My M-1 Garand

[Rockman]

This is my M-1 Garand here. It is an H&R contract CMP rifle and I have since replaced the sling too. I replaced it with a replica of the M-1907 leather sling. I still have to get the elevation drum set to the proper settings and zeroed better but the rifle is accurate and the stock has some very minor handling dings too. I also have a 10" bayonet with the Bowie type cut. The bayonet is a 'Nam bringback too. Not brought back by me, but from a friend who served over there in the Navy. I hope you like this M-1 of mine folks, I know that I do and it sits right next to my bed too. My Father carried one like it in WWII, except his was made under a different contract. I just thought I'd share this with you folks.

Thank you and have a wonderful day. Rockman

[Ash]

Nice Garand there.:)
And very nice of your friend to let you have that bayonet.

I am still pondering on getting one through CMP. I just haven't made my mind up yet.:dontknow: :tard:

I always liked those rifles and the history behind them. They were also, as far as I know, a pretty much one-of-a-kind design. And the .30-06 caliber in an auto-loader to boot.:cool:

[Rockman]

Ash, Thank you kindly. I appreciate your remarks here. I agree with you on the "one of a kind" design too. IMHO, it is the most perfect rifle, in the most perfect caliber too. Too bad the photo I posted does not give justice to my M-1 here though. I seriously do mean this rifle looks much better up close and in person too. The bayonet looks nice too. I just need to snap a picture of it and post it here too. My friend had some extra bayonets he wanted to share and a select few of his friends were able to get them, I was lucky enough to get one too.

If you can get one from the CMP I heartily recommend you try for the H&R {Harrington & Richardson} contract rifles. I recently read an article that stated that the H&R contract rifles were the most accurate to blueprint specs and very reliable too. Also, they were the only ones turned out on time too. The worst M-1's made were by IHC, or International Harvester, taken from the same article too. My Dad carried a Winchester contract rifle in WWII.

Thank you and have a wonderful day. Rockman

[Herr Mario]

...got a nice one there Rockman...the blue on yours looks better than mine...mine are both SA's-WW2....42' and 43'...:grinning-thumbsup:

http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~madtonks/.photos/morecnr/100_0770.JPG

...lousy pic -sorry...:rolleyes:

[Ash]

Nice couple there Herr Mario.
But, you're both killing me.:confused2:
Now I'm just going to have to get one.. hmm.:D

[CoorsLightGuy]

I don't have a bayo for mine yet. I guess I need to get around to finding one, one of these days.

[Rockman]

Mario, SWEET! Thanks for the compliment too. When I put my sling on though, it took a couple of hours of cussin' and fussin' and a couple cold ones as well, but I got it right! :BangHead: Too bad all I had to follow was the plate card from the CMP too. The blue is almost perfect on mine and the breechface of the barrel when I got it shined like a freshly minted dime too. I put an M-2 ball round projectile in the muzzle and it showed A LOT of copper too, hooray for me! LOL! I even showed the rifle to an old WWII friend of mine and he said I had the sling "spot on perfect too", and he offered me some serious cash for it too, I had to turn him down though. I cannot believe this rifle passed as a Greek R.G. too. It looks like brand new almost, appears to be seldom fired if at all. The only hard wear on the rifle is the buttplate, where it hit the blacktop a few times. That is it though.

Also Mario, Are yours CMP rifles? I also thought that all SA's had the forged / milled trigger guards and no stamped ones. Maybe I'm wrong here?

I would also like to recommend Talon re-manufactured M-2 Ball for any M-1 Garand too. I have an old ammo can about 2/3's full of this ammo and two ol' WWII ammo belts full with en-blocs loaded with this ammo too. It is awesome stuff for the ol' Garand's. LC 69 brass and reloadable with the primer crimp swaged out already. Talon M-2 ball is the standard 150 gr. fodder too. This can be found at: www.talonammo.com

[Herr Mario]

....yup.both are CMP...TE and MW of 2 on both...the triggerguards on WW2 ones were milled-post war were stamped...one came with the stamped,byt I'm not complaining-though I'll swap if you want:D

...oh yeah-the header pic at the top is mine too...:D ;)

[Rockman]

Mario, Nice header pic too! No swap here though my friend. I'm keepin' mine, it was a gift from some good friends of mine too. I got some good friends to do that for me I'd say. They knew I wanted an ol' M-1 in the worst way and then they chipped in and got it from the CMP for me. I got it on my 34th B-Day in 2005. I'll have to take some photos of the bayonet and post it too. Maybe this weekend I'll have the chance to do it.

