CMP m1 garand in 308

[SurplusShooter]

You don't have to go to the store in-person, you can send in your paperwork buy one thru mail-order (assuming your State allows it).
I used to go to the store about 3 times per year. Lately I just stopped going: there were no service-grades on the racks so I couldn't pick one. and if you are going to buy a Service Grade _Special_ , all the SGS's are in perfect condition anyways so no point in hand-selecting IMO, I'd rather let FedEx do the driving for me.

A .308 Garand would be nice if I had other .308's for ammo commonality. As it is, I just run all 30-06's.
The 30-06 "ammo compatibility" issue is much overblown. Just get yourself an Adjustable Gas Plug then you can run whatever 30-06 ammo you want. It amazes me that people get wrapped-up on the "Commercial ammo will damage your OP-rod" idea, when a $30 part fixed the issue for you.

For a Match rifle, the general consensus is a .308 Garand is more accurate than a 30-06 due to various factors (eg un-used case capacity, etc, even if they do fire the same projectile ). However check your match rules to see if a .308 Garand would be allowed, or would go into a different division, from the 30-06 Garands.

[decodeddiesel]

The 30-06 "ammo compatibility" issue is much overblown. Just get yourself an Adjustable Gas Plug then you can run whatever 30-06 ammo you want. It amazes me that people get wrapped-up on the "Commercial ammo will damage your OP-rod" idea, when a $30 part fixed the issue for you.

I'll admit ignorance to this. I'm not a Garand guy, just known a number of people who had them, and shot some back in high school in matches. Back then it was the hot button issue. Foolish of me to continue to accept this old wisdom as knowledge. Appreciate the info.

[meausoc]

Service Grade is probably the way to go. I bought a Field Grade and it was $100 cheaper, plus you cannot get the Field Grades by mail order now. They are sold out. I guess that I will order a service grade, it looks like affordable Garands will be drying up.

[SurplusShooter]

Well, M1 Garands are always "drying up" been saying that for years now, one day it will happen sooner or later. (E.g M1 Carbines dried-up).
For a service grade, just understand I have bought several thru mail-order and really you could get something from "weathered" and "well used" to "what happened here"? Not as bad as Field grade but just be aware it's the luck of the draw.
If you want something that "looks perfect" , check out the "Service Grade Specials". Metal parts are excellent and the stocks are new CMP marked stocks. Infact I think those are more appealing to get now, while they are available since they are in such good condition. Beat-up service grades will be around longer as we go down the bottom of the barrel, but the higher-quality ones IMO seem to disappear sooner.

Picture time:


I have a full set of 4 all makes (Springfield, H&R, Winchester, International Harvester) but here is something you don't see often:

(Danish Beretta M1 Garand)

[Slvr Surfr]

I love my M1 Garand. I wish I had bought mine from the CMP. At least I know it would have run from the get go. I'm not upset that I got to get more intimate with my M1 to get it to run right. It's the only weapon that I had to purchase a micrometer to measure all the parts....

After it was all said and done, I only needed to replace the gas cylinder to get her running like a sewing machine.

Once you hear the Ping you'll never regret it. I have fired surplus and commercial "Garand" specific ammo with zero issues.

[ralph]

Anybody wanting a Garand, should go over to the CMP's website, and click on the" forums" tag...From what I've read, the racks at north store at least, are pretty empty, unless you want a M1-d or M1-c, not much of anything else.. they do have ammo. It seems that the CMP is way behind on mail orders, and as a result, they are sending little to the stores. I did read over there that Orest (CMP's CEO) said no service, field grades, in the stores until after the matches in August.. While Orest stated in another post that they (CMP) had plenty of crates left of Garands to open up, what they've been finding is a lot of pretty worn rifles, a lot of which are used for building the "CMP Specials" basically a reparked, rebuilt, restocked rifle, with a commercial barrel, and a Boyd stock.. I did read today, that they will have some I-H Garands as well as some more HRA's sometime in the near future...Something to keep your eyes peeled for. Anyway I do believe they are getting down to the bottom of the barrel.. It wasn't that long ago that the North store was open 5days a week, now they are open 3... The CMP's still the best game in town for a Garand, and when the SG's, and FG's, become available again, those wanting one better move quick.

[jwdeeming]

I'd like to have one of each...

[meausoc]

M1 GARAND PRICE INCREASES - Effective 7 August, 2014 the price of the Springfield Armory and Harrington & Richardson Service Grade M1 is increased to $695. The price of the Springfield Armory and Harrington & Richardson Field Grade M1 is increased to $595. Orders currently on hand or received prior to 7 August will be charged the prices in effect prior to this increase. Visit

http://www.thecmp.org/Sales/m1garand.htm for more information.

[rojocorsa]

BTW,

Where do I find a gas cylinder for mine? Mine is on its way out, I got a really old one on mine.

[sinister]

I have two H&R Korean War era rifles, one in 30-06 and one in 7.62.

I got the 7.62 gun this summer at Perry, and it is one of the CMP Specials, re-built with a new Krieger criterion and new CMP wood. They are drop-dead gorgeous and a good deal at $995.

There was tons of US 30-06 in sealed cans for sale.

Either -06 or 7.62 are good deals, the 7.62 if you load your own (you'll have access to brass for a few lifetimes yet).

The CMP has around 98,000 M1 rifles left -- once they're gone, they're gone. I can remember USGI M1911A1s for sale at gun shows back in the 80s for around $300. A genuine GI gun today will average between $900 and 1200 for an average weapon.