M1 Garand

Summary:
Model: M1 Garand
Manufacturer: Springfield Armory (1944)
Caliber: 30-06
Action: Semi auto, gas operated rotating bolt
Capacity: 8 shot, en block, clip (you can actually call this a clip. It is actually a clip and not a magazine)
Purchase price: 495 (service grade) +shipping
Condition: Very good, excellent

Ratings (1-5)
Value: 5
Fit and Finish: 4 (much better then you might expect from a 66 year old weapon)
Feel in hand: 4
Accuracy: 4
Trigger: 3 (two stage, mildly heavy, with a clean break)
Sights: 5 (rear mounted adjustable peep sight)
Modifications: None, refinished
Recommend purchase: Buy one as soon as possible (before price goes even higher)
Where to buy: Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP)
http://www.thecmp.org/m1garand.htm



Motivation for purchase:
A few years back I bought a LCD video projector (Epson) and a surround sound speaker system (Denon). I was then able to project movies onto a 12 foot wall in my living room. With the surround sound system and the huge screen it was like being in a movie theater. The first movie I bought was Saving Private Ryan. With sound turned up and the bass booming the beach landing scene was incredible.

This alone sparked my interest in the Garand. So I did a little research and found that I could buy a new one from Springfield Armory. At the time you could buy a new Garand for about $1200.00. http://www.springfield-armory.com/ar...icktype=rifles
(However since then they have discontinued the M1 line. )

Well the price pretty much ended my interest getting a Garand. I would have to be content with the Enfield SMLE .308 Ishapore. Then one day I happened upon a thread at GlockTalk.com. Some one mentioned that the CMP had Garands back in stock and that suggested that we all buy one before they ran out.

I had no idea what the CMP was. However with a little research I found out that the CMP is a U.S. government-chartered program that promotes firearms safety training and rifle practice for all Americans. It was originally founded to ensure that the American Citizenry was familiar with practical arms usage. One of the ways that they do this is by selling surplus arms to Americans.

After WWII we loaned the majority of our Garands to the Greek Army to use. However eventually the Greeks returned them to us. Congress transferred the surplus Garands to the CMP. The cmp now had thousands of Garands to sell. I was surprised to see that I could purchase a service grade M1 Garand was only $495.00. I called the CMP and found how to purchase a rifle from them.

I filled out the paperwork necessary and faxed it all to the CMP. The next day I called the CMP and ordered the rifle. The web page indicated I might have to wait 6-8 weeks. I settled in for my long wait by busying myself with doing research about the history of the M1, downloading a manual, ordering ammo etc.

About 10 days later a Fed-Ex truck pulled up. He had a long package, I had no idea what it was so I figured it was for my wife and left it for her to open after dinner. When she got home I told her that a box had arrived for her. She thought I had planned a surprise gift. There was a little bit of confusion and a pretty good laugh after she opened the box to find a M1 Garand. I convinced her the rifle was for me.

I want to stress this point. When you order a Garand from the CMP it is delivered to your home. Not to a FFL.

Purchasing from the CMP:
The weapons at the CMP have different grades.

Rack grade: (fair) $495

Field grade: (fair to good) $495

Service Grade: (good to very good) $595 (I paid 495 5 years ago)

Correct Grade: (very good to excellent) 1100

There are specific description of each of these grades here. (scroll to the bottom)
http://www.thecmp.org/m1garand.htm

However to buy from the CMP you must meet certain requirements.

1. Proof of U.S. Citizenship: I would hope so.

2. Proof of Age: At least 18 years old I would think.

3. Membership in CMP Affiliated Organization: Many rifle clubs are affiliated. Also included are military services National Guard, to include retirees, law enforcement organizations

4. Marksmanship or other Firearms Related Activity: Participation in marksmanship competitions or even a CCW permit.



First impression:
I was overwhelmed with how nice this rifle looked. Though there was a lot of cosmoline like grease and a heavy coat of varnish painted on. I cleaned the cosmoline off using a hair dryer and a lot of paper towels and paint thinner. All the wood matched in terms of color and grain. The parkerization was a uniform green color. The bore looked bright and shiny, with no visible pitting. During cleaning there was no evidence of rust. I looked at the dates on the rifle and they all came from the same mid 1944 era.

I read at some Garand historical research web page that serial numbers did not match on any rifled produced during the war. That was just not how they kept track of things.

The Good:
It was made in 1944. It could have seen service in WWII. That seems pretty cool. I have no idea if it was ever used in a conflict. But I still feel the weight of history when I hold it. However it seems to not have been used very much. The bore is damn near perfect. The metal finish is perfect. The sights on the Garand, in my mind, are the best iron sights on any rifle with out exception. Trigger guard is the cast metal variety (as opposed to the stamped metal version). The wood was in very good condtion, the colors and grain match with very few dings or dents.

The Bad:
I could not live with the nasty varnish. Although some will cringe when they hear this, I decided to strip off antique finish and oil the wood with boiled linseed oil. I am sure the purist would scold me for altering the original condition of the rifle. However I do not plan to sell it and the varnish was interfering with my enjoyment of the rifle.

The metal finish on the gas block is not as nicely parkerized as the rest of the rifle. The action sticks a little when you are attempting to charge the first round in a clip. To get it to go forward you must give it a slight smack with the palm of your hand. I was disappointed, but not surprised that the cleaning kit and grease was missing from the rear stock storage space. Also for those of you who put glass on every rifle the Garand may be a disappointment. There is no suitable way to mount optics on this rifle.

The Ugly:
The spring inside the Op-Rod was rusted so badly it broke. I called the CMP and they replaced both the spring and the rusted Op-Rod free of charge.