[Herr Mario]

:xxrotflmao: ....I wasnt talking about swapping garands-I was refering to the triggerguard...:xxrotflmao:

[Mosko]

Here are some pics of the last H&R that I acquired. I've had it a couple of years, and can only remember firing it once to be sure it would run.

http://home.alltel.net/kcsys/g1.jpg

http://home.alltel.net/kcsys/g2.jpg

http://home.alltel.net/kcsys/g3.jpg

http://home.alltel.net/kcsys/g4.jpg

http://home.alltel.net/kcsys/g5.jpg

http://home.alltel.net/kcsys/g6.jpg

[Herr Mario]

......oooooooooooooooh now THAT'S a beauty...:p .....you did hear,Chairman Mosko,that CMP has upped the prices-yes...??...the H&R's are even more sought after,and yours there has gone up quite a bit in value......now,should you ever decide to part ways wth it,you do know that I'm willing to oblige and help you out.....at the old price............um....ok .....a little bit higher -after all,we've known each other all these years and all...ya know...???......right...???.....aw geez-ya cant blame a fella for tryin'-eh...???:confused:

[Mosko]

Let me tell you about the acquisition of this one. I was doing a PLC upgrade in a manufacturing plant. A couple of the guys who know me, were talking in the smoking pit one day at break time, about how I collected military arms. One of the tech's heard them talking, and came to me and asked if I was actually a gun collector and I said yes.

He said he had a rifle that he received in a trade with some other stuff. His problem was that he had a guitar in lay away and had been paying on it for 6 months or so, and was dieing to get it out. His wife controlled the disposable income, and he reconed it'd take 6 more months the way he was going to get it out.

He said if I'd give the $250 or so to pay the guitar off, he'd go home and get the rifle at lunch. So I agreed pending having a look at the rifle. At afternoon break, he brought it into the plant, and we made the deal in the supervisors office!

The funny part was, I had to park in a contractors area completely on the other side of the factory, and roll my PLC equipment in on a cart, so it was too far to take the rifle through the plant back to my truck, and I didn't know it that would be a good idea or not.

So Richard, the guy I got it from, stood it in the corner, and I went back to work,

Several times that afternoon I saw different people standing by the drink machine looking at it, pointing it etc.

That afternoon I laid it on the cart on top of my laptop, rolled it probably 1500 feet through the factory to my truck, and no one said a word, infact they didn't hardly even notice.

So, I don't hardly have squat it, but it is a very nice looking and working rifle. It has a '54 barrel and the SN indicates the same year H&R IIRC. I think however that the stock may be a replacement perhaps by military depot, but it does not have anything in the way of markings except the "P" proof on the end of the grip.

[xpertgreg]

I remember us shooting that one, got it at Aladdin IIRC, that's the day I lost my Garand virginity!!!

gw

[Mosko]

Yep, that's right, you've got a good memory, or either the old gal made a good impression!

[Herr Mario]

.....ok....I got a czech here for $500-double your outlay-and it can be on the way tol you Monday a.m. ....and I;ll pay shipping too....:D

[Rockman]

Mario, No offense intended here but I want to keep my M-1 "original", meaning in the same way I got it. Sure, I'd like to have a milled trigger group, but this one will serve me fine. Yes, I admit, I changed the sling but the nylon / aluminum one rattled too much for my liking too. I still have the sling and will keep it too. My apologies forthright here Mario.

Mosko, Great deal buddy on the beloved ol' H&R Garand too! 4 million serial range too, mine is a 5 million serial range, but I noticed one thing about yours and mine they both have SA on the "bolt body" too. I need to re-index my elevation drum to the proper settings here. Is there an easy to read "Redneck" easy to read way of doing it too? I'm a bit uneasy with the way Fulton Armory explains on how to do it and the other web sites just seemed to copy and paste the way to do it from Fulton Armory. TIA. H&R Garand with an ol' SA trigger group and a rust spotted gas tube as well, no offense meant here Mosko.

