Garands

Ah, this is the type of news article that’s going to piss a lot of people off because of the dearth of specifics on when exactly the shoe will drop.  So, my apologies in advance. But yes, I know, I desperately want one too — we all want one before they’re all sold out. Anyways, here’s [...]

During World War II, the Ordnance Department granted a number of developmental contracts for various types of weapons. These weapons were given a “T” (Test) prefix and were intended either to modify the existing M1 rifle to increase its utility or were an entirely different type of weapon that might prove to be an improvement over the Garand.

In our side by side test the M1 Garand was more accurate, under about 3 inches at 100 yards with Hornady ammo, against 5 to 6 inches for the 1943 SVT-40 with current ammo. The SVT is lighter and uses a 10 round detachable magazine; the Garand uses an 8 round en bloc clip and [...]

The M1C and M1D are both sniper versions of the M1 Garand, but they mount the scope in completely different ways. The M1C uses a Griffin & Howe side mount on a drilled receiver with a removable sliding ring bar. The M1D uses a one piece mount that clamps to a sleeve on the barrel [...]

Somehow, in preparation for the first article in this series on ordering M1 Garand rifles from the Civilian Marksmanship Program, we missed the least expensive of the bunch. They are called “Field Grade” Garands, and at $525 (plus $24.95 S&H), they seem to be a great buy. We ordered both the Springfield Armory and Harrington & Richardson (HRA) versions of these guns, and the Winchester is no longer available. Of all the Garands we have ordered from CMP so far, if you are looking for a Garand to just shoot and enjoy, you can’t do any better for the money than these field grade guns. Look around in gunshops and online and you will be hard pressed to find a nice looking and shooting Garand for under $600. Even at live auctions these days more Garands go for upwards of a thousand bucks. These “cheapest Garands” are a real find, and you order them directly from the CMP, just as we described in the first installment of this series. Our guns came in less than three weeks, each with its own hard plastic CMP case, and certification paperwork. Who knows when these guns will dry up, so if you are thinking long, heavy boxes under your Christmas tree this year, now would be the time to order.

In the first installment of this series, if you missed it, I ordered six M1 Garands from the Civilian Marksmanship Program, or CMP. The premise is that now is the time to buy this historical treasures, before they dry up and get really expensive, like the 1903 Springfield has since it dried up through the CMP. There are a few details I have learned since that first article, partially from a post on the CMP forum. I wish the members had commented on our article, which was read over 45,000 times the first day it was out. So we will correct a couple things, and lets go shoot the guns!

Did you wish you bought real estate in 1999? What about gold in 2001? Well the same thing is happening right now with the rifle known as the M1 Garand, the primary battle rifle of the US throughout both WWII and Korea. On the consumer market Garands have already begun to rise in price, but what many people don’t know is that the US Government, or rather a quasi-governmental non-profit corporation who took it over from the US Army in 1996 called the Civilian Marksmanship Program, or CMP, is currently selling off what are probably the last batch of government Garands to the public. All you have to do is apply, supply the required documents, pay, and you can have a certified authentic M1 Garand shipped right to your door, in most states.