Refinishing:
To remove the dried nasty grease I used a hair dryer to soften it and then scrubbed it off using paint thinner and paper towels (wear gloves). To remove the old varnish I used Klean Strip and a rubber scrapper. I did this many times. Then I lightly sanded it with very fine sand paper and steel wool. I rinsed the wood with paint thinner between sanding. When the stock was clean and smooth I used Birchwood Casey walnut stain to get all the colors to match. Then I just put several coats of linseed oil on it.

When removing the stocks from the weapon be very careful when removing the “rear guard retaining clip”. If you are not careful you risk damaging the wood or scratching the metal. Fulton armory sells “Handguard clip pliers”

http://www.fulton-armory.com/MParts.htm 5/8 of the way down.
I found that I could use a pin spanner to remove the clip.

Manual of arms:
To fire the weapon you pull the action back. If the weapon is empty the action will lock in the rear position. While holding the action open with the blade of your right hand you stuff a clip of eight 30-06 rounds into the weapon using you thumb. This should cause the action to slam forward stripping and loading the first round. My Garand requires a slight tap on the action to get it to slam home (in the years since I bought it this issues has mostly self corrected.)

The sights consist of a peephole sight in the rear and a front blade that is adjustable to allow the rifle to be zeroed. The rear peep sight has a large knob on both the left and right. The knob on the right adjusts for windage and the knob on the left adjust for elevation. The knobs have a crisp click detent. They are clearly labeled and easy to use.

When the last round is fired the spent clip is ejected sharply and with a very satisfying ping. If you desire to interrupt your shooting before emptying the clip all that must be done is to rack the action back emptying the chamber and while holding the action back press a lever on the left side of the weapon and the remaining rounds and clip will be ejected.

Shooting:
My first experience shooting this rifle was at the Upper Nisqually Sportsman’s Club. I was at a concrete bench using a sand bags and a bench rest. I was having some trouble keeping the brass from ejecting into the head of the man at the bench next to me. I ended up empting out my Rubber-Made tub that I store my range gear in and used it as an Ad hoc brass catcher.

I reload and I covet my brass.

I am used to recoil of a .308 bolt action rifle. The 30-06 has a similar bullet to to the .308 but it fires at slightly higher velocities. Despite the greater energy of the 30-06 the recoil of the M1 Garand is comfortable. This is in part due to the gas operated bolt absorbing some of the energy.

The Garand has a 2 stage trigger. The first stage is about 1.4 kg, which then stacks to about 2.4 kg to a fairly sharp break. There is very little over travel. I found the trigger to be a little long and heavy. The first time shooting the M1 Garand I pulled and pulled, then I began to wonder if something was wrong. Just then the trigger broke and the weapon fired. Lets just say that it did surprise me. I am more used to the trigger now and I consider it to be pretty clean considering that this is a 60 year battle rifle.

I was shooting Greek surplus ammo. The ammunition is velocity fairly consistent (this based on my Beta Chrony) and accuracy is excellent. I was surprised to find that at 50 yards I could consistently get 1” to 2” groups. When I then started shooting out at 100 yards I was still able to get about 2-3 inch groups.

It is a very enjoyable rifle to shoot from the bench. However I was a little uncertain about shooting offhand. I will not report my offhand accuracy. I do not have good technique and any poor results are simply due my own inabilities. The felt recoil is even more mild when standing and follow up shots seems to settle back on target on their own accord.

I am happy to report that the Garand is a superbly balanced weapon. The Garand’s centered of mass is located were the weak hand supports the rifle. This balance reduces the effort needed to hold the rifle on target and makes it very easy to point and shoot.



Cleaning/field stripping:
The rifle is harder to clean then a FAL but easier to clean then an AR15. To really do a good job of cleaning and lubricating the weapon it is necessary disassemble much of the rifle.

Start by swinging the trigger guard forward. This allows the trigger assembly to be removed from the weapon. The stock can then be removed from the receiver. These can be set aside.

The OP-rod spring and guide are removed then the bolt and the OP-rod can be removed. To remove gas plug a titan sized Phillips head screwdriver or a massive Thompson blade is needed. I would suggest that you do not unscrew the gas block. My gas block is very tightly screwed on and I just assume not mess with it if I can avoid it. Besides once you remove the gas plug it is possible to clean it easily.

After all of this is taken apart you get to start cleaning. This part of the job is much like any other rifle. There seems to be no major carbon build up areas and it is al fairly easy to clean. My chief complaint with cleaning this rifle is there is no suitable way to run the cleaning rod from the chamber end. You pretty much have to run the rod in from the muzzle. I ended up using a rod guide/crown protector.

I clean the barrel using my standard cleaning technique, then oil the metal down with Militech-1 and oil the wood with linseed oil.


Conclusion:
This is a very high quality Mil-Surplus rifle. It is a pleasure to shoot and is very accurate. For the price it cannot be beat, at all. In fact if you wanted to turn around and sell a CMP M1 Garand at a gun show you could easily double your money. However I would never part with mine. It is durable, accurate, field proven, and hard hitting.

You may be tempted to think that 8 rounds in the M1 Garand is insufficient. I would contend however that the en block clip is surprising efficient. It is very fast and easy to reload the Garand using the clips.

When you buy a M1 Garand from the CMP you are supporting a worthy organization. The CMP is a great organization to work with and the Garand is a wonderful rifle.

And most importantly when you shoot and care for a M1 Garand you are honoring the fighting men who carried these fine weapons. George S. Patton, Jr. is quoted as having said that the Garand is… "the greatest single battle implement ever devised by man."




I should also mention that the CMP sells Greek surplus ammo that has been superb for me. It is accurate cheap and very consistent.

http://www.thecmp.org/ammosales.htm