One thing I do recommend about posting rifles and the whole serial number is this: Please try to find a way to partially cover the serial number when posting a photo. Use your finger or a piece of paper or blur out part of the serial number using the paintbrush through Windows. I've seen guys on other boards get into some legal battles because one party was jealous that one guy had brand X rifle that party B wanted and it went to court saying party A stole the rifle from party B, it got really messy too. Food for thought here guys and gals. If you want to find out something about a rifle and have no photos to post, use this method here: 5,51X,XXX, I used my own serial number from my M-1 to give the example here. I have it memorized, but I never tell the whole number either. I also have the serial number memorized from my M-1917 too: 6XXXX. ;) My Dad carried a Winchester contract M-1 during WWII it was serialed at 109XXX. ;)

[Rockman]

Here is another photo of me with my M-1 Garand too. I know this is not a "picture perfect" stance, but I have bodily ailments that inhibit me from shooting in the proper stance anymore too. I tried my best though. This photo was taken last Memorial Day, 2005. I also note here that my "uniform" is not period correct either. All I was trying to do with my friend that snapped the photo, was have some fun that day.

[Mosko]

Mosko, ... I noticed one thing about yours and mine they both have SA on the "bolt body" too.

Yes, I have an Springfield with an H&R bolt. I thought about changing them once, but didn't for some reason.

I need to re-index my elevation drum to the proper settings here. Is there an easy to read "Redneck" easy to read way of doing it too?

I don't know much about the Garands actually, and have never done that. I fire so many different kinds of ammo, I normally just sight in with a couple of rounds to find where it needs to be when the shooting begins.

H&R Garand with an ol' SA trigger group and a rust spotted gas tube as well, no offense meant here Mosko.

Again, the milled guard came on th epiece, so I left it. I have a stamped guard that would be more correst, but the way these rifles were maintained by the military, they "ALL" have swapped parts if they were ever used or even cleaned while in service. So technically as far as authenticity, one is as correct as another.

The gas tube, is stainless, those stains were a smudging of rifle grease, that I have since wiped off.

...find a way to partially cover the serial number when posting a photo... I've seen guys on other boards get into some legal battles because one party was jealous that one guy had brand X rifle that party B wanted and it went to court saying party A stole the rifle from party B, it got really messy too.

Yes that's a fairly common concern, and obscuring the sn is a way to safeguard against it. However, there is an alternative way of looking at it, that I use myself.

I only buy / acquire weapons in a honest and legal format. This H&R displayed above, I acquired legally and honestly, and I know the seller, where he works and lives. I believe he told me the truth about where he got it, and why he wanted to sell it.

If it were to be "claimed" by another person, having seen the serial number, and if he has proper documentation proving the the rifle was his, and had been stolen, I would absolutely want the original owner to have it returned!

I would whole heartedly, assist the original ower with a report to the police, and provide my acquisition information to track the weapons backward travels to find the thief, naturally returning it to the original owner untimately.

My personal view on that is, that we all should post the numbers in their entireity,whenever possible to assist other collectors in retrieving their stolen property.

If that were done by everyone, it would get much more difficult to dispose of stolen weapons, and there "may" actually reduce weapons thefts.

As I mentioned in the acquisition story above, I know why the guy sold it so cheap. I a few cases, I have been offered weapons "real cheap" for no explained reason, making me think they were stolen.

In a couple of those cases, I have written down the SN, and asked the seller, straight out, "is it stolen"? You can get a good read from their facial expressions, when they always say "on no"!

I reported the SN and a description of the guy to the police in one of those instances, and he was infact caught with over 20 stolen weapons.

[Rockman]

Mosko, Good thinking and thank you for the heads up too. Roger on the grease spots too. My PC makes it hard to view things in crisp detail no matter how you might adjust the monitor. Again, really nice rifle too.

