Garand condition and value ??

[kymasabe]

Just bought a Garand today from an old customer. Is an International receiver. The old guy told me he had the metal refinished and is has a nice parkerized finish, then he had the wood refinished. Has a really glossy finish on the wood. Also had an Arlington Ordnance tag hanging off the trigger guard which has me a little concerned. Is there anyone I can contact to check on the USGI history of th is rifle, mostly to make sure it a WW2 or Korean War gun. Anything I should be looking for? By the way, he had all the work done, then never fired the gun. It's been sitting in his gunsafe for...a long, long time.
No sling, no clips, no box. Paid $400.
I pulled the trigger assy out and looked everything over, bone dry, not a drop of oil or lube of anykind anywhere. I really need to learn more about this gun before I shoot it.
What say you all ??

[dmazur]

You could send it in to Fulton Armory for a technical inspection. Its around $80, but they are Garand experts and will tell you if it's good or if it needs any work.

On the other hand, if you have a local gunsmith who knows Garands, you could save the shipping costs. (My experience has been that there aren't many local gunsmiths who are familiar with Garands...)

The Scott A. Duff book, "The M1 Garand: Owner's Guide" has a table in Chapter 1 which lists WWII and Korean manufacturers. IH and H&R are shown as Korean War only (1953-1956).

This is one site to check to learn about the M1 -

http://www.civilianmarksmanship.com/

Make sure you oil where it needs oil, and grease where it needs grease, before you shoot it.

Also, note that the Garand op-rod is very sensitive to ammo type. Commercial hunting ammo often uses too slow a powder and op-rod damage can result. Use mil-spec surplus ammo (such as is available from the CMP), Garand approved ammo (Hornady or Federal have Garand ammo), or reload using Garand-safe loads. Another solution is to use an adjustable gas plug, which permits using almost any commercial .30-06 ammo once adjusted correctly for a particular load.

Read up on "Garand thumb" before you experience it. It is easily avoided if you understand how to hold the op-rod handle with the heel of your hand as you insert a clip.

Good luck.

[kymasabe]

THanks dmazur, didin't know about the ammo differences. I just ordered some Greek M2 surplus in enbloc clips and bandoleers. I hope it's the right stuff. Got it from Ammo To Go.

[nbkky71]

International Harvester did manufacture M1 rifles from 1953-1956, so the rifle would definitely be post-WW2.

The Arlington Ordnance would likely be an importer that brought the rifle back into the US. Usually there is an importers mark stamped somwhere on the rifle, perhaps on the barrel near the muzzle.

IHC rifles fetch premium prices nowadays, so you got an incredible deal at $400. The more "correct" IHC parts are installed on the rifle, the higher the value goes. There are also different variations of the heel stampings on IHC rifles as well (ie - arrowhead, postage stamp, gap letter) so depending on what you have it may be very valuable indeed.

Some good places to get info on your M1 are the CMP forums (http://forums.thecmp.org) and Jouster (http://www.jouster.com/forums)

[kymasabe]

Brought the gun to a local gunsmith that has Garand experience and is familiar with the rifle. Took a look down the barrel and he says it's clean and bright and looks to be in real good condition. So far, so good.

[Tim R]

The Greek in clips is fine. I would look at http://www.odcmp.com and order ammo from them. It will more than likely be cheaper. There are some hoops you have to jump through but you only have to do it every 3 years.

The only M-1 I don't have is a IHC.

If you want to shoot your M-1 in a match type setting find a John C. Garand match. These are a real hoot. There will be two types of people there. The ones who shoot matches and the ones who don't know any thing about a M-1. You would fit right in. :D