M1 Garand

drmitchgibson · Sep 25, 2011

I got to shoot an M1 Garand yesterday for the first time. My brother made up some loads that duplicate the charge of WW1-era 30-06 rounds. It shot like a .44 Magnum carbine. What a badass gun! It was hard to believe how smooth-shooting and controllable it was. I must now have one.

It seems like the kind of gun that would be fun to shoot at a match, and the only hindrance would be reloading, or the weight if you're a wimp. I wonder if anyone makes an en-bloc clip holder that works like a belt-mounted moon-clip holder. That would kick ass.

Spiff · Sep 25, 2011

Yeah, the US gooberment started making them about 70 years ago.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/LargeImage.aspx?sku=MGR-100

They're pretty quick to reload, as long as you run them dry. Otherwise it's a little more complicated

Jefpainthorse · Sep 25, 2011

The Garand gas system and that big chunk of Walnut eat up a lot of recoil.

Shoot the same M2 '06 from a 03 and you will feel it.

Enbloc clips will straddle the sling.... Or you can tote 92 rounds in a bandoleer and play Audie Murphy

Mitch Rapp · Sep 25, 2011

A buddy of mine ran an M1 at the Oil Capitol matches. He was good with the thing. He is now a sniper in the Army.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q0IJUwTiXM

1000YRDSHOT · Sep 25, 2011

That could get expensive in a hurry. Still looks fun though

dennishoddy · Sep 25, 2011

Not terribly expensive if one reloads, but when you have one in your hands, it's hard to let off the trigger.

Got to shoot one several years ago. Certainly a whole lot less recoil than my bolt gun in the same cal.

Mitch Rapp · Sep 25, 2011

Shooting an M1 is a wonderful experience. When you first pick it up it feels heavy, maybe even a bit awkward. Shoulder it and the whole picture changes, all of a sudden you realize the gun is perfect. Well balanced, and handy. It was a rifle made for riflemen. A tough gun for a tough breed of man.

Reloading for them is a cinch, and is pretty cheap. It's a wonderful rifle, and a privilege to own one. I will let anyone shoot mine. I don't feel like I own it, more like I am just it's caretaker. Millions of men went into battle trusting the M1 with their lives. For tens of thousands it was the last thing they held as they died. For hundreds of thousands more it was the instrument they used to, by the grace of God, purchase freedom for millions. Maybe I'm too sentimental, but there are many like it, maybe mine was in the hands of heroes at one time. Maybe mine saw the black sands of Iwo, or the Cliffs of Ponte Du Hoc. Maybe it spent some cold nights in the forest around Bastogne, or the frozen wasteland of the Chosin reservoir. I don't know, but there are many that did. This one is mine.

imacgyver · Sep 26, 2011

I want one so badly. They are awesome

1000YRDSHOT · Sep 26, 2011

View attachment 1449

This is a pic of me shooting mine. My father got is for me through the CMP about 10 years ago. It is an S.A. with a danish barrel. Obviously it saw lots of use since it needed a new barrel and it has lots of sings of wear and tear on the stock. Love this gun!

Tharpinator · Oct 6, 2011

Kevin S. said:
A buddy of mine ran an M1 at the Oil Capitol matches. He was good with the thing. He is now a sniper in the Army.

Dang. That dude is a stud. And a looker too. Wonder who he is?

Scott Hearn · Oct 6, 2011

1000YRDSHOT said:
View attachment 1449

This is a pic of me shooting mine. My father got is for me through the CMP about 10 years ago. It is an S.A. with a danish barrel. Obviously it saw lots of use since it needed a new barrel and it has lots of sings of wear and tear on the stock. Love this gun!