[jabshooter]

Good evening folks,
As a newbie with a Garand, I had a few questions about ammunition. Should I only use MIL Surp or equivalent? If any of you reload what is the best make of primer? Should I assume the hardest is probably what I should use?
Right now I have a supply of M2 Ball.
Thanks in advance,
John

[Timbo]

The stuff you can buy online (Greek ball) at CMP is good ammo. I havent gotten any duds from it. Theres also the Korean make that comes in the Garand clips. Its pretty good, not great, about one in 20 wont fire.

[Rockman]

Jabshooter, From the research I have conducted for reloading for the M-1 Garand the hardest primer cup should be used, hence the CCI primers, Winchester falls in the second place category, every place I have went to online said to avoid Federal primers altogether because it is too easy to have a slam fire upon chambering a round into the rifle {too soft of a primer cup}. There are not many powders available for reloading ammo for a Garand I personally would trust, IMR-4895 and H-4895 are two that I would trust. IMR = Improved Military rifle and the IMR-4895 is the original powder if I am not mistaken made just for the M-1 Garand around the time the Gov't adopted the rifle for use in WWII. IMR-4895 and H-4895 have slightly different tables {consult the respective reloading manuals} for making the similar equivalent as close to the M-2 ball specs needed. Military primers are made to tougher standards because of not only temperatures in different climates but also because weapons like the M-1, M-14, M-16 usually have what is referred to as a floating firing pin which will move freely when the action is cycled. Take for example, if you load a full enbloc clip in to a Garand but don't use it, you remove the round from the chamber and the clip from the "mag well" you'll notice the primer will usually have a light dimple on it from being chambered, this is normal but if it were too soft of a primer cup made by Federal, chances would be higher for that round to go off while chambering it. Dick Culver's Shooting page has a lot of useful information about reloading for the M-1 Garand as well. I've only had my M-1 Garand for roughly 2 years but the research I have done on them is quite a bit in such a short time.

IIRC, KA Korean surplus ammo is corrosive but the PS Korean ammo is not.

Your mileage may vary upon terrain.

[jabshooter]

Howdy Rockman,
Thank you for the valuable info. I use a lot of Federal primers in my reloading for handguns and was scratching my head for which in my experience was the hardest. CCI's are in the cabinet too so no problem.
Now if it isn't considered a crime I may just have that refinished and rebarrelled. It'll make a fun shooter.
Regards,
John

[jkingrph]

I have one of the "new" Springfield Armoury Garands. I did not know enough about M-1's in general, what to look for quality wise so chose a newly mfr model even though I understand some surplus parts. It's a fine shooter and one of the easiest shooting 30-06's I have. I especially enjoy shooting this gun offhand, finding that it has enough weight and a fine balance for this.

Jeff

[Rockman]

Jabshooter, No Problem, anytime at all ;)

And as far as the refinishing, it is your rifle, do with it as you wish. This isn't one of those snobby puritan forums, we won't castrate you or tar and feather you for refinishing. LOL!

[jabshooter]

Howdy Rockman!
Can you please enlighten me as to what is a "Gass Tram Modified M1 Garand." An old bud asked me and I couldn't recall that teminology.
Thanks in adance,
John

[Rockman]

As far as I know, the "Gas Trap" system was a faulty precursor to the finalized gas system that we all know worked through WWII, Korea, and early Vietnam. I'd have to try to look up the system for the first prototypes online somewhere, it has me somewhat stumped and has left me thinking too. I'll try to find something online here after a bit.

I just found this link, I hope it is of some help.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Garand+rifle

[jabshooter]

Gentlemen:
Would any of you folks remember the resource that included a spot to type in a rifle serial number and you'd be told that rifles original destination?
So much for putting it in my favorites.
TIA,
John

[CoorsLightGuy]

I'm in a rush, but found this.....it might help. There is probably a better resource out there, but no time right now. If no one else responds, I will later.

http://www.fulton-armory.com/tea/m1serial.htm

[jabshooter]

Thanks but I did have that one-The one I was looking for displayed a dialog box to input the rifle s/n and it would cross reference to the final destination of at least that general serial number block of weapons.
Thanks again,
John

[CoorsLightGuy]

Here's one like that, but it may only be for Springfields.

http://armscollectors.com/srs/lookup_m1.php

[DOGolden]

Nice looking Garand you got there Rockman! Who's the bonehead in the pix? ;)