,
Ben
Nice story.
I also think the gun is to expencive.
As I read prices in the CMP(??) are much lower for a shooter and more to this price for a "collectable"!
(Although prices in Europe are more like $ 1200 for a nice one, not everything number equal!)
Rob
Last edited by M1D-Garand; 09-04-2006 at 08:42 AM.
Hi, Rob...
Well, the rifle Eric and I looked at would -- maybe -- qualify as a Civilian Marksmanship Program "Service Grade;" CMP price: $550 in the Summer 2006 catalog. $1100 for that particular rifle is way out of line. The only reason I went as high as $700 was for the stock and handguards: no major dings, apparently correct for the receiver, and a very tight fit on the receiver. Oh, sure, it will sell... to the man who just has to have an M1, and has to have it right now. But I'm not that man, and neither is Eric.
That said, the CMP is the way to go if you're a US citizen and want to save some money. Yes, one may spend a fair amount on refurbishing a CMP rifle, but that's part of the fun -- especially if you're a shooter, as opposed to a collector.
There are other suppliers, of course, and some of them are quite good, indeed. A decent shooting-grade M1 may be had for, say, $800. The advantage here is that one is buying from a recognized dealer, with the advantage of a guarantee of servicability. I think that's the way Eric is going to go: buy a complete rebuild from a recognized civilian armorer/gunsmith. (That's what I advised him to do, anyway. [grin])
Cheers,
Ben
Last edited by Ben Hartley; 09-04-2006 at 09:47 AM.
Reason: formatting
If the parts have good matching color, the correct stock, most parts of the era of the receiver, and a good barrel (TE > 5; MW > 4) then the price of $1,200.00 would be reasonable in CA. In the condition described, $700.00 is a stretch, and $550.00 to $650.00 is more reasonable. It doesn't sound near as good as the DCM/CMP M1 Garands that I got in the past for a whole lot less money!