Very likely but sometimes I wonder. I have a newer '50's vintage HRA that appears to be a matched barrel to the receiver. The barrel gages 0+ at the muzzle and a 1 in the throat and it's as clean as one could ask for. So it hasn't been shot much at all. I think the armories just disassembled them en mass and started grabbing parts out of the pile to put them back together. Mine has a SA bolt assy in it. That's the only thing I can think of as to why the bolt would be different because mine is just pristine, but it's probably been re-parked too. Don't know about the wood, as it came out of CMP in a brand new birch stock, so it's really kind of hard to tell. I love these old rifles...

lenahorse1 · Oct 6, 2011

Mine is all matching SA early 50's vintage, I too really like it, they are habit forming.
As a side note we have a man here thats shoots 3-gun with a m1carbine and does very well at the short range matches..

mike cyrwus · Oct 6, 2011

I want one.

Glocktogo · Oct 7, 2011

Tharpinator said:
Dang. That dude is a stud. And a looker too. Wonder who he is?

Sounds like you've got a manlove crush on him!

akguy1985 · Oct 13, 2011

Kevin S. said:
A buddy of mine ran an M1 at the Oil Capitol matches. He was good with the thing. He is now a sniper in the Army.

I've ran a garand in the practical rifle match too

jtischauser · Oct 13, 2011

What does a decent garand cost? I need one as well.

Mitch Rapp · Oct 13, 2011

If you go through the CMP you can get them as cheap as $550 for a decent one. Going to a show to get one, you are going to look at spending $700 or so probably. I paid $750 for mine, and it may well be worth a lot more than that due to a few things I have found out. If you want a solid shooter they can be found easily. My Garand, with a barrel that shows little if any wear will shoot groups better than 1.5 MOA at 100 yards.

Not bad for a 70 year old rifle huh?

Jefpainthorse · Oct 13, 2011

Jesse Tischauser said:
What does a decent garand cost? I need one as well.

Jesse... a good shooter- grade rifle will run in the $600-800 range. The CMP* offers everything from rack-grade service rifles to pristine late production guns that were built after the Korean War (*Civilan Marksmanship Program) A very nice National Match or other pristine M1 will bring more as a collector gun.

Of course.. you can find a M1 in most of the usual places you buy guns. Back a few years ago...the Koreans and Greeks sent the ones the US loaned them back. Some of those guns have import marks that lower collectors value. Some are OK...others have rough wood and finish and some are shot out, with lot's of throat and chamber erosion evident (corrosive primers and poor cleaning).

Don't be suprised if any Garand you find has mis matched parts. Most have been re-built, re-barreled and repaired a couple of times since WWII and Korea.

The M1 is almost a little cult. After a while you will find all the parts and gun smiths etc out there who know these things.

PS... Fulton Armory sells some nice re-furbrished guns.... and can re-build any thing you find. Springfeid Armory built a few (non military) and offered a few in .308 over the years.

I have a '44 SA with all matching parts... and birch replacement wood that cost me $700 a few years ago... but it's promised and I won't sell it. Based on it's condition, I'd figure it was locked up at a National Guard Armory for a long time and shot very little over the years.

sefentress · Oct 13, 2011

1000yrdshots gun has a danish VAR bbl which is highly desirable and accurate. I kept the H&R I started HP competition,with, put some NM sights on it, glass bedded it and tuned up the trigger. She will hold the x ring and half the 10 ring at 200yds. There are a number of tricks to keep one shooting its best which can be looked up on the net. A really good shooter is a 1.5 to 2.0 moa gun and man are they fun to run. You may however become a member of the M1 thumb club as a newbie, too be sure you WILL remember NOT to do that again. BTW Precision Shooting magazine had a great article on all the steps CMP goes through before they sell them.

Mitch Rapp · Oct 13, 2011

Jeff said:
I have a '44 SA with all matching parts... and birch replacement wood that cost me $700 a few years ago... but it's promised and I won't sell it. Based on it's condition, I'd figure it was locked up at a National Guard Armory for a long time and shot very little over the years.

That's kinda like mine. It has a lot of handling wear, but looks like it was never shot. It's a March of 45 gun, with a March of 45 barrel, with original lock bar sights. I think it may have belonged to a parade ground or ROTC unit that never fired it, just marched with it. The toe of the stock looks like it's met pavement more than a few times. Going to try to find out if it has extra value before I go to town running a ton of rounds through